Art work in school

Beth Thomas' office is mobile, going with her to and from the three different Cape Girardeau public elementary schools she teaches at each week -- Franklin, Clippard and Alma Schrader.

She doesn't so much mind the traveling, though, when she gets to deal with the kids.

"I could have taught high school art or college," said Thomas. "My answer to why I didn't is, at this age, they are like sponges, and we're building a foundation. I would like to be part of that foundation."

Thomas sees the enthusiasm on her pupils' faces when they enter the classroom, eager to try out their artistic talents at a young age.

"Our children really have an appreciation for art," Thomas said. "And when they have an appreciation for it at that young age, they'll still have that appreciation when they get older. I still think we've got that hook in art, music and P.E., especially at this young age."

Today local schools, and educators like Thomas, see art as more than an educational side show. They see art as a valuable learning tool that gives students a rounded education, adding creativity to intellect. Taxpayers have supported this movement. Area voters have passed bond issues to build and improve arts facilities. Recent studies suggest that voters and educators are wise. Students involved in the arts are more likely to succeed in school.

Getting the children to like art is easy -- that can be seen by a visit to Thomas' Franklin classroom. A group of second-graders files in on a Monday morning, eager to learn about their next project.

On this particular day, they're learning how to make three-dimensional soft sculpture of stuffed paper. The sculpture is a self-portrait.

"I call them 'Mini-Mes,'" says Thomas, with the "Austin Powers" reference drawing plenty of giggles from the kids.

After a brief explanation on the craft by Thomas, the kids get to work, drawing outlines of their figure on paper to be colored and cut out for the front of the soft sculpture. The smallest encouragement, given to every student, makes them beam with pride.

Thomas praises the detail on Timothy Huey's drawing, with his red St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap and his red hooded sweatshirt. Timothy shows his drawing to his friends.

"How do you like this?" he says with pride. "She said this is a good detail on the bill of the hat."

Deborah Fisher, fine arts consultant with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Division of School Improvement, said Missouri has one of the most progressive arts education programs in the country, with added emphasis through graduation requirements and performance standards.

Missouri students are required to complete one full unit of high school art before graduation, which can include fine art, music, drama or dance. Some states don't even have the one unit requirement that Missouri has had for decades, said Fisher.

That one credit is still under the four units of English and the three units of math, science and social studies required for 2010 graduates under guidelines passed this month.

Fisher said Missouri even developed a fine arts assessment, which would be part of the state's MAP test, to gauge a district's ability to teach every student the fundamentals of art. The assessment, however, has not been included in MAP testing.

"Arts get pushed to the side sometimes," Fisher said.

But even a modern public school climate where great emphasis is placed on standardized testing, administrators still say there's a great need for art education.

"When we're talking about art and music, the fine arts are very important, especially at this age" said Rhonda Dunham, principal at Franklin. "Art gives children the opportunity to develop creativity, imagination and critical thinking skills like nothing else can."

Across the board education professionals also see another benefit to arts education. Where some children may not do so well in math, reading and other subjects, they may excel in art. For some, the success they have in artistic pursuits could mean the difference between sticking it out in school and dropping out.

"Every student has their brilliance in something," said Don Moore, superintendent at Kelly schools and a former art teacher. "There are students who won't excel in other areas, and it's remarkable the talent these students can demonstrate in the arts."

Proponents of arts education point to other benefits, as well. A landmark study on arts education called Critical Links, compiled under the auspices of the Arts Education Partnership, claims that all areas of arts education have some accompanying benefit that spills over into other academic learning.

Some of the study's findings -- visual arts can increase a child's ability to read well, music taught in early childhood can increase cognitive development and dramatic acting can help with conflict resolution.

Larger districts like Cape Girardeau and Jackson can offer a huge spectrum of classes in the arts -- painting, drawing, sculpting, music (vocal and instrumental), dance and theater.

Smaller schools like Kelly don't have as many options, but art education is still emphasized. At Kelly, more money is spent on art classes than on science, and more money is spent on the music program than on boys' basketball.

And facilities improvements at many schools are targeted partially toward arts programs. Bond issues that passed at Kelly and Jackson will provide new facilities for visual arts and music programs and the high school art room at Scott City has just been renovated.

From Thomas' viewpoint, art is more respected as a subject than it was when she started 12 years ago, a trend that could be helped by studies like Critical Links.

"I do think that teachers understand if we didn't have music and art education their jobs would be harder," Thomas said. "We really reinforce the things teachers teach in other classrooms."

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182