1. Helps with professional life
Parents might push their children into activities that will ensure their future success. Art education can benefit beyond the usual expectation of a future career yet develop cognitive skills that wouldn’t otherwise. It is a paradox: people who took an art class in high school feel it helped in their professional life, even if their profession isn’t related to Art most of the time.
2. Art education contributes to a longer life.
How can we live longer and better? We can do certain things to improve our odds. After genetics, war, and road accidents, the factors we can not control, here is a factor we can control: education. Yes, that’s right. An article by New Scientist suggested that education contributes to a longer life by doing two things: making permanent changes in a person’s brain that improve cognitive abilities and helping us to make better lifestyle choices that lead to longer lives.
Worth the time, but the money?
I would like to think that higher education, including attending art school, would prolong our lives. How much longer? We don’t know. If I tell you going to art school for four years will make you live four years longer, would you go?
3. A very personal choice
Going to art school is like going under knives. It’s a very personal choice. Many people I know went through plastic surgery. I thought it was a waste of money. But one girl told me her 15,000-dollar boob job was worth the money, and she felt so confident after having gone under the knives. It was a dream come true for her. Is it a waste of money? It is subjective in many ways. I spent over 14 years in universities and got 5 degrees. Is it worth the money? Is it a waste of money? It’s my money, I paid for my education, and I decide if it is worth it.
Personal reasons
Although attending art school won’t promise you a good career, would you do it for other reasons? Intellectual curiosity? Social mobility? Or just for a slight chance that you might be the 10% who can make a living from Art? Is an art school a waste of money? The answer is yours.
4. A better understanding of art and culture
In our fast-paced society, we often just stay afloat. Like with etymology for our languages, knowing and understanding Art can positively impact our lives. You then have tools to decode the swarm of images our society throws at us and develop critical thinking. However, it only works if you doubt what the teachers say.
5. Imagination and visual memory
Because art-related courses are of various forms, they can give more possibilities to express oneself. It also trains your visual memory, while our tendency with media is more about immediate consumption.
6. Conceptualization and communication
It allows expressing ideas verbally and in writing about real works of Art. On the opposite, from concept, it trains on how to visualize and concretize an artwork. The educational value is about unique approaches that give tools to adapt to many situations. Again, if the professors permit this chance.
7. Tolerance and open mindness
Art teaching can provide a different perspective on the world. It can help us to see things in new and innovative ways. It can also allow us to understand and appreciate other cultures. Understanding art can help us to be more open-minded and tolerant of others. It only works if we understand that the word “Art”, as defined in the Western world, is only 500 years old and cannot reduce other visual expressions from different, sometimes older, cultures.
