Pulling From Both Sides of the Aisle

Pulling From Both Sides of the Aisle
By Gigi Antoni
(from the December 09 issue of The Big Idea)

There’s a saying that goes “There are two kinds of people in the world— those who put things into two categories, and everybody else.” Here at Big Thought, we’re everybody else. For many in the field of art—or the broader world of creative learning—there is a tendency to divide camps when it comes to ideology.

The first I’d call “art for art’s sakers,” those who evaluate the arts based on its inherent importance. The Wallace Foundation commissioned a RAND report to study how the arts help and change individuals. The study found that exposure to music, dance, theater and visual arts improves cognitive development, offers health benefits (such as increased quality of life) and provides numerous other advantages for individuals in their personal growth.

On the other side of the aisle are those who see the arts as a solid foundation that plays a central role in society; the arts can act as an economic boon or as a mechanism by which we can achieve wide-scale social change. Researchers in this arena focus on how creative endeavors help raise test scores and provide a meaningful opportunity for children to engage in school and in life, among other things.

A 12-year study conducted by James Catterrall, an education professor from the University of California, found that students from low-income families were twice as likely to have low arts involvement, while students from high-income families were twice as likely to have high arts involvement. Catterall found that those with high-arts involvement, regardless of socioeconomic status, showed substantial and significant gains in achievement and life skills. Essentially, when we deprive our low-income students of artistic and creative experiences, we are taking away a sure-fire, statistically-backed method for engaging them. With this information, how can we not reasonably call the work that we do at Big Thought an issue of equity?

It’s hard to ignore the fact that the arts are important all on their own, or as a catalyst for educational and social change. The answer of its value isn’t either/or, it’s all of the above.

We hear comments from students all the time, such as “I never knew I could do anything right before this class.” Other times, a student might simply raise her hand in music class—a monumental feat in the life of a painfully shy wallflower. These are great examples of the inherent value of the arts that we see each and every day in classrooms and communities across Dallas.

But that’s not all we see. We’ve seen partners and communities aligning with one another, coming together around the arts. Through the arts, we continue to grow and serve hundreds of thousands of children and families across Dallas. Our assessment team has shown us that the arts improve scholastic investment and achievement, with results that are truly inspiring.

Big Thought is making differences each day, in big ways and small, in ways that we measure and in immeasurable strides that are changing the way that people see arts education and creative learning. Whether you believe that art is important on its own or for its value in improving education and our community in general, we’re pulling from both sides of the aisle to create a better future for children and families across Dallas.