Response to Tania and Edward

Tania: "One hears that there is a rise in appreciation of the arts, but is this really true? In our country will it ever be the case that more schools rally harder to keep their art programs or will they always be the first to go?"

Edward: "Is participation in the arts from an early age beneficial to the development of a child

I will answer, or attempt to answer, both of these questions as they are closely related.

Tania, I fear that for the next few years at least, perhaps a decade or more, the latter will be far more likely. For the current generation of teachers and superintendents, the cold war is not yet a distant enough memory. "It was mathematics and science the won the cold war." It is a view that further emphasizes the shortsighted belief that art does not have a practical application. I think, happily ensconced in our Cold War victory, we are not tempted to forge a new path and accept that the arts have their purpose.

Edward, before I begin allow me to clarify that I have had only the most general training in psychology so anything I say will be based heavily upon speculation. That having been said, I do think that there is a benefit to the development of a child to partake in the arts as a child. I do not mean that they must necessarily partake in the generation of art; experiencing art will do just as well.
There has been a definite fall in the funding for arts, in the dissemination of art, especially for our youth. The number of children that are taking ADD or ADHD drugs has tripled (www.ed.gov) from 1990 - 1995 and the number continues to rise. We have pathologized childish behavior when, it seems to me, there are normal explanations. Art, I think, allows for expression, an activity more important for children as they have less developed ways to deal with emotion and turmoil.

Question: Do you think there are positive uses and applications for art, and if so, what will it take for those in authority to also realize this?