Arts Subjects Still Struggle To Stay in British Schools

Teachers in some British schools affected by the government's move to extend school hours by putting arts subjects as extra-curricular activities are concerned that this will peg the arts as just "hobbyist subjects." They worry such a move will also have parents clamoring for the removal of the subjects from some schools altogether.

In a report by  TES, Peter Oates, art teacher of 38 years, says that this plan by Chancellor George Osborne shadows the government's recent emphasis on the English Baccalaureate subjects (English, Maths, Science, Humanities and Language), further marginalizing the arts and pressuring schools to remove it from their curriculum. Oates explains that while teachers realize the importance of these subjects, they see this as "an opportunity to reduce their school's expenditure by the reduction of time and staffing in arts subjects."

Oates says these changes in British education happening right now are causing the arts to be caught in the crosshairs. It teaches students and encourages parents to believe that these subjects are unimportant.

In another report by TES, one theater and drama teacher, Rob Messik, shares his experience with having to defend his subject while his students' parents ridicule his teaching methods and ask how these could be of any help to their children. He mentions Nicky Morgan's controversial statement back in 2014 on how students need to ditch the arts if they are at all interested in having a successful career.

Meanwhile in the U.S., some schools have finally recognized the importance of the arts while some also still struggle to keep it relevant. According to the Sun Herald, the Whole Schools Initiative in Mississippi, a program that combines teaching core subjects through artful avenues, has reached 34 schools statewide. However, Utah Valley University's School of the Arts students still lament over the fact their passion for the arts might promise nothing for them in the job market, meanwhile their computer science peers already have prospects even before graduation.

With all these inconsistencies, when can art finally seal its place in schools all over the world and be declared just as important as other subjects?