> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.ourfamilylifestyle.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Why Art Class Deserves a Bigger Place in a Child's School Week - URL: https://www.ourfamilylifestyle.com/benefits-of-art-education/ - Published: 2026-09-24T15:05:36.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-24T15:05:36.000Z - Description: Explore the benefits of art education for kids, including creativity, problem-solving, writing, empathy, and why schools should make more room for art. - Author: Colby - Tags: Family Ask a parent what their child did at school today and maths, reading and probably a science experiment will come first. Art? That one usually gets a shrug. Art class has become a quietly axed subject. When budgets get cut, art is number one on the hit list. When testing time approaches, it's the first class to be canceled. But here's the thing... The research keeps landing on the same answer: **Kids who get more art do better across the board.** It’s not only taught through art. Through writing. Behaviour. How they treat the child sitting beside them. So why is art still treated like a bonus subject? Let's take a look... ### **What you'll walk away with:** 1. How Much Art Kids Actually Get 2. What More Art Time Does To Students 3. The Skills Art Builds That Nothing Else Does 4. Giving Art A Bigger Slice Of The Week ## How Much Art Kids Actually Get Schools have not eliminated art entirely. According to a federal survey, 82% of public schools offer visual arts as a stand-alone course during the school day. Sounds healthy, right? The issue isn’t if art is on the schedule. It’s how slim the slice is. Almost three out of ten of these schools provide visual arts with fewer than one hour of learning per week. One hour. Out of roughly thirty. That gives you just enough time to distribute materials, demonstrate a skill and wash brushes. There's no time left to mess up, retry and perfect yourself. Which is what crafting is all about. Staffing is another area with a similar tale to tell. Approximately one in five schools uses a regular classroom teacher to teach art instead of a certified art teacher. Those teachers are spending what resources they have and doing the best they can. However, art is its own discipline with specific teaching strategies, unique ways of critiquing art, and it even has its own set of safety guidelines. It's that disconnect that makes teacher training so important in this case. Teachers who earn an [art education degree online](https://www.rmcad.edu/academics/program/online/art-education/) have been trained to create a balanced visual arts curriculum, to grade art projects objectively, and to effectively teach art on a shoestring budget. Online art teacher degrees also have the benefit of allowing a currently working teacher to continue teaching while they earn their degree, which is typically the only option for those teaching full time. More certified art teachers in schools means more schools will have no problem justifying keeping art in the curriculum. ## What More Art Time Does To Students This is where it gets interesting. This study conducted in Houston tracked over 10,000 students in 42 schools. A lottery was held to choose which schools would receive a substantial increase in arts experiences. The remaining schools continued as usual. **The results were hard to argue with:** ### Behaviour Improved Districts that students got the additional arts experiences decreased by 3.6 percentage points the proportion of students receiving disciplinary infractions. Imagine what that translates to on a daily basis. Less interruptions. Less students being removed from the classroom. More instructional time for everyone else in the room. ### Writing Got Stronger Students from those same schools also had higher standardized writing scores compared to the control group. Sounds weird until you let that sink in for a moment. Art makes a kid observe details, make decisions and then communicate what they were thinking. Writing is fueled by those exact muscles. ### Empathy Grew The same study measured compassion for others, and it went up too. Students exposed to more art were more inquisitive about others' emotions and more inclined to assist a struggling peer. You cannot measure that on a final exam. But ask any teacher and they'll tell you it transforms the [classroom atmosphere](https://www.ourfamilylifestyle.com/tips-to-improve-childs-productivity-in-classroom/). ## The Skills Art Builds That Nothing Else Does Most school subjects have one right answer. Art doesn't. When a kid stares at a blank page they have to figure out what to create, how to create it and what to do when attempt #1 doesn't look anything like the picture in their mind. Problem solving with no answer key at the back of the book. **Art class quietly teaches kids to:** - Sit with a problem that has no obvious solution - Take feedback without falling apart - Finish something even when it isn't perfect - Explain their thinking out loud to other people These are the habits employers always say they can't find. They are also the habits that won't translate to a multiple choice exam. That is why they continue to get ignored. At least the public knows this. If not the timetable. 91% of Americans believe arts are critical to a well-rounded [education](https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/SchoolPulseSurvey%5Ffinal.pdf). ## Giving Art A Bigger Slice Of The Week So what does "more art" actually look like in practice? It doesn't mean transforming every primary school into an academy for painters. Small stubborn decisions. Cumulative effect. **Begin with sanctified time.** One uninterrupted 45-minute block over which no one can schedule you is worth three stolen sessions. Calendar it and fiercely protect it. **Then consider staffing.** An expert in the subject will have more benefit from forty minutes than a substitute will for two hours. Employing one, or supporting a current teacher with an online art teacher's degree, allows your school to do more. **Finally cross-pollinate with other classes.** Draw a plant cell. Construct a replica Roman bridge. Illustrate a short story. It's free, and allows art to invade another home within the week. **Last, utilize resources already outside of the school.** Local art galleries, local artists and community art groups often collaborate with schools. Many will do this at no cost to you. None of this requires a new building wing or expensive budget. Most of it just requires someone choosing art matters. ## The Bottom Line Art class isn't a break from real learning. It is real learning. The indicators always point in the same direction. Arts learning correlates to [improved behaviour](https://www.ourfamilylifestyle.com/activities-for-kids-improve-concentration-memory/), better writing and kids who are nicer to each other. Most children have less than an hour a week of it, frequently from someone who has never been trained to teach it. **To quickly recap:** - Art sits on most timetables, but barely - More art time improves behaviour, writing and empathy - Trained art teachers are what make the difference - Protected time and local partnerships cost almost nothing Make more room for art in your school week and see what happens to the rest of it.