Art and music education advocates in central Kentucky argue programs in schools provide children with needed critical thinking skills.
That comes alongside a nationwide trend of school systems cutting arts programs because of budget cuts or shrinking school enrollment. Fayette County Public Schools recently cut art programs at Cassidy Elementary School.
Erin Batkiewicz of Lexington’s Wellness Creative music therapy clinic says music lessons help strengthen brain growth more than almost any other activity for children.
“Whenever we're participating in music lessons, it thickens certain structures of the brain,” Batkiewicz said. “It creates new neural pathways. It creates more communication between the left and right brain hemisphere, and it stimulates this part of the brain that helps us store long term memories.”
Ilona Szekely, professor of Art Education at EKU, says art lessons help strengthen brain growth more than almost any other activity for children.
“I think when you have an art class, you're not just filling out a worksheet or doing another assignment on the board,” Szekely said. “You're inventing, you're solving problems or critically thinking in a way that no other class really asks you to do.”
More with Szekely and Batkiewicz can be heard on this week’s edition of Eastern Standard Thursday at 11 a.m.
** WEKU is working hard to be a leading source for public service, and fact-based journalism. Monthly supporters are the top funding source for this growing nonprofit news organization. Please join others in your community who support WEKU by making your donation.
