Create a blog post of around 250 words that makes an argument for or against arts taking up more space on the curriculum.
The question (I think) relates to a deeper question – what is the purpose of education? The course has presented various suggested answers to that question, some of which I may discuss elsewhere, but if I may be indulged I will start with my current thoughts (which are changing all the time).
I think education has both a social and an individual purpose.
The individual purpose is to equip the learner with the “capabilities” described by Amartya Sen. To butcher a very elegant concept the basic idea is to give learners the skills and knowledge (or people generally the resources including skills and knowledge) they will need to be able to choose how they live their lives in ways that are meaningful to them.
The social purpose is to ensure that society is made up of individuals who are capable of contributing to the good functioning of that society. This means that they know and understand social norms such as free speech and tolerance, can contribute economically, culturally and socially, and have an understanding of the culture and history of their society.
Fortunately these two purposes largely overlap, though not totally. So how does this relate to the arts? I hear you cry. My answer is that the arts provide skills and knowledge that allow an individual to live a fuller, more enriched life, to understand their culture and if we take a purely economic view (which I would discourage) then as well as the obvious fact that the creative sector is a major employer there are also a wide variety of jobs that don’t require specific skills but do need people with the analytic, creative and social awareness that studying the arts provides.
Including the arts on the curriculum provides the opportunity for learners to try things they wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to try, to gain a broader understanding of the culture they will live in and to gain a wider set of thinking skills with which to approach the world