The Dying Arts
Since the start of the economic crisis in 2007, the arts had begun to seem obsolete in its usefulness to the general public and school life and so forth was one of the first to experience the severe cuts implemented by the government. Yet, the arts can provide a place for children to express themselves in a way that other lessons simply cannot so is it not right that we attempt to maintain the arts as best we can for the good of future generations. Who knows, you may find the next great composer in your local compulsory.
Unfortunately, the government no longer perceives the arts as important enough for students to study as it isn’t part of an English baccalaureate, a selection of subjects that the government has decreed as essential for students to learn meaning that regretfully, as the arts aren't included, they will never get the same amount of attention from the government which has led to severe cuts in the budget. Not only is it the government that has disregarded the arts, but public view too has become greatly dismissive and what was once a well regarded skill ie artists and musicians, it now seems that it is a craze that is dying out. For instance, people nowadays will go into the Tate Modern, which houses an immense collection of contemporary art from up and coming artists trying to make a name for themselves, and they'll see it as purely junk that has no place being called artwork. It can be this creative naivety that is causing many problems as people no longer take originality seriously and this can be greatly damaging for those interested in going into that field if they percieve that their work will just be disregarded.
Not only is it art that is being affected in such a way, music too has taken a great hit from these cuts. It can be exceedinly hard for these subjects to get students involved because such specific materials are needed for the subject to be effective and regretfully this will cost a substantial amount of money. For example, the instruments do not come cheap nowadays and unfortunately it is these that will truly excite younger children. A shiny new guitar or drumkit perhaps can be the difference as it becomes a lot more flashy and exciting and this is a key aspect of getting children involved. Although, with limited funds, all that can be achieved are a few lousy guitars and sub standard other instruments, these holding no real impact on students.
A local music teacher stated that "without proper funding, it is exceedingly difficult for us to properly engage with our students and get them actually excited in what we are trying to show them. We are unable to get the better equiptment and this generally leads to undazzled students who get bored quite quickly". This implicates that there is limited interaction with the students because the teacher is physically unable to demonstrate the wonders of music. This is not just a singular phenomenon either, all over the country similar occurances are seen as teachers struggle to increase the intrigue of students to the point where they just become bored.
It is clear that funding is a key element for the arts and it is almost impossible to get new generations involved without it. In the end this could have hugely detrimental effects not only on the student's creativity, but also on the life of the arts themselves potentially leading to the death of the arts.
Tom Bourne
Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School
