In my career as an arts educator and school administrator, I have met countless families whose children are excited to embark on a college education focused on filmmaking or acting.
The parents are often less excited than their children, however: They seem both apprehensive and determined to steer their children to more “practical” pursuits. Given the financial realities regularly confronted by the arts and the high cost of postsecondary education, a bit of hesitation may be natural.
Just as there are a number of ways to build a career in filmmaking or acting, there are various ways to pursue learning these crafts. Whether through formal, postsecondary degree attainment or informal, out-of-school time opportunities via summer camps and workshops, the foundational skills students build by studying a creative craft are portable and durable and can set them up for success in whatever field they ultimately pursue.
A performing arts education, in particular, not only enhances one’s ability to learn — building listening skills, developing empathy and perseverance, enhancing focus and creating opportunities to express emotions — it also equips students with practical skills that translate seamlessly to life as we now live it.
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In my view, the performing arts have enormous value in ways we don’t often think of or even expect. Storytelling — the foundation of all these crafts — helps students to organize their thoughts, to understand the elements necessary to keep people engaged in a journey.
How many of us have had to stand up in a classroom or a conference room to hold or persuade an audience? It’s all storytelling. Understanding what makes a story work, how to perform it, how to capture your audience and get them to care about what you are saying are skills that can be taught and learned. These skills matter whether you’re hoping to score an A on a research presentation, perform a soliloquy or secure funding from a venture capitalist.
Mastering these skills gives students the practical abilities necessary to write well and create contemporary media; for the latter, they must develop skills with associated technologies, which include constantly changing gear and software. It puts them in the driver’s seat in an entrepreneurial, creator-driven economy.
Mastering their art also includes developing essential “soft skills,” such as organization, time management, collaboration, empathy, public speaking and persuasion, as well as planning and budgeting, multitasking, self-regulation and the development of cultural awareness, to name a few.
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I’ve witnessed the positive impact of working in these crafts not only for the thousands of students I’ve worked with over my 30 years at the New York Film Academy (NYFA), but also through my own children, who were encouraged at an early age to participate in theater, music and media arts: Auditioning, performing and writing stories were common activities in our home.
Their exposure to these experiences and the resulting skills and self-assurance they gained spilled over to their studies and social acumen. I can say, without hesitation, that they succeeded in traditional academics in part due to the skills learned in their education and pursuits in the arts. Beyond that, my wife and I regularly received feedback about how much more poised and confident our children were than many of their peers.
Students with access to these experiences develop habits and practices that inform their ability to be present and prepared in a wide range of situations.
Today, it’s nearly impossible to find a career that doesn’t, on some level, rely on our ability to leverage a combination of technology, media and performance skills. We hear endless statistics about the need for strong technical skills, the need for a workforce that is literate in STEM — science, technology engineering, and math. Yet as a society, we have historically proven fickle when it comes to prioritizing the arts and supporting arts education.
Adding the arts to STEM, “STEAM” as some refer to it, marries the technical and the creative. There is a clear need and dependency on both. Together they not only engage both sides of the brain, they bring us a fuller experience of the world — to say nothing of the economic opportunities.
I worry that because we have so neglected and undervalued the arts, we have created a generation of anxious, socially disaffected young people struggling to find their place, to connect and make sense of an increasingly complex world. This neglect has set them up with a false belief that the human experience is binary: creative or linear; purposeful or financially lucrative.
The arts compel students to take control, whether directing a crew on set, creating a character or performing a part. Acting, in particular, offers students a safe space to be vulnerable and explore feelings that can overwhelm us in our “real” lives.
Mastering artistic skills can make the difference between success and failure in so many contexts, both personal and professional.
By prioritizing arts education, we empower students to pursue their passions and fulfill their potential. We equip them not only with the tools they need to succeed in any occupation but to make their unique and meaningful mark on the world.
By encouraging our kids to pursue the arts, we may actually achieve those things that so often feel nearly impossible: their happiness and success.
David Klein is the senior executive vice president at the New York Film Academy. He oversees the operations, development and delivery of programs including Acting for Film, Filmmaking, Musical Theatre, Broadcast Journalism and Cinematography.
Contact the opinion editor at opinion@hechingerreport.org.
This story about the benefits of an arts education was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s weekly newsletter.