When you think about sending your teenage girl off to college, the first thing that usually comes to mind is ensuring they get the proper high school education.
Preparing for college begins the second they begin their freshman year, so planning out their courses to achieve the optimal level of academic excellence is usually the focus.
What many parents miss, however, is that part of the process of ensuring your teen girl is ready for her college education is including the arts in their education. Incorporating an art of some kind–like dance, theatre, and writing, as well as learning to create physical art pieces–can have a huge impact on both the holistic development of your teen, as well as improving their chance of admission to the college of their choosing.
Great schools that offer college preparatory programs will stress the emphasis of their students being involved in the arts. For instance, Sedona Sky Academy, a leader in providing well-rounded education for teen girls, notes that including art in education not only provides an “increased awareness of self and others,” but also that (according to Americans for the Arts) “The arts—music, creative writing, drawing, dance—provide skills sought by employers of the 3rd millennium.”
Art in the Future
While it’s easy to say that art can make your teen more well-rounded and more likely to find a job upon completion of their college education, it goes much deeper than that. For one, directing some attention to art increases verbal and non-verbal skills, as it forces teens to create and study images – images of our existence in the world. Whether it’s dance, painting, drawing, writing, or theatre, the arts encourage a more abstract means of understanding and expression.
In addition to improving verbal and non-verbal skill, the arts also inspire a good work ethic, as well as tolerance and appreciation of values. According to the National Art Education Association, “You cannot touch art without touching values: values about home and family, work and play, the individual and society, nature and the environment, war and peace, beauty and ugliness, violence and love.”
So, knowing that your daughter can benefit enormously from entering some kind of art program, has she done so yet? Academic excellence is more than choosing the right intellectually concentrated courses. Your teen girl’s high school education should include the arts, but there are no rules as to which she should choose. Art is therapeutic and stimulating in innumerable ways, so when it comes to art, letting her choose her passion will help her excel in ways you never thought possible.
Sedona Sky Academy is an all-girls therapeutic boarding school that provides a well-rounded education and endless scholastic opportunities. To find out more, call us at (855) 290-9680.