Arts education taps into students’ creative side

While it’s not usually ideal for teachers to have to turn away students from classes, arts education teachers at Vestavia Hills High School see it as a sign of growing interest and participation.

“It’s a good problem, but it’s a problem,” said Faith Lenhart, who chairs the performing arts department and teaches dance at the school.

Despite adding three positions in five years, to reach a total of 11 teachers as of June 2019, more and more students are gravitating toward arts education classes, which include theatre, dance, band, choir and a variety of visual arts classes, Lenhart said.

During the 2018-19 school year, there were about 2,300 students at the middle school and at the high school level who took some kind of arts education classes, Lenhart said, with 1,500 students at the same grade levels taking part in athletics.

Lenhart said the increase has come in part due to the high school moving to an eight-period day, giving students one more class, though the time spent in class has been reduced to 45 minutes.

It’s hard to fit everything into the short amount of time teachers have each day, Lenhart said, but instructors do their best to balance the academic and performing parts of the course, as well as any product that students create throughout the year, such as concerts and plays.

While VHHS recently added a class period, the state board of education also removed the graduation requirement of an arts education credit a few years ago, though they have since modified the rule to where students must have three credit hours within foreign languages, career technology or arts education.

Despite students not being required to take any arts education classes, Vestavia’s numbers didn’t drop, Lenhart said.

It’s important, Lenhart said, that each student finds their niche within the arts, whether that be music, dance or visual art. Over the years, that’s something the school has learned to do well, she said.

The classes help them find their own creative abilities, as well as serving a different role than their typical academic classes, Lenhart said.

“It’s a break in their day,” Lenhart said.

The classes can especially help students who suffer from any sort of attention-deficit disorder and give graduating seniors a more well-rounded education, which, Lenhart said, will help as they seek college admission.

Timarie Fisk, who leads the visual arts department, said arts classes have grown in popularity as more and more classes have been added. The classes, she said, offer students the chance to express their voice in creative ways. The students get to talk about and express ideas that are important to them.

“They get to show the world how they see through their eyes,” Fisk said.

The classes also encourage students to take risks, as their work is almost always seen by other students, Fisk said.

Even if students don’t go on to become Hollywood or Broadway stars, or win a Grammy or other famous awards, Lenhart said the school’s goal is to make students “advocates” for the rest of their lives, creating adults who will understand the importance of the arts and push for access to them throughout their adult life.

Arts education helps with higher-order thinking and creative problem solving, which helps students in all areas of their lives, Lenhart said.

In addition to their work in the classroom, students in the classes often perform community events, Lenhart said.

Over time, VHHS has shifted to be more student-based and student-led, allowing them to take more of a leadership role in their performances and productions, Lenhart said.

“We’re facilitators, not dictators,” Lenhart said.