Anti-Creativity In Art And Fine Arts

In “Hidden Intellectualism,” Gerald Graff believes that individuals, who are ot interested in school, have a chance to be intellectual by inspiring them on subjects they themselves are interested in instead of forcing them to correspond with cliché historic figures. Graff begins his essay acknowledging the perception communities have on behavior of streetwise people who are looked at as “anti-intellects.” (264) Furthermore, he explains how society connects intelligence with historic heroes instead of modern subjects like sports or fashion; which Graff emphasizes is the issue. Graff supports his claim by providing a personal experience of growing up; he was that “anti-intellectual” (265) who preferred sports magazines and biographies rather

In his Article “Anti-Intellectualism: Why We Hate Smart Kids" Grant Penrod claims that “smart kids” are facing exclusion from positive social norms. Penrod constructs many valid points in his article, points that may open new discussions on the subject at hand. In his essay he says that “social stereotypes, public examples, and monetary obsession are contributions behind anti-intellectualism.” (Penrod, Par.2)

Penrod says, “The result of anti-intellectualism is a crushing disregard for the lives and achievements of fellow human beings” (Penrod 755). He is saying that through these anti-intellectual practices, non-intellectuals seem to make sure to actively dismiss and disparage other individual’s successes. Instead of intellectuals being seen in a positive light, there is a disfavor for intellectuals that have become an enormous part of society. Through Penrod’s examination, he uses pathos to draw his audience in to feel pity for the intellectuals. He makes the non- intellectuals seem as if they are bullies picking on the little guy. Penrod does this because he knows people will sympathize for the little guy. This makes his argument effective because people will stand up and defend the little guys, the

In the world of academia, from Graff’s perspective, street smarts are associated with anti-intellectualism. Graff states “we associate the educated life, the life of the mind, too narrowly and exclusively with subjects and texts that we consider inherently weighty an academic.” He argues that educators should broaden their aspect of material they once preserved as inefficient. Graff implies that a person who is studious enough can find substance in any content. He reasons that intellect can be uncovered and observed in various forms, hence the name “hidden intellectualism.” He suggests that the Education system overlooks the interest of the students because they consider their interest irrelevant.

Anti-Intellectualism and society's overall decline Anti-intellectualism is an attitude that minimizes the value of intelligence, knowledge and curiosity. The death of thinking and anti-intellectualism is becoming a trend in American culture. The reason for this behavior is due to the ignorance of science, arts, and society and it's replacement by entertainment and ignorance. Wanting to learn new things isn't much of a trend and never was. Anti-intellectualism has became a tradition in America, unlike many other countries.

Although these results appear to be encouraging, one must consider what improvements are missing when implementing the fine arts. One area that lacks improvement is the math and sciences. Garcia et. al states that there is no significant correlation between improved math and science scores and fine arts exposure. This lack of improvement is a serious factor that must be considered while discussing the effects of fine arts. In today’s society, the majority of growing career fields

Famous Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso, once said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Schools all around the United States are closing their arts programs including music, art, and theatre, because of budget cuts. More than 25% of public high schools have closed done away with their arts programs. Blogger Katrina Soliman stated in her blog about the lack of creative opportunities in school, “Children have a knack for originality” and “Schools advise students to be creative but do not give time to do so.” The arts, however, are very important to children while they learn to grow and there have been hundreds of studies showing why they’re important. They improve test scores, give students creative ideas after high school and there are also other nonacademic uses.

What is Anti-Intellectualism? According to Dictionary.com, Anti-Intellectualism is defined as being hostile toward intellectuals and the modern academic, artistic, social, religious worlds as well as other theories that are associated with them. Although Richard Hofstadter’s Anti-Intellectualism in American Life won the 1964 Pulitzer Prize, it is now almost fifty-fives out of date. Not to mention the ideas within the book are seen as suggesting a type of self-defensive justification rather than an actual deep investigation. Hoftstader used the aftermath of McCarthyism and how there were wide range witch hunts among the academics and progressives and how that is influenced by the reform, socialists and communist movements between the World Wars. Applying McCarthyism, Hoftstader looks at the tension from four different perspectives: religion, politics, business, self-help culture, and education. Taking into consideration the year the book was written, each angle is explored from the colonial period up until the 1950s. Throughout the introduction, Hofstadter makes it clear that the purpose of the book is to shed a little light on our cultural problems. Focusing on the social and political phenomenon of “anti-intellectualism” Hofstadter applies broad abstractions to social issues. He explains how applications of the abstracts presented by intellectuals can ultimately pose a threat to the social and political ambitions of certain and specific individuals. Because of this,

"Do Schools Kill Creativity?" TED. Feb. 2006. Lecture. This Lecture is a source that you provided us during class; it is a Scholarly source. Robinson discusses at a TED talk that school is killing our creativity. What he means by creativity is getting rid of art, dance, theater and music in our schools. It is apparently harder to find a job in those categories. Simply because not everyone has the creativity to be in one of those majors. And with creativity majors it takes practice. You can’t wake up one day and be a professional grade artist. It takes years and years to perfect that, and most people do not have the determination or patience to become a fine arts major. If you have a gift for a fine art, school makes you put it aside and focus on the other subjects. School forces you to declare a major that you can get a job in. Sometimes, most majors that you can get a job in requires little to no creativity. (“Do School Kill Creativity?”) Unfortunately, if you want to be a theatre major you are harshly looked upon because you aren’t going into something like engineering. Advisors quickly frown because they fear you won’t be able to find a job after all that hard work. Why do we not have many job openings for fine arts? I do not like it that they are trying to take away our creativity. But on the other hand I understand why. It truly is harder to get a job in the fine arts

“The cult of ignorance in the United States: Anti-intellectualism and the "dumbing down" of America” is a editorial about the decrease importance in intellectuals. Anti-intellectualism is defined as a person who believes that intellect and reason are less important. This editorial was written by Ray Williams.

From a young age I have had a love hate relationship with the fine arts. In school for as long as I can remember having to sing and dance in class has made me uncomfortable. I have never been a fan of having music class where I was expected to dance around in a circle or sing with my peers. These areas of art have never been something I have been interested in and am still not a fan of.

Do Schools Kill Creativity? TED is a non-profit organization that serves to present ideas that are worth spreading through strong rhetoric and persuasive appeals. In his eminent Ted Talk, Sir Ken Robinson discusses how public education systems today disregard creativity as an important component within the academic growth of students. Robinson focuses on the importance of creativity by creating a variety of arguments, which persuades the audience to take action upon this heavily ignored issue. His use of pathos, ethos, and logos makes an entertaining case for creating an education system that nurtures rather than undermines creativity. Throughout his speech, Robinson emphasizes pathos by his use of humor and discussion of personal

Schools that offer fine arts classes have lower dropout rates and raised attendance. The fine arts positively impact students of lower socioeconomic status more those of a higher  status. The fine arts have no barriers for race, religion, and culture when it comes to being involved in the arts. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to be involved (Katy Independent School District). Without the arts these students have no outlet for creative capabilities and no way to express their talents. Students who need this way of expressing themselves are overlooked and they are the ones who need it the most (Dickson). When viewing the participation of arts in the eyes of a ten-year old, “It cools kids down after all the other hard stuff they have to think about” (Arts and Smarts: Test Scores and Cognitive Development).

“People are forgetting that math is taught when a child is playing an instrument. English is taught when a child is reading or writing a script. Critical thinking is taught when a child is analyzing art” (Sabrina Holcomb). There is a significant correlation between participating in the arts, and success in school. Multiple studies have shown that there is a strong correlation between playing an instrument, and an increase in scores in mathematical subject. In these studies, it was also noted that students who were more creative were better problem solvers than students who were not as creative. All of these characteristics are sought after in the work force, meaning that the arts not only help during the school years, but in work and business as well (Ron Whitehorne). Also, it is important to note that “Low-income students who had arts-rich experiences in high schools were more than three times as likely to earn a B.A. as low-income students without those experiences. And the new study from the National Endowment reports that low-income high school students who earned little or no arts credits were five times more likely not to graduate from high school than low-income students who earned many arts credits” (Tyleah Hawkins). The arts have always been used as a form of expression and inspiration for people across the world, the arts have also been shown to improve high-risk student's outlook on their schooling. Research has shown that the arts help improve standardized test scores like the ACT or SAT (Tyleah Hawkins).People who support the arts believe that quality art education can help engage at-risk students in ways that other subjects such as math, science, or reading cannot. This is why it is believed that the arts are a key tool in the prevention of high-school dropout. There are many studies that point to a lower dropout rate for students who participate in

Schools with music programs have a higher estimated graduation rate estimated at 90.2% and a higher attendance rate around 93.9% (11 Facts about Music Education 7). In comparison, schools without music programs; however, average a72.9% graduation and an 84.9% attendance (11 Facts about Music Education 7). Additionally, students who study art are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement and three times more likely to be awarded for school attendance than those who do not (11 Facts about Arts in Education 2). Despite the benefits of having a music and art program, they are often the first things to go when a school starts budget cuts. Due to, schools today focusing on four main core values: Math, Science, English, and History. Consequently, by focusing on these four main core values schools are crushing the creativity of students. Ken Robinson successfully argues this viewpoint in his TED Talk, “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” By enthralling the audience with humorous rhetorical questions, creating connections with the audience through logical and relatable examples, and by keeping a fairly concerned tone throughout his speech to convey the urgency of the issue at hand Robinson effectively and subtlety attacks the modern world’s education system while at the same time informing his audience how schools are squandering the creativity of their students