This is it: the moment you along with everyone else in your orchestra family have been waiting and preparing for. Your fabulous conductor steps on top of the pedestal, and all previous, excited buzzing ceases. With a quick smirk and gleam of the eye, his baton is raised, the orchestra breathes as one, and the music begins. You hear close to flawless music, and suddenly realize it isn’t a recording you are listening to. You’re the one making the music. At that moment, you and your violin become one: you understand it and it understands you. When the concert is over and everyone is receiving well-earned congratulations, you ponder, “What on earth is more important than the blissful pride obtained through the arts?”.

Any student previously or currently involved in the public school system will have a stand on the importance of arts or sports in education. Some may say sports hold the title of being more prominent in the school system, while others may disagree. Although it appears that a vast majority of students prefer team sports such as football or basketball, it is actually true that the arts should be considered one of the focal points of education. Many factors contribute to why the arts should be more important in the curriculum than sports, ranging from funding to the betterment of the individual's future.

    Not only will art allow students to explore a vast, new, unimaginable world now, it will also give them vital tools to be successful in the future. Pham, an editor from Mira Mesa High School stated “[art] enables students to understand themselves better, communicate difficult ideas and explore feelings and emotions about their [future] profession” . When students are introduced to the world of art early on they learn how to, essentially, become successful in life. Art embodies all aspects of education (Math and English included) which allow students to become stronger in their school studies. Conversely, sports seem to be strict and rule-ridden, allowing little to no leisure time to get homework done. Most people would disagree with this statement by saying ”manage your time more efficiently”, but the fact of the matter is: sports practice takes a long time. Its hard to manage a schedule around a force dictated by your coaches. On the rare occasions where a student does get their work done, it seems they had to stay up all night to get their work accomplished. The arts aren’t like this: they give students the opportunity of self expression and the leniency of accomplishing work, as the artist is able to control their own schedule. Even so, athletics does deserve some form of credibility
   

It is true that sports do come with their share of perks. Being an athlete looks fantastic on a college application, and it also allows you to become healthy and fit.  Sports allow you to evolve and (hopefully) learn how to efficiently manage your time, while learning valuable teamwork traits.   However, the same goes with the arts: the more extra curricular activities, the better.

In the aspects of the school system itself, it seems more money goes into the sports programs than the arts. The athletic department must cover the cost of uniforms, stadiums, coach salaries, etc., while the arts isn't in need of as much funding. Yes, it needs to pay for costumes and instruments, but all in all, not near as much money is needed in the art program. Both programs undergo fundraisers to lower costs, yet athletics still take up much of the money.  David Barney, a Physical Educator, reveals that it is the school board which controls athletic funding, and the school itself pays for the arts. If this arts vs sports issue needs to reach any board, it is the school district, so that it can help decide whether or not sports are worth the money they consume. Overall, the arts are well worth the funding.

In the midst of all this, the arts still prevail in being the most important for future success. As educator Davies suggests, “trainee professionals need to experience arts directly in order to be confident enough to use arts in their practice” (Jarvis/Gouthro, Professional Coordinators). Not many professions ‘require’ past athletic exposure in order to efficiently perform their job, unless they are entering a professional league sport. Otherwise, the arts appear to be near a necessity to pursue and be efficient in many careers. In addition, it is exemplified that “Art helps construct dominant discourses about professions”(Jarvis/Gouthro). Having at least an elementary art basis will positively assist you in soaring in your career, because the arts allow you to learn how to be creative and use it to your own advantage. If the school systems really are concerned and care about their students’ futures, then they should most definitely focus on the arts in education. If they do so, it is almost guaranteed future generations will soar in their careers.

    All in all, arts need to be the center of non-core class education. Yes, school districts have made it mandatory for graduating seniors to obtain one year of an art credit, like here in Washoe County, but that is simply not enough. Students should want to enter the area of the arts, just as they want to become a star athlete. They should have the determination to be in the arts so that they can not only enhance themselves now, but to further strengthen their future.  Now is the time for the arts to finally prevail over sports in the educational curriculum, and the students must be the ones to show their recognition.  The arts simply create a much bigger and enhanced pathway to success than sports do, therefore, arts should become the primary focus of education, so that the future of every student can be as bright as possible.

    So, it systematically comes down to this: Which is more important, the arts or sports? A simple question comes with a simple answer, and that answer lies in the arts.  Once you have discovered that magnificent feeling of accomplishment, like playing your violin stunningly while being aided by your fellow orchestra, you will never go back.  You will look into the future, excitedly awaiting your next big performance, and rehearse and become even more prepared for the next time.  Perfection comes with repetitive practice, and greatness comes with willing rehearsal, which is exactly what you get in the arts. And, if it were solely up to me, I would choose brilliance over perfection any day.

Works Cited
Barney, David, et al. "Identifying High School Physical Education Physical Activity Patterns
After High School." Physical Educator 72.2 (2015): 278-293. Academic Search Main Edition. Web. 13 May 2015.

JARVIS, CHRISTINE, and PATRICIA GOUTHRO. "The Role Of The Arts In Professional
Education: Surveying The Field." Studies In The Education Of Adults 47.1 (2015): 64-80. Academic Search Main Edition. Web. 21 May 2015.

Pham, Kate S. "Unfair Funding? Arts vs. Athletics." The Marquee :. Mira Mesa High School, 21
Oct. 2013. Web. 21 May 2015