1. Diminishing Returns:
The Call to Revive the Arts in the Wake of No Child Left Behind
In 2001, President George W. Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act, a
controversial, albeit altruistic, attempt to invigorate test scores of American children. Although
the law recognized humanities education as core curriculum in public primary and secondary
schools, emphasis on math, reading, and standardized testing diminished the relative importance
of art, music, and theater education. The regrettable effect was a precipitous diminution in
artistic programs in public schools throughout the country.
Artistic programs in public schools quickly became the scapegoat when school districts
faced budget cuts. The succeeding years saw such a sharp decline in humanities programs in
public schools that many urban and rural schools saw their arts departments abolished entirely.
Many students go to college having never experienced an art, music, or theater class in their
entire educational career.
Why are humanities so important in the full spectrum of a child’s education? The
National Education Association offers extensive data providing incontrovertible proof that
humanities education acts as a supplemental, ancillary component to core classes such as math,
science, and English. For example, research indicates that exposure to structured artistic
activities are beneficial in numerous ways: musical activities during primary and secondary
school years greatly enhances students’ ability to perform mathematical, reasoning, and strategy
problems; visual art activities enhance the ability to express feelings and participate in discourse;
theater and drama courses bolster students’ speaking ability and confidence in conversation.
All of these benefits greatly enhance students’ capacity to interact with the world around
them and find gainful, fulfilling employment. Humanities classes inspire strong character and

2. values in students, enhancing the viability of the other skills and knowledge learned in school.
They foster compassion, understanding, and a more diverse view of the world and other cultures.
It is difficult to live successfully in civil society without these integral aspects of the human
experience.
Harvard University’s president has seen the effect of dwindling humanities education as
her students prepare to face the job market, and her experience highlights the dysfunction of the
uncompromising requirements of NCLB. In an article in Harvard Magazine, Dr. Drew Faust
laments the tunnel vision she witnesses on a daily basis from students: “…at Harvard and
elsewhere—students worry aloud about the repercussions of following their interest in art or
linguistics or any of the other humanities disciplines . . . It seems that every few weeks another
column or report comments on bleak job prospects for recent graduates who did not major in
something “useful.” Her concerns shed light on the real-world effects of a primary education
lacking artistic outlets.
Calls for a return to a rich, classical education system have not gone unheeded. As
recently as December 2015, legislative efforts to reverse some of the calamitous effects of the No
Child Left Behind Act inspire some hopeful foresight into the future of humanities programs in
public schools. A comprehensive revision of the bill delegates more responsibility to the states
and will ostensibly precipitate a renewed interest in fundamental programming that combines
traditional core classes with humanities programs, inextricable components of vibrant,
encompassing scholarship.

3. WORKS CITED
Faust, Drew. "See, Compare, Reason, Decide." Harvard Mag. Harvard Univ., Mar-Apr. 2014.
Web. 4 December 2015.
Holcomb, Sabrina. “State of the Arts.” NEA Today Magazine. National Education Assoc., 17
Jan. 2007. Web. 4 December 2015.