Things In Life Are Free

Growing up, children are often told a simple, yet truthful quote. "The best things in life are free" originates in meaning that the most valuable things in life do not cost money, such as love, friendship, and happiness. Approaching it from a different viewpoint, somewhat ironically, free time can also be placed in this category of valuable things that cost nothing. The majority of society spends their spare time with some sort of entertainment. These sources of entertainment are used to relax, enjoy oneself, spend time with loved ones, or even just to pass time with something interesting. The underlying issue here is that parts of society are forgetting the significance of these entertainment sources. Adults take solace in their hobbies

The arts make discovery possible. Through experimentation with the arts, students are able to discover new ways to learn, ultimately adding enjoyment to each lesson (Heller). Art teachers have not exhausted them with the same class routine each day like the daily note-taking and homework given in other, mainly core, classes. Students are more likely, and more willing, to thrive in an environment that excites them than in one that bores them ("Creativity vs. Academic Study"). This is where self-expression begins to soar. For a particular example, in The Muses Go to School, Whoopi Goldberg wrote a chapter based on personal experience. I chose this chapter specifically due to the fact Goldberg focuses on her struggles growing up with dyslexia. Being dyslexic, Goldberg explains how expressing herself through artistic means was always something she tried first. It was a way of communication that actually felt comfortable because she took pride in her skills. Where reading took a long time, Goldberg could describe or draw her feelings effortlessly. She describes it as a way to present herself where she actually feels normal. Countless children experience a disability that halts them from feeling comfortable in their daily life. Inclusion is a big part of happiness. These children often find themselves feeling excluded because of their instinct to distance

Students are repetitively sitting through their core classes, doing their homework, taking their exams, and then forgetting everything they have learned over the weekend. This lack of information retention can be blamed on their lack of interest. The programs falling under the Fine Arts category allow children to discover their "individual capacity to feel and imagine" (Eisner). The journeys students take through music, painting, poetry, etc. are crucial, providing a place to learn what they are capable of within themselves in addition to the possibilities in the world around them (Eisner). In 2004, the Arts Endowment sponsored a summer institute organized by the Ohio Arts Council in Dayton. The purpose was to find ways to strengthen arts curricula by bringing educators together from around the state. One educator decided to share a story about a young man named Carlos, describing him as "the neighborhood thug who didn 't take shit from anyone." Basically, Carlos was a student whom teachers dreaded seeing each day. His first couple of years of high school consisted of suspensions, detentions, and the occasional classroom attendance. In his junior English class, though he read at a 5th-grade level and usually made jokes about the material instead of learning it, his commitment skyrocketed in response to a visiting theatre artist who organized skits from