Temecula Student Implores State Lawmakers: Please Fund The Arts

The following letter to Governor Jerry Brown was penned by 16-year-old Sarah Armendariz, a sophomore at Chaparral High in Temecula. She is also sending the letter to other lawmakers, trying to get her voice heard on the importance of art education in high schools. She claims she has received "vague" responses.

Dear Governor Jerry Brown,

My name is Sarah Armendariz; I am a sixteen year old junior at Chaparral High School in Temecula, California, home of athletic and academic fitness... but not the arts. My goal in this letter to you is to capture your attention on this immediate issue. While millions of California tax dollars fund athletic and academic necessities, there is hardly an emphasis on art education in the golden state’s schools. This includes music, digital art, painting, photography, etc. I, myself, am a California taxpayer. Whenever I purchase an item, I pay California sales tax on it. It’s a common misconception that only adults pay taxes and that they are the only ones with necessary voices to be heard. But I am here to inform you that as the voice of the young generation and the upcoming flood of federal taxpayers, it is just as important for schools to showcase athletic talent as it is to broadcast the love for art every single student has within them.                       

The common perception with the arts is that it only serves an emotional purpose, nothing “tangible” and “beneficial” for life after secondary schooling. This way of thinking is extremely biased and wrong. In an article on edutopia.org, a research was conducted to study the connection between the benefit of art education and the development of a child’s mind, which proved that involvement in the arts improves literacy, math, verbal skills... must I go on? Sports do not provide the same long-term benefits, other than physical wellness and moderate teamwork skills. In an article published in “Nature” journal, studies show that when the brain is revealed to music or involvement in visual art, it releases dopamine- a chemical that keeps a human at a moderate to low stress level and risk of heart attack. With the constant bombardment of the rigorous classes and curriculum California offers and the mounting of stress put on the younger generation to excel high enough to get into an Ivy League, exposure to the arts and the calmness it brings can provide that necessary balance.

President Barack Obama once said in one of his captivating speeches “the future belongs to young people with an education and the imagination to create”. Give us the essentials to create that vivid imagination that will allow us to excel in school and become stable and successful taxpayers. Not only that Governor Brown, but I guarantee you that with the influence of art education in California schools, young adults today will be the ones who hold the creativity to make advances in technology, medicine, and other fields. We will not only be taxpayers, but the generation that has the imagination and drive to ensure the same educational standards for our children and so on. Invest in us and we will invest in you.

Sincerely,
Sarah Armendariz