The Urgency of the Arts in Addressing Student Isolation, Belonging, and Joyful Learning

Modern schools face constant challenges that require careful attention to bothacademic and emotional needs of their students.  In response, schools and districtsacross the country are increasingly turning to the arts to build social-emotionallearning capacity, increase resilience, boost student achievement, provide studentswith creative, active learning experiences, and deepen understanding of non-arts subjects.  The arts have emerged as a mechanism that brings together cognitive skills of problem solving, idea generation, flexibility, and joyful learning at a time of great need.  This article chronicles the experiences of teachers as they integrate the arts to create opportunities for student creativity, empathy, and increased student achievement in arts and non-arts subjects.  Recent studies on the capacity for the arts to address flow, interest, effort, and joyfulness are also shared.