Cincinnati Arts Offer Youth a Lifetime of Lessons

Greater Cincinnati has long been a haven for all things artistic. Through the funding of the Cincinnati Commission on the Arts (CCA) and the Cincinnati Arts Allocation Committee (CAAC), local artisans are supported in their pursuit of art excellence.  Over the years, the city has also provided her residents with a multitude of opportunities to enjoy the arts via outdoor concerts, theatre programs in the park, and various other arts or music programs and museums. 

By placing much emphasis on the arts, Cincinnati residents and their children need not look far to find a strong arts education program.  Professional music educators and performers such as Cathy Siebert of Kindermusik by Cathy Siebert, LLC, Rachel Kramer of Music Learning Center, Inc., and Kate Young of Music Makers, LLC, all offer rich music programs or tutorial sessions which develop children’s musical abilities while at the same time enabling children to cultivate self-esteem, character, and all-around success in their academic and social lives.  The arts is not simply a form of entertainment for children but rather a tool which aids in children’s development of skills and abilities that helps them in school, social life, and eventually the workplace.

Several studies regarding the benefits of exposure to the arts show that children who consistently draw, sing, act, or play an instrument, and are absorbed in other right-brained activities, constantly outperform their peers in the classroom as well as on standardized tests and college entrance exams.  The arts open up a whole new world of learning for children where skills such as reasoning, analysis, spatial-temporal, recall, and other higher-order cognitive skills are actively engaged in order to facilitate students’ understanding and application of academic concepts that are introduced in school.             

Students who have access to arts education develop mature, healthy concepts of themselves as they constantly perform in front of others or create artistic pieces for their peers to view.  Siebert notes that children who learn to play an instrument develop positive self-esteem for they “learn poise, composure” and have the “confidence to perform” in front of others.  Young suggests that confidence is instilled in children who participate in the arts for they are able to embrace mistakes through the constant “repetition” that is required in learning a “specific skill.”  By accepting their mistakes, students develop positive self-esteem and are motivated to press onward mastering a skill.