Are you considering enrolling your child in a performing arts programme, like speech and drama or singing lessons? You may be wondering if it is the right decision for them. Here is some information to help you decide if a performing arts education is the right choice for your child.
There are many reasons parents choose to enrol their children in performing arts classes, but one of the most common reasons is that they believe it will complement their child’s education. But what does that mean exactly? And is it really worth enrolling your child in a performing arts program? Let’s take a closer look at why so many parents are opting for this type of education and whether or not it can benefit their children.
How Can The Performing Arts Benefit My Child’s Academic Performance
Many studies have shown that children who sing, dance, act and play their little hearts out are four times more likely to be recognised for academic achievement when compared to their non-performing peers. This can be attributed to their enhanced cognitive abilities and improved social development skills. But, the benefits do not end there – getting up on stage can also enrich your child’s life in unexpected ways.
Improved Creative Collaboration
Through the engagement of music and the performing arts, students are given many opportunities to express themselves freely and creatively, collaborate with their peers and most of all, communicate and think critically. These skills play an important role in their academic performance regarding other subjects, class activities and their overall personality development.
Performing arts programmes for children like speech and drama, acting classes or even singing lessons encourage experimentation as well as lateral thinking whenever they go through an occasional failure. Every experience in the classroom, music studio, or theatre teaches students to act independently and use their bodies for creative expression. All of these, in turn, allow them to stretch or surpass the boundaries of traditional education.
Better Self-Confidence And Presentation Skills
When enrolled in a performing arts class, children are also given the opportunity to learn effective communications skills that will allow them to connect with others on both an intellectual and emotional level. For example, MindChamps Académie of Stars’ Speech & Drama programme is not just about imparting essential skills for your child to pursue their passion for acting. Instead, it also teaches them the importance of communication, hones their interpretive skills and improves their interpersonal skills that are transferable to the school or workplace setting.
Furthermore, the performing arts can encourage your child to explore their emotions and expand their imagination whilst developing their unique voice. For instance, every music, acting or speech and drama class is different, and as such, it engages your child’s brain, body as well as emotions differently so that they can find joy in self-expression.
Development Of Cultural Awareness And Appreciation
Performing arts also help students to learn crucial skills like understanding diverse points of view – encouraging them to show empathy and compassion for others. Embodying a certain character during their acting classes, portraying emotions with words during a speech and drama lesson, or singing a song illustrates how performing arts can each accomplish this differently.
In addition, by learning how to appreciate and engage in music, dance and drama from different cultures as well as communities, your child has a better chance of developing into a true global citizen. Hence, when they get older, they may be able to take on active roles in their community to work with others to create a more sustainable world for everyone.
Performing Arts Help Your Child See The World In A Whole New Way
At the end of the day, the transferable skills that your child picks up from their performing arts class may not be nearly as important as the experience of performing in itself. Performing arts offer children awareness about themselves and creative skills they’d never learn in school.
For example, even though your child may never be able to apply the improvisation skills she learned in her acting class to a math equation, being a part of the performance process has exposed them to a new way of thinking and doing. As such, they may be able to think out of the box and come up with new ways of solving problem sums. And, that alone is a success that they should be proud of.
MindChamps Académie of Stars offers a broad range of performing arts programmes like acting classes, musical theatre, singing lessons and speech and drama for children of different ages. Book an appointment to learn more about what we do and how each of our programmes can help complement your child’s academic journey.