The Arts Fund
for Child Health and Development

Despite the wealth of positive benefits, many arts programs in schools across the nation have experienced devastating cutbacks that have all but eliminated them from the traditional academic curriculum. The Arts Fund for Child Health and Development is to enable children with an interest and inclination toward the arts to enroll in training to nurture and develop their skills and interests. Developmental research [1 - 4] repeatedly documents what many in the arts have known to be true for years: participation in arts programs like those at The Theatre Lab can have a powerful, positive impact on the social and emotional development of children.  For instance, a study conducted jointly by research groups at Wake Forest University and the University of Illinois [3] discovered many of the teens participating in theatre programs often reported that through their participation they developed a greater sense of responsibility to themselves and their peer group.  Moreover, most in the theatre program became aware of their potential in leadership roles and how their particular strengths contributed uniquely to the project which, in turn, generated greater motivation and involvement.  Additional research consistently highlights the positive impact on self-esteem, social skills, self-discipline, community awareness, teamwork, and creative self-expression, overall motivation (which translates to academic performance) and cognitive development (i.e., increased attention, memory and language development. Just thinking about the skills involved in learning the lines or a story for a play may give you some idea of the work involved). 

Building on the knowledge established within developmental research, the Arts Fund for Child Health and Development is intended to provide kids with programming at The Theatre Lab so they have as many opportunities to find out what they're good at as soon as possible. Some children may find they are not academically inclined in the traditional sense, for instance, but discover a talent in music, dance or drama. In many ways projects kids are engaged in at The Theatre Lab can parallel and reflect everyday life as they are encouraged to discover what it means to be tested, to try out (audition), and to experience frustration and “failures.” These experiences in-turn stimulate learning to cope, stretch, adapt, grow and overcome obstacles (i.e., not take "no" for an answer) early on; to pursue their passions and achieve their dreams. In the interim, students are also challenged to better define and come to know what their strengths are and what gets them excited in life.

It is the aim of this scholarship program, therefore, to create opportunities for child involvement in the arts, not so much to create more artists, although that certainly is one benefit, but to create more complete human beings who are able to be successful in a variety of interests and pursuits throughout their lives.

--Brian Razzino, Ph.D.

 

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1) Jarrett, R., Sullivan, P., & Watkins, N. (2005). Developing social capital through participation in organized youth programs: Qualitative insights from three programs. Journal of Community Psychology, 33, 41-55.

2) Mahoney, J. L., Larson, R., Eccles, J., & Lord, H. (2005). Organized activities as developmental contexts for children and adolescents. In J. Mahoney, R. Larson, & J. Eccles (Eds.), organized activities as contexts of development (pp. 3-22). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

3) Wood, J., Larson, R.W., & Brown, J.R. (2008). How Adolescents Come to See Themselves as More Responsible Through Participation in Youth Programs, Child Development, Accepted for Publication.

4) Watkins, N., Larson, R., & Sullivan, P. (2007). Learning to bridge difference: Community youth programs as contexts for developing multicultural competencies. American Behavioral Scientist, 51, 380-402.