This opinion article, authored by Marta Mendes, addresses the crisis in arts education and what it reveals about the current state of education in general. The author argues that arts schools preserve formative conditions that the school system as a whole is progressively losing.
Mendes warns about the danger of tearing out teaching from the arts, considering that this would be equivalent to eliminating one of the few places where valuable educational practices still resist. Her analysis suggests that the traditional educational system has been losing essential formative elements.
The article presents a critical perspective on the direction education has been taking, positioning arts schools as spaces that keep alive a way of teaching and learning that is on the verge of extinction in other educational contexts.
The author uses her opinion to reflect on the value of arts education not merely as an isolated subject, but as a guardian of methodologies and formative values that should be present throughout the entire educational system.
