Is Dance as Important as Math?

Before a lecture, Sir Ken Robinson tweeted out the title, "Why Dance is as Important as Math in Education." He was met with some support, but also quite a bit of push back. One tweet simply said, "Ken, dance is not as important as math." Here’s how he explained his rather controversial lecture subject: "I'm not arguing against mathematics — it’s an indispensable part of the great creative adventure of the human mind…Instead, this is an argument for equity in educating the whole child. I’m talking about the equal importance of dance with the other arts, languages, mathematics, sciences and the humanities in the general education of every child.

Some people have long understood that dance is an essential part of life and education. In Dance Education around the World: Perspectives on Dance, Young People and Change, researchers Charlotte Svendler Nielsen and Stephanie Burridge bring together recent studies of the value of dance in all kinds of settings: from Finland to South Africa, from Ghana to Taiwan, from New Zealand to America. The low status of dance in schools is derived in part from the high status of conventional academic work, which associates intelligence mainly with verbal and mathematical reasoning. The studies collected by Nielsen and Burridge explore how a deeper understanding of dance challenges standard conceptions of intelligence and achievement and show the transformative power of movement for people of all ages and backgrounds. Dance can help restore joy and stability in troubled lives and ease the tensions in schools disrupted by violence and bullying."

Source: “Why dance is just as important as math in school,” by Sir Ken Robinson, March 21, 2018, IDEAS.TED.COM

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