What's so special about the education of the arts?

         I did ballet for 6 years, I loved ballet, it was my passion and pretty much my life. I have discovered that I have a love for art as well, I have always had an interest in art ,but now I know that I really enjoy it. I was homeschooled 5th-7th grade and in that time I had no art I learned of famous people's paintings but I did not do art. The years that I was not homeschooled, I was at a private school that did have an art class that was required and I loved it. Since I have seen both sides of the story, I can honestly say that having the arts in a child's education is a very important key to a child's educational experience.