how art and culture maike life meaningful

Published on: May 12, 2026 

From a very young age, we are taught to chase education as if it were a straight road to success: study hard, earn well, build a respectable life. Success, we’re told, can be measured. Through grades on a report card, a salary figure, a title next to your name. Over time, this idea becomes so familiar that we rarely stop to question it. But somewhere in that rush, a quieter question gets left behind. What is education really for, and what kind of life are we trying to create through it?

This question feels even more relevant today, when our attention is constantly pulled in different directions. In a hyper-digital world, staying focused on a single idea or moment has become difficult. Studies often cited by Microsoft suggest that human attention spans have dropped significantly over the past two decades. This has been shaped in part by the fast, instant nature of social media. In such an environment, anything that requires patience or depth such as art and culture, is often pushed aside as 'non-essential', something we can do without. But treating art that way doesn’t just simplify things, it quietly takes something away from us.

Science actually tells a very different story. Studies supported by the National Institutes of Health show that when we listen to music, our brain doesn’t just 'relax'. Instead it lights up. Areas linked to memory, emotion and decision-making all become active. Even parts like the orbitofrontal cortex, which help us process feelings and make sense of experiences, are involved. In other words, art isn’t just something we consume in the background. It engages us. It asks us to feel, to think, to connect. And maybe that’s exactly why it belongs at the heart of education, not at its edges.

Because art doesn’t just teach. It allows us to experience. Music, dance, literature, visual arts: they don’t just give us information; they help us live through ideas. Think about dance, for example. It’s easy to see it as just movement, but it builds discipline, awareness, balance. Not just physically but mentally and emotionally too. These are often brushed off as 'soft skills', but in reality, they shape how we respond to life itself.

Culture works in much the same way. It gives us a sense of belonging— a language, a history, a way of seeing ourselves. Without it, learning can start to feel distant, almost mechanical. You might know many things, yet still feel a kind of emptiness, a disconnect from your own identity. As Michael Madhusudan Dutt once reflected, we often run after what seems modern or advanced, while overlooking the richness of what we already have.

And this isn’t just an abstract idea. It shows up clearly in our education systems. Reports from organisations like the OECD suggest that when arts are meaningfully included in education, students tend to feel more engaged and emotionally balanced. Yet, in reality, arts are often the first to be pushed aside when academic pressure increases or budgets become tight. UNESCO has also pointed out that access to arts education is still uneven, especially in developing regions. So there’s a gap between what we say and what we do. We talk about creativity as if it matters, but we don’t always make space for it.

In Bangladesh, this becomes even more visible. The education system has gone through multiple changes in recent years, each trying to improve learning in its own way. But constant shifts can sometimes create confusion rather than clarity. And somewhere in that process, subjects like art and culture can lose consistent attention, even if they are still technically part of the curriculum.

But art was never meant to be just another subject squeezed into a routine. It carries stories, memories and identities. It shapes how we see the world and how we see ourselves within it.

At the end of it all, the issue is not very complicated. An education system that sidelines art might still produce efficient, capable people. But it may not always nurture thoughtful, aware human beings. And maybe that’s where we need to pause and rethink. If education is truly about preparing us for life, then it has to go beyond teaching us how to make a living. It should also help us understand what it means to live; to feel, to reflect, and to find meaning in the world around us.