The Sweet Role of Art in Literacy

In this reading I learned that it is difficult for some people to express their ideas in words. It was explained that it is good to give chances to students to draw their ideas or use art in communicating their thoughts. I think this is a great idea and unfortunately I don't think I had enough opportunities in my K-12 education to do so. I am so comfortable with writing now I would prefer writing a paper to describe an idea I have rather than draw. This pressure on being able to write lowers the expectations of being able to draw. It is rather seen as very talented if you are an artist and 'normal' or average if you can write a paper well. I wonder, why art hasn't been more apparent in classrooms?