Arts Intranet

In April at the Arts Education Partnership National Forum, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stated that “the arts can no longer be treated as a frill.” Of course we in the arts community know that art education cultivates critical thinking and analysis skills. But business leaders are also realizing how urgent the need for increased arts education in our schools has become.

During “Arts Education and the Innovative Workforce,” our recent webinar in partnership with The Conference Board, telecom entrepreneur and Qualcomm co-founder Harvey White reinforced Duncan’s statement by stressing that if America’s workforce is to remain competitive on a global level, art education is indeed not a frill but an economic necessity. White quoted former Secretary of Education Richard Riley, who stated that in the future, businesses will seek out employees that can “solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.”  The technical skills that students learn through STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) subjects are certainly necessary, and even align with arts education—after all the objective of engineering is to creatively solve problems using science and math. However, STEM alone cannot provide all of the critical analysis and creative problem solving skills that future business leaders will require to succeed in the global economy.

First of all, my answer to the question is a definite “NO,” and while I do think my history degree and music background may be part of the reason I didn’t go into business, I do think arts education is vital for producing a creative and competitive workforce.  But today, I read an article on TheAtlantic.com entitled “Liberal Arts and the Bottom Line” where, apparently, following such disasters as the mortgage-backed securities blunder on Wall Street and the recent and ongoing BP oil spill, some business experts are suggesting that (gasp!) there are other things that need to be taken into account (employee quality of life, environmental impact, community health, etc.) other than the bottom line and that a business education should reflect that.  Their proposed solution: including more liberal arts in the curriculum of business students.  That’s right, business experts are suggesting that business curricula include the arts because it will lead to a more well-rounded, and, if you can believe it, more ethical business executive.   From the article:

"On one level, these changes are an effort to assuage society's concerns about bloodthirsty and uncaring business executives bringing down economies or risking the destruction of an entire coastline in the name of profit. But on another level, they reflect a growing belief that the kind of complex, critical thinking and ability to look at problems in larger contexts and from multiple points of view that a liberal arts education instills (at least in theory) actually leads to better decision-making skills in business executives."

Sounds reasonable (and slightly encouraging) to me.  But the author goes on to tell what she calls a “cautionary tale” about creating a more well-rounded business exec.  In 1952, Bell Telephone of Pennsylvania offered a 10-month immersion course in the Humanities and Liberal Arts for up-and-coming Bell managers where these managers read the classics, listened to symphonies, toured art museums, and the like.  The result: 

Last month’s Americans for the Arts Half-Century Summit in Baltimore, MD, was a rousing success on many fronts. Despite economic challenges, a thousand attendees joined us for several days of networking, collaborating, and learning.

In honor of the organization’s 50th anniversary year, this year’s annual convention featured visionary panel sessions, providing the field with an opportunity to listen to, and engage with, leaders in their respective fields to discuss the future. The arts education visionary panel was moderated by Chris Tebben, executive director of Grantmakers for Education, and featured Eric Booth (teaching artist/consultant), Jillian Darwish (vice president of organizational learning and innovation at KnowledgeWorks Foundation), Carrie Fitzsimmons (international director for strategy at ArtScience Labs), and James Shelton (assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement at the U.S. Department of Education).

The discussion on the current outlook and future of arts education was lively and engaging, but it was Mr. Shelton who sparked concern from many in the audience. Among his remarks, Mr. Shelton described the collection of research supporting arts education as, “loose” and, in another instance, he appeared to suggest that future arts education policy efforts should be more focused on out-of-school activities.

As hosts of the panel, we quickly found out that news of his remarks were spreading around the country as attendees shared the comments with their colleagues, who then shared them with others, etc.

After returning to D.C., Americans for the Arts Director of Federal Affairs Narric Rome sent a letter to Mr. Shelton, providing him the opportunity to publicly clarify what he meant, and reassure the arts education community that the department’s effort to strengthen arts education through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and elsewhere, remained a priority.

Mr. Shelton responded with a detailed letter clarifying those comments and reiterating the Department of Education’s support for arts education.

Summer school is in full swing - and I wonder how many kids are being encouraged to use their imaginations as a part of their learning. My daughter was "promoted" from fifth grade this June and a speech made by the fifth-grade student association president, Zane, was recited at the promotion ceremony. All 90 or so fifth graders dressed their best, boys in actual shoes that for kids in southern California are quite an anomaly (flip flops and sneakers are daily wear) as well as their over-sized jackets on their frames that remain small especially compared to the girls, many of whom tower over the boys and who look very much like developing teenagers.

The two weeks prior to their promotion, boys and girls were separated from each other for a course in "human growth and development." I got a phone call during the session that my daughter had a stomach ache. As it turns out, my daughter was not alone: "Liana did complain today of an upset stomach," wrote her teacher in an e-mail. "However, it seems to be going around right now. It became an 'epidemic' during Human Growth and Development when all the girls had to learn about the boy parts. It was actually quite comical. That might have had a little to do with her extra nausea at the end of the day. I hope she is feeling better."

We are all advocates of the arts.  If you are in the profession in any way – educator, administrator, creator, or all of the above – you are, by nature, an arts advocate.  And all of us agree that one of the key points in arts advocacy is making arts education a priority.  But did you know that it’s not just a priority, but according to the federal government, it’s a part of the core curriculum?

In the session “Beyond Liking It: Prioritizing Arts Education,” Laurie Lock and Lynn Tuttle talked about the things that can do as arts education advocates to ensure the future of arts programs in our school, whether we are addressing continuing funding in difficult times or trying to establish funding for new programs.  Some thoughts from the session:

By Heather Noonan, Vice President for Advocacy for the League of American Orchestras and Co-Chair of the ad-hoc National Arts Education Policy Working Group

How will the next version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) support access to the arts as part of a well-rounded education for every child? This month the Administration, Congress, and arts education advocates have advanced the conversation. Now is a critical time for arts advocates to engage in the real heart of the debate.

Speaking before the national Arts Education Partnership forum on April 9, US. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan delivered his view, declaring that the arts “can no longer be treated as a frill,” and reported that, during his national listening tour, “almost everywhere I went, I heard people express concern that the curriculum has narrowed, especially in schools that serve disproportionate numbers of disadvantaged students.”

The March 13 Obama Administration blueprint for re-writing ESEA lays out the Department’s view on federal education policy. Three areas of the blueprint emerged in Duncan’s remarks:

• Proposals would allow states to incorporate assessments of subjects beyond English, language arts and math in their accountability systems.
• The current Arts in Education funding program would be merged with other funding areas so that districts, states, and non-profits would apply for competitive grants to support the arts among other eligible non-tested core academic subjects of learning.
• New resources for afterschool and extended day learning could open the door for support for arts education.
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Merryl Goldberg

There is nothing like wonderful relationships to make life interesting, satisfying, challenging, and rewarding.  Our lives are filled with relationships from those we have with family, to friends, to partners, spouses, and even to those that are more passing, such as the relationship we have with the woman in the donut shop we visit every Saturday morning, or with the mail person, or with the stranger in the airport who doesn’t speak the same language, but nods in complete understanding as you wearily try to carry your bag, computer, and child through the crowded door to the check-in.  Our lives are filled with such relationships.

I was reminded of the importance of relationships this week as I attended my local High School’s performance of Footloose.  This is the same high school I wrote about last  year after they put on a production of Sweeney Todd.  This year’s performance was Footloose.  My high school neighbor, Gabe, a junior was the assistant stage manager, and we attended with his family and entourage on closing night.  Though I enjoyed the performance, what impressed me more was what happened after the performance.

Zack Hayhurst

In my last post, I ended with some questions about the academic field of arts management and how it should be studied. This past fall, I wrote a response to a paper that addresses this very same question.  The title of the original paper is Arts Administration: Field of Dreams by Charles M. Dorn. This paper, written in 1992, focuses on why the field of arts management lacks the seriousness afforded to other more established fields of study, and the steps that researchers in the field can take to change these perceptions. You can read my full response paper here.

The main idea of Dorn's paper is that the field of arts administration has yet to develop a shared set of standards and beliefs that would afford it the respectful status it so desires within the academic community. Part of why Dorn thinks there is little consensus on theories and terminology within the arts administration community is due to the diverse academic backgrounds of those who comprise the field.

David Flatley

Because so many of us need to raise a significant portion of our budget through grants to deliver arts education programming, we have the increasingly challenging task of articulating the “why” of this work to cash strapped funders. I’d suggest that it’s getting old to simply speak about “empowering” youth, and developing “critical thinking skills.”

Those are wonderful things, of course…objectives we all value and share; but as resources become more scarce, and we are driven to collaborate and build partnerships even more in order to maximize our leveraged and shared assets. We need to be more rigorous in our approach to articulating our impact. 

So I argue that for our own sake, if nothing else, let’s consider whether our continued use of phrases such as “Higher Order Thinking Skills,” “Critical Thinking Skills,” or “21st Century Learning Skills” might not become clichés, or worse, perhaps…that they might start to lose their significance. Do we all know what these terms mean exactly? And do we mean the same things when we use them?  I believe we start to do ourselves a disservice if we do not more explicitly articulate what these things look like, and how the arts make a difference.

Victoria Plettner-Saunders

I want to follow up on my last entry about the Local Advocacy Networks (LAN) that were started in San Diego County this spring with support from the California Alliance for Arts Education (CAAE). As you might recall four LANs (Escondido, San Diego, Vista, and South Bay) were launched in April and May and so far two have held their first follow up meetings.

At each of these meetings approximately 10 or more people gathered to review the brainstormed ideas from the breakfast launch event, discuss their vision for arts education in their district, and identify who else should be at the table. Each one identified at least three action steps they could take over the next year.

The Escondido LAN reported that they want to 1) start a blog or Facebook page to help people stay connected; 2) collaborate with their local Escondido Arts Partnership which is building an open-access web database to connect artists in north San Diego county with the schools; and 3) look into developing a citywide arts fair, an idea from the breakfast that met with considerable enthusiasm.

Thank you for taking the time to visit, read, and comment on the blog posts throughout our Arts Education Blog Salon this week.

Thanks to the hard work of all of our bloggers, I feel like visitors had the opportunity to learn more about the various aspects of arts education – from advocacy to standards – that many of us work with on a daily basis, and engage the authors via thoughtful comments and emails.

Although the Salon is over, we will continue to add new blogs on arts education throughout the rest of the year, and I am truly looking forward to the next time around.

Rachel Evans

Do you know any pre-service arts educators? Those starting or finishing the student-teaching experience? Please deliver this letter to their inbox. Comments to this blog, especially additional suggestions for motivations and action steps for the Pre-Service Arts Educator, are encouraged. Thank you! 

Dear Pre-Service Arts Educators, 

Congratulations! You’ve stepped forward as the bravest of souls willing to self-identify your passion for an art form and your commitment to the education of young people.  I hope that your university is working diligently to aid you in becoming equally effective as an artist and as an educator, with plenty of wise mentoring as you merge the two into one mind, one body, one professional. 

It’s imperative that you know there is a meaningful movement afoot to create Common Core State Standards for the Arts; it’s on the event horizon.  See recent Arts Education Blog Salon entries by Lynn Tuttle and John Abodeely. 

Did you roll your eyes at the thought of new standards? I thought you might have.  

So what follows is a list of reasons why you, and you specifically, should care about the creation of arts standards to be adopted by as many states in the country as possible.

photo Michael Hevesy

It is pretty amazing to think on the impact art has had on society and culture since the beginning of recorded history. It's one of the largest and most difficult to measure. One of my favorite minds, John David Garcia, defined it this way, "'Beauty' is the conscious perception of objective truth being communicated to our unconscious." (Introduction, Creative Transformation, http://www.see.org/garcia/e-ct-dex.htm)

So beauty, let's call it "art" in this case, is valuable based on the impact an object can have on the subconscious of the viewer. We look at something and stop for a moment and say, "Wow! That really moves me."

Two different people can look at the very same thing and have wildly divergent descriptions of that experience. Before recorded history, art was magical. Shamans drew possible futures onto cave walls; fertility, the hunt, prosperity, evoking the life they wanted for their communities.

Joan Weber

My friend Larry used to be the coordinator of fine arts for an urban school district. There was no other staff in the office. He was the fine arts division for 85,000 students. As happens, he missed the connection with students that isn’t afforded regularly to central administration.

So, he went back into a school and became a vice principal, choosing a school that was struggling with all indicators: test scores, enrollment, school climate, suspensions, and so on.

Larry went to this school specifically because the system decided to transform the school through the arts. Beginning this fall, he will be the artistic director for the city’s first middle school for the arts.

The building is one of the most historic schools in the city. Great city leaders came from this school. The city talks of the “glory days” that once reigned when the arts were honored and students succeeded and the school system believes that the school will be saved through the arts.

Donna Collins

Congratulations to the Tri-M Honor Society Chapter 2252 at Midview High School in Grafton, OH. As the keynote speaker for this year’s induction ceremony I had the opportunity to meet more than forty fabulous students who excel at music, academics, and leadership. 

Justin, the chapter’s president was an outstanding emcee for the evening and chapter advisor and professional music educator Lisa Manning provided a very distinguished event built on tradition and ceremony.

During the course of the evening students performed vocal and instrumental works of art. There were solos, ensembles, and duets. The music was beautiful, varied, and worthy of Tri-M honors. Parents, grandparents, and friends attended the induction and were so proud of the students’ accomplishments. Beyond the students’ musical talents was the recognition of their community service work. Also noted was the Chapter’s honor in being named as Ohio’s Tri-M Chapter of the year for 2009.

The students, without exception, were talented and also appreciative of their peers’ musical talents and leadership. Thirteen new inductees were honored and nearly thirty additional students received first, second, and third year honors.

As a new member of the Arts Education Council at Americans for the Arts, I quickly learned the “three pillars” of our platform this spring as we prepared for the Arts Education Preconference in June. The one that I’ve restated many times in the last month is “a movement from valuing arts education to prioritizing arts learning within the education system(s) and communities.”

I thought about it this morning as I read a quarter page ad in section A of the San Diego Union Tribune. The ad was run by a local private school and its headline is “It’s a creative day”. The text under a picture of a smart (as evidenced by the square glasses), kind of nerdy looking kid working on a clay pot says:

“Every week, elementary school students at Country Day receive instruction in the arts. Throughout the school year, they get to explore music, drama, dance, movement, and a range of visual arts. An essential part of our mission is to create well-rounded students – as comfortable with the violin and paintbrush as they are with reading and math.” It goes on to tell you how to get more information about their mission, educational philosophy, and curriculum.