arts & business council

MetLife Foundation National Arts Forums Series

Greater Hartford Arts Council
Hartford, Connecticut

Community Conversations: The State of Arts Education in Greater Hartford
03/22/2007

Moderator: Kenneth Kahn, Executive Director, Greater Hartford Arts Council

Panelists:

• Jonathan Gillman, Chair, Theatre Department, Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts
• Bonnie Koba, Arts in Education Program Associate, CT Commission on Culture & Tourism
• Tim LeBeau, Vice President, Consumer Tools Division, The Stanley Works
• Dr. Scott Schuler, Arts Consultant, Connecticut State Department of Education
• Dr. Diane Ullman, Superintendent of Schools, Simsbury, CT

More and more research points toward the importance of arts education in creating a viable future workforce, yet funding trends tend to contradict this research. This forum examined the state of arts education throughout Greater Hartford’s schools, and the impact on the future workforce. Invited panelists included representatives from the state, a local suburban school district, Hartford’s arts magnet school, and a representative from the business world. The discussion was lead by Greater Hartford Arts Council Executive Director, Kenneth Kahn.

Kahn began by asking for the State of Connecticut’s definition of arts education. Dr. Schuler explained that, according to the State’s Position Statement on Arts Education, students are to receive instruction in the following areas: visual arts, music, dance, theater, and media arts (video/film). Within each of these disciplines, students are required to learn how to create new art, perform existing art with interest and understanding, and how to approach and respect the art of others. But is it happening?

With the ramifications of the No Child Left Behind Act and recent results on mandated standardized tests, solutions for a better education system need to be discovered in order to develop a generation of well-rounded, well-educated citizens. With standardized tests serving as the focal point of a school system's rating, too much time is spent on preparing for the tests and not enough is spent on the process of learning.  Since there is no subjective way to grade an art project, it can’t be standardized, and the importance of an arts education becomes diminished.

There is a perception that an arts education is a luxury. This is evident in the distinct racial and class-based separations between school districts which forces people to focus their resources on more traditional platforms of education. For example, one of the biggest challenges facing education in Connecticut currently is the resource gap between the city and suburban schools.

The Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, a magnet school for high school students, is attempting to address the need for arts education in the inner city. Jonathan Gillman addressed the issue of finding a balance between arts education and the more traditional academic structure by instituting full days at the academy. Now students can learn both academics and arts in the same space, demonstrating the equality of arts in the curriculum. It is the goal of the academy to train creative, engaged citizens who make a positive impact.

All the panelists agreed that it is imperative that arts be integrated with "regular" curriculum, but that is tempered by the fact that there aren’t many strong arts programs to integrate currently. Arts are a lifelong process, but without the chance to have an arts education as part of their developmental years, students miss a critical opportunity to learn to work cooperatively, to become innovative and critical thinkers, to be balanced people and productive members of society.

At the conclusion of the forum, panelist LeBeau offered a great point that served as a perfect summary for the forum.  He remarked that at the high school he attended, in the math and science wing there was a sign that read “None of this would be possible without the arts” and in the arts wing, a sign read “None of this would be possible without math and science.”