Americans for the Arts

In my last blog, I spoke about developing future arts advocates and some of the misconceptions that might prevent individuals from participating. To continue on a similar trajectory, there is one population, in my opinion, that we should target as the next generation of arts leaders who will continue to sustain theatre, dance, creative writing, visual art, and music for many generations to come: students.

My first role was as a knight. I was eight. The audience consisted of my friend, Steven, also playing a knight, and the various woodland creatures that inhabited the backyard of our house in suburban Maryland. You see, I had recently been to the Maryland Renaissance Festival, and like many young boys and girls my age, had fallen in love with the costumes, the swords, the accents, and the meat on a stick. And so, back at the castle (my house), I was determined to recreate the excitement, the vivacity, and the magic of the experience … if only in my head.

Arts integration has ebbed and flowed in American schools since the 1940’s, in various forms. I read a recent grant proposal that pointed out the challenges of the arts in service of other subjects versus the arts as equal too all subjects. The tension between STEM and STEAM demonstrates ongoing discomfort with integrating subject areas. But intellectual rigor and intense creativity are not mutually exclusive.

I asked an arts ed colleague the other day “What session would you like to see on a state-wide arts conference agenda to justify your time and travel expenses?” The answer: “How did you know your program made a difference?”

Wish: Granted. 

How does the Reauthorization of ESEA connect to the 2014 National Core Arts Standards?

The Senate “Every Child Achieves Act” version of ESEA contains language which is supportive of the intent and the content of the National Core Arts Standards.

1. The Senate bill includes a listing of core academic subjects which funding in the bill can support, including Title I, the largest allocation of education funding at the federal level. The arts and music are listed as core academic subjects in the Senate version of the bill, allowing federal funds to support learning in all the arts (see page 549).

2. The Senate bill includes language which is supportive of states creating rigorous academic content standards in all (core) academic subjects, including the arts and music. The National Core Arts Standards were written with that intent in mind – that states would utilize the new national, voluntary arts education standards to create standards of their own.

Arts educators and advocates are a resourceful bunch. Despite enormous odds over many years against making arts education a priority, more school districts and policy makers are working to find ways to sustain investments in arts teachers, supplies, curriculum design, and professional development. We have a long way to go, but we’re certainly seeing progress; arts education is a part of the educational dialogue in new and vibrant ways. When it comes to arts education policy and priorities, however, we must not forget that learning cannot and should not remain solely within the confines of the four walls of the school classroom. One solution is the often overlooked strategy for fostering students’ personal and academic growth: the good old-fashioned field trip.