Americans for the Arts

"Well, how did I get here?" David Byrne, Talking Heads, from the song, Once In A Lifetime

Looking back, I'm actually not sure. I know that I could draw some obvious conclusions, and that would make for a short introduction, but I'm tired of off-the-cuff. That's not what got me here.

What got me here, on this page, was throwing away any resistance to taking a stand for the things that are important to me.

Let's start, for the sake of getting to know one another, in that moment between youth and adulthood. Often known as college. Because that's where education kicks in. Where individuation happens and the proving ground of every grade that came before shows up as internships on the resume, or the ability to connect with teachers and students and chance relationships with room mates who launch Napster, and... it's where I got clear on the connection for me between Humanities and Science.

I graduated from High School with a reasonable GPA and a demonstrated interest in chemical and physical sciences. I don't know if it's because I liked the way atoms looked in my imagination, miniscule and unpredictable galaxies colliding at millions of nanometers apart. I could literally see them in my mind's eye and calculate spins. Balancing chemical equations became second nature so maybe it was a deep appreciation for the zen-like balance that a well-done chemistry experiment shows up as on paper when it's all said and done.

That stuff is pretty cool. Especially when you have a good teacher. And, in 1989, when Silicon Valley was not quite established, I attended San Jose State University where Next Computers (a company run by Steve Jobs now of Apple & Pixar) was plying their wares on the quad next to Amex and Spring Break in Cabo Bus Tours.

My SJSU professors (I don't know if I ever actually saw them) weren't anywhere near as committed to my success as I'd grown used to in High School. Labs were fun, but there no room for error, and my best learning method was trial and error.

So, alongside losing two grandfathers and being thrown out of the dorms for excessive and noisy creativity, I packed up my 0.08 GPA (not a typo) and moved 'home'. (Never do this if you can help it. It's against nature.)

Arts education is as political an issue as an educational one. One could say that education itself is a political issue. After all, education and arts education decisions are made by thousands of adults each day--adults that do not see the faces of hear the voices of the children about whom these adults are making decisions. This is true of arts education too.

Federal legislators, federal employees such as USDE staff, and the president and his administration, all have specific impact on arts education. This is evident in the passage of No Child Left Behind.

State legislators, state department of education employees, state public university systems, state teacher unions, and statewide nonprofits have dramatic impact on arts education in the classroom. For example, state university systems that require one or two years of arts instruction as an entrance requirement often result in statewide arts education for high school students. Similarly, the state legislature may mandate a one or two year arts education graduation requirement for high schoolers. These policy actions put the arts firmly back in the schools (though not always as intended, I admit).

Program profiles on state and local efforts, as well as more info on arts ed as a political issue after the jump.

We're all back to school…hooray!  I think.  It’s a little hard to be excited as I begin the new semester at my university in California;  I’ve been furloughed at 10% of my pay, the students are paying 30% more than they did last semester, and so many classes have been cut that students are scrambling. What a tough entry into a new year – making learning exciting a pretty big challenge.

Despite the challenges, we all have roles to play – and it is important to play them well!  As I met with my students the first day, I went over the syllabus, as I usually do, and then I played a song from “Into the Woods,” by Stephen Sondheim.  The class I teach is called “Learning Through the Arts.”  The song I played is called “Children will listen.”  It is a wonderful tune with great lyrics (sampled here):

First, thanks to everyone who is dropping by for the Arts Education Salon blogging event. As arts educators, advocates, parents and participants, we can often become a little isolated; these coming together of minds forums are vital to strengthening our field and ourselves.

My name is Rob Davidson; I am the Program Director for VH1 Save The Music Foundation. We're a national non-profit organization with the mission of restoring and sustaining instrumental music programs in public elementary and middle schools around the country. My education and career have been centered on music education. I am a certified music teacher by training and worked for major symphony orchestras in education roles before taking my position at VH1 Save The Music.

I thought I'd start the week with a call to action. The time to start advocating for your arts education program is right now; it doesn't matter who you are or what your role is, there is something you can do to contribute to the strength of the program. All too often the arts department is a school district's best-kept secret, so the best way to start advocating is to make sure that is not the case. Make a plan to ensure the programs are visible.

So, how do you start? There are resources all over the web to help you brainstorm. Here on Americans for the Arts;  www.supportmusic.com; and on my organization's site, www.vh1savethemusic.com. On our site, check out the 25 Things You Can Do for a few ideas to get you started. The important thing to remember is that there is no one "correct" answer. Have fun, make it fit your programs and community, but get it out there.