ARTSblog

Allen Bell

While many states in the South rank low for high school graduation rates and education levels, the region boasts a number of excellent arts education programs that are pushing the envelope to improve schools in their states.

Two of those arts education programs produced by state arts agencies in the nine-state region served by South Arts have received U.S. Department of Education Arts Education Model Development and Dissemination Grants.

One of those programs is the Whole Schools Initiative administered by the Mississippi Arts Commission. The other is Value Plus Schools administered by the Tennessee Arts Commission.

The Mississippi Whole Schools Initiative started in 1991 with six pilot elementary schools. The program takes an arts integration approach to redesigning schools to encourage collaboration, transparency, and deep learning. The Whole Schools Initiative is currently being implemented in 15 schools, while a total of 50 schools have participated during the history of the program, including elementary, middle, and high schools. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 6%

Sarah Collins

When I was first asked to participate in the Arts Education Blog Salon, I did what any good graduate student would do. I did a little background research. From the cinderblock depths of my basement office at the University of Oregon, I poured over posts from previous salons to get a better idea of what I was getting myself into. I was humbled before the collection of knowledge and experience shared here by some of the leading voices in the field of arts education. I was left wondering what I – knee deep in lit reviews and composition notebooks – could possibly contribute to the conversation.

Yet flipping through my comp books, I find reactions to journal articles, notes from conference sessions, URLs, call numbers, quotes, big ideas, and bigger questions. So that is where I begin, with an earnest curiosity, a student of arts and education policy. Reflecting on the dog-eared pages of the past year, recalling what has had the greatest impact on my understanding of this field, I present my essential arts education reading list for 2010: Part 1. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 11%

Laura Reeder

I have recently stepped from arts education advocacy into arts education academia after twenty years as a teaching artist and arts administrator. The advocacy work continues, but, I have been able to view it with a new perspective. The thing that has remained unchanged in this short step is my understanding about the role of the teaching artist in contemporary education.

In arts education advocacy, the compelling stories that we bring to policy makers almost always include an artist-educator (as one human being) or an artist-educator partnership. The teaching artist appears in our tales as a full-time educator in a school, as a visitor who sparks a new energy in the classroom, or as a community mentor who engages learners outside of the school setting. The teaching artist also appears in the halls of the legislature each year when we are lobbying for policy change.

In arts education academia, with the focus on individual students who will go out and become the great teachers and artists of the future, we recruit newcomers and increase endowments with glossy images and passionate speakers who each embody the seriousness of education with the rebel promise of creativity. The teaching artist also joins the campaigns for new programs and new funding when it is time to make institutional changes. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 6%

Victoria Saunders

I sat in an Americans for the Arts conference session in Baltimore this year and listened to a panelist state, “we don’t need to save arts education when eight-year-olds are making their own videos.” To that I say “cultural participation is NOT arts education.”

Just because a student is able to use computer software doesn’t mean he or she knows how to create a storyline, understand lighting and visual effects, include music that helps convey their story, etc. It’s like saying that I didn’t need arts education at that age because I could create cool pictures with my Lite-Brite!

I know this might sound smart-alecky, but it really is a concern of mine.

Young people these days have access to so many modes of creative production via computers as well as traditional tools. Parents are so proud of “Junior” because he can use the software.

But do they understand what an education in the arts really means?

Here in California our Visual and Performing Arts Content Standards include things like Artistic Perception; Historical and Cultural Context; and Aesthetic Valuing among others. If “Junior” was able to have standards-based arts education as part of his core learning, these things would be included in his lessons. By applying what he learns in class to the creation of his videos, his work would “pop” as they say. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 7%

Joan Weber

The answer given to most people who want to help increase arts education in our community’s public schools is, “Write to your elected representatives.”

Yes, it’s a good idea. It increases the buzz that the official’s constituents think arts education is an important thing, but I don’t think it accomplishes much. I don’t mean to be cynical, but realistically, think of the path that letter takes. The elected official probably never sees the letter. A staffer reads it and the subject matter is noted in a database with the topics of all the other letters that the elected official receives.

The second popular answer is, “Donate to organizations that advocate for arts education.” In other words, hire your own lobbyist through donations. A lobbyist knows the internal processes of the lobbied officials.

Nonprofits have a political calculation to make. When an organization wants to partner with a school system, they need to work as partners. In this case, “partnership” is a euphemism for a vendor relationship. Nonprofits receive funding from the school system to implement arts programming. It is difficult, as a partner organization, to criticize the system that’s paying your salaries.

That said, donating to arts education organizations is a fantastic investment. Their access to policy makers and schools makes big things happen. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 6%

Zack Hayhurst

To commemorate the inaugural National Arts in Education week, I am dedicating this first post to Norman Scribner and Choral Arts Society of Washington. My experience interning with his organization exhibits why institutional and community support of arts education is so vital, no matter where one is in their academic journey.

I was saddened to learn the other day that Norman Scribner will be stepping down in 2012 as Artistic Director of Choral Arts Society. After founding the organization 45 years ago, Norman has led it through many a financial crisis and cultural change, present circumstances included. After sitting at the helm for so long, he has no doubt affected countless individuals in a positive way. I am thankful to be one of those lucky people.

After beginning my Master’s degree in Arts Management at American University this past fall, Choral Arts Society was my first internship where I worked as a development apprentice. As far as I’m concerned, it was not only my first internship in D.C., but also my introduction to arts management.

Both Norman and Executive Director Debra Kraft realize the importance of arts education, both professionally and elementally. Supporting arts education in words is one thing, putting money behind it is another.   Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 7%

James Palmarini

A few weeks ago, the Cincinnati Enquirer, my local print publication, ran a story about the lack of time that some district children we’re being given to eat their school lunches. After making their way to the cafeteria, standing in line or opening their home-packed lunches, finding a place to sit and so on, the estimate was that many had about fifteen minutes to eat. And what was being consumed was more likely the good stuff as defined by the average kid—the chips, cookies, and maybe the fruit. Not surprisingly, after the story ran, student lunch time increased substantially throughout the district, especially in the schools that were prominently mentioned.

One of things recommended by a nutritionist quoted in the story was that parents need to be careful not to over-pack their children’s lunches, to limit their choices to healthy foods that could be consumed in a reasonable time. Like every other parent who read this lunch crunch piece, I took a hard look at what I was stuffing into my child’s lunchbox the next morning and then asked myself: Is it too much, or not enough, and am I packing the right things—the right food group stuff that will help her do her very best for the rest of her STEM and test prep infused day?

What does this have to with arts education, and our House-approved week of celebration?

Well, nothing and everything. In the first and literal place, in this age of testing, accountability, and cutbacks, we all know that there isn’t enough time in the day to squeeze in yet another class, or the money to hire the educators to teach them. And do we really want to sacrifice an energy building PB&J sandwich on twelve-grain bread so a kid can work on his improv skills? I don’t think so. Two, and more figuratively, are the arts choices that are readily available to the widest number of children the right ones and are they of real value? Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 7%

Donna Collins

I am the Executive Director of the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education (OAAE), a statewide arts education service provider that was founded in 1974.  We’re a part of the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network – a cadre of statewide organizations supporting arts education.

During the 2009-2010 school year OAAE delivered a program titled Arts Education: HQPD (High Quality Professional Development) to hundreds of arts educators, administrators, teaching artists, and cultural organization education managers. I must add that the program was supported with funding from The John F. Kennedy Center and Ohio Arts Council.

The program’s day-long sessions, or multi-sessions over a few days, included professional learning opportunities on the topics of academic content standards, assessment, and curriculum integration.

We had overwhelming support by school administrators who urged their staffers to attend these opportunities for High Quality Professional Development. We were thrilled and there will be a repeat performance during the 2010-2011 school year with the aim of serving as many educators as possible.

Today, I was surprised by a phone call from an elementary school principal who called to ask if the Curriculum Integration workshop we are providing for her district’s in-service day in October would be like the other workshops we provide as part of HQPD. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 6%

John Abodeely

For arts education programs and advocates to be successful, we must design our strategy and programs to fit within the larger context of public education. If our provision tactics—such as teaching artist residencies—do not fit within the limiting elements of our schools—such as budgets and schedules—then our work must change. If student requirements levied by the federal, state, or local policy narrow the curriculum too harshly to allow our kids to learn in and through the arts, then our work must change.

For example, arts integration has been used as more than as an instructional strategy. It has been an advocacy strategy. Providers have used arts integration to fit within scheduling limitations of schools. This is a response to the existing context of education.

Other programs now work with decision-makers that have more influence over the policy and funding conditions that may narrow the curriculum. Outreach to decision-making adults such as school boards and legislators seems to have become a part of many local programs, though years ago only national and state-level organizations did it. This is an effort to change the context of education. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 6%

Allen Bell

In the 2006 Arts Education Partnership Research and Policy Brief, “From Anecdote to Evidence,” authors Sandra Ruppert and Andrew Nelson called for “better and more comprehensive state level information if the arts are to remain an integral component of what constitutes a well-rounded education for all students.”

At the time, the policy brief referenced studies in Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Washington.

There are a couple of more recent examples of arts education research that continue to point the way in which we might fill the knowledge gap on the state level.

One recent study is the 2009-2010 Statewide Arts Education Assessment conducted by the Western States Arts Federation. Released in May 2010, the report provides an inventory and assessment of arts education available in the public schools for Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming. Some of their major findings include:

-          the arts are not treated as a core subject in more than half the districts in three of the four states surveyed
-          student-to-teacher ratios are very high in the arts
-          of the four participating states, only Utah had significant offerings in dance
-          obtaining a visual arts specialist would be a valuable addition to most schools
-          a greater percentage of art teachers attended district workshops for professional development
-          money, priorities, and time are the major obstacles to the advancement of the arts Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 8%

Kim Dabbs

This past summer, my husband and I packed up our car and started a cross country road trip that spanned two months and over seven thousand miles. With two toddlers and a teenager in tow, our “Dabbs Trek” as we coined it in our blog, was a journey that travelled from our home in Metro Detroit to Chicago, where we picked up Route 66 and drove clear across the country until we stepped foot on the Santa Monica beaches. We traversed up the Pacific Coast Highway to Seattle and then turned east over the mountains, through the Great Plains, and back home again.  What an adventure it was!

Many people ask us what the highlight of our trip was, where was our favorite city, and questions of that nature and I always come back to this stop we made just outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico, called the Tinkertown Museum. This roadside attraction was full of wonder and enough to delight my husband and I, our 14-year-old son, AND our 3-year-old and 2-year-old (as we went farther in our journey, we realized that doesn’t happen very often).

Tinkertown was built by Ross Ward, who over the span of 40 years collected, built, and created this space in and around his home. The maze of animated miniature vignettes and glass bottle walls overwhelm the senses while collections of oddities from wedding cake couples to a 35-foot boat that sailed around the world made all of us laugh out loud.
Then, we hit the sign on the wall, hidden between memorabilia that said, “I did all this while you were watching TV.” Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 8%

Mark Slavkin

If you care about arts education, you must be in the advocacy business.

Until such time as the arts are fully embedded in every American school system, we have to be energetic in making the case.  We cannot leave this work to a handful of “advocacy organizations.”

In recent years I have been pleased to see our field become more sophisticated in this regard.  More arts education supporters understand we need both “top-down” and “bottom-up” support. Through federal, state, and school district policy and funding commitments we can influence change at a large-scale or systemic basis.

At the same time, we realize the need to provide hands-on support and resources and the classroom and school site level. As we toggle back and forth between broad policy support and technical assistance in schools, we need to be careful that we frame the right arguments for the right settings.

In thinking about our advocacy strategies, it struck me that our underlying goal is to create an imperative for policymakers and educators to expand their commitment to arts education. How can we create forces that are so compelling that change will happen on a consistent basis, and not be left to individual personal preferences? I see three primary imperatives: the “values” imperative, the “political” imperative, and the “instructional” imperative.  I am concerned we have put too many eggs in the first two baskets, and too few in the third. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 8%

Lynn Tuttle

*Editor’s Note: Updated information can be found in this post.

In response to the interest around the Common Core State Standards initiative, and to the technological changes the arts and arts education have undergone in the last 15 years (I wasn’t blogging 15 years ago, were you?), the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (SEADAE) convened a meeting of national arts education stakeholders on May 11-12 to determine if the time is right to develop a new set of national arts education standards. The resounding answer was “YES!”

One of the first steps in the process is to find out how you – arts educator, teaching artist, cultural organization, school administrator – use the current version of national arts standards in your teaching, curriculum, and programs.

SEADAE, in collaboration with the National Dance Education Organization, the Educational Theatre Association, the National Association for Art Education and MENC: the National Association for Music Education, is creating an online survey to obtain your input, ideas and suggestions. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 8%

Tim Mikulski

The teachers and kids are back in school. Starbucks is selling Pumpkin Spice Lattes. The air in D.C. has cooled off for the first time since March.

Of course it’s time for another Arts Education Blog Salon.
Now in its third round, Americans for the Arts is proud to host yet another week of blogs dedicated to the topic of arts education.

This time, we have a wide range of participants – from newbies who haven’t blogged before to veterans who have been with us since the first one. Altogether, we have 17 brilliant minds ready to share information and spark debate.

Our Scheduled Blog Roster:

John Abodeely, National  Partnerships Program Manager, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Allen Bell, Arts Education Research & Information Program Director, South Arts
Donna Collins, Executive Director, Ohio Alliance for Arts Education
Sarah Collins, Master’s Degree Candidate, University of Oregon
Kim Dabbs, Executive Director, Michigan Youth Arts
Rachel Evans, Assistant Professor, Kean University
Mimi Flaherty Willis, Senior Director of Education, Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts
Zack Hayhurst, Master’s Degree Candidate, American University
Tim Mikulski, Arts Education Program Manager, Americans for the Arts
Heather Noonan, Vice President for Advocacy, League of American Orchestras
Jim Palmarini, Director of Educational Policy, Educational Theatre Association
Laura Reeder, Arts Education Instructor/Graduate Assistant, Syracuse University
Victoria Saunders, Arts Education Consultant, Victoria J. Saunders Consulting
Barry Shauck, President, National Art Education Association
Mark Slavkin, Vice President for Education, Music Center (Los Angeles County)
Lynn Tuttle, Director of Arts Education & Comprehensive Curriculum, Arizona Dept. of Education
Joan Weber, Educator/Arts Education Consultant, Creativity & Associates Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 6%

Podcast: Download (Duration: 6:44 — 7.7MB)

Here’s the second half of an interview between Alie Wickham and Mike Gagliardo, the ambassadors for the two green paper topics: Arts in Healthcare and Strings. Alie and Mike discuss how the green papers have approached a vision of the future.

The first half of their interview can be found here.

Popularity: 17%