A recent development in public education has been the decline in arts programs nationwide. Budget cuts to arts programs are responsive to decreases in state funding, especially in states with conservative economic policies. Many states have also enacted legislation disabling local school districts’ abilities to justify employing art and music teachers. Consequently, several problems have manifested themselves, including the loss of arts programs proving detrimental to the overall quality of education for today’s children. First and foremost, arts programs improve overall performance in core school subjects; this is demonstrated clearly through higher test scores amongst students with exposure to arts and positive correlations between arts and core class engagement. Other reasons supporting retaining arts programs include to help foster community development, produce creative minds, develop problem-solving skills, aid in child development and visual-spatial skills, and encourage underprivileged students to remain in school (Metla, 2015). By removing arts programs from some public schools, an alarming issue of public concern arises. Public education, given that it is considered to be a non-rivalrous and non-excludable, is deemed a public good (Clark, 2016). Cutting arts programs in public schools, especially when cuts transpire in schools saturated with heavy minority populations, creates inequitable education and creates a serious issue of public concern.
Since 2008, approximately 80% of school districts in America have experienced cuts within their arts budget (Metla, 2015). Legislation at the federal and state levels have enabled these drastic and controversial cuts. No Child Left Behind enforced Common Core standards ensured t...
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...ions may be presented to stakeholders. Benefits of thick participation would include its higher success rate and diversity of opinions; however, thick participation is also the most time and labor intensive. Concerned Detroit citizens could also engage in thin participation. Opportunities could include signing petitions to institute arts programs, supporting school levies, etc. Thin engagement is an easy way to make a difference on an individual level; however, the collective impact is limited.
In sum, cutting arts programs poses concerns on local and national levels. The inequity in education, epitomized by the disturbing revolving door of arts teachers in Detroit, is an issue that cannot be taken lightly. It is imperative that citizens engage individually and collectively through different participation mediums in order to reverse the trend regarding arts programs.
Fine arts gives students a chance to pour their hearts into something beautiful; a chance to be a part of something that is bigger than just themselves. Some schools are facing financial troubles with the current economy, and one of the first programs they consider cutting is fine arts. The removal of fine arts programs would be absolutely devastating to countless members of the community. Many students would lose their favorite class, in some cases the one class that helps them get through the day, and many teachers that truly care fir the students would lose their dream jobs. Fine arts should not be cut from schools; they build confidence, help with the application of other academic concepts, and even help to prepare students for their future work in the business world.
The power and influence of those in higher positions can help influence those who oppose the proposal, however, working together and gathering everyone’s viewpoints can help to resolve the issues because the people that live there can have input and share their thoughts at the town and community meetings.
Many schools consider art, music, and physical education programs ‘fluff’ classes, which is why when schools are looking for a place to save money those are some of the programs that are first to go. Claire Suggs, Senior Education Policy Analysts for the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, found that “about 42 percent of districts are reducing or eliminating art or music programs and 62 percent are eliminating elective courses” (“Cutting Class” #1). Art and music programs should not be cut because they allow students to explore their creativity and improve problem solving skills. On the
Budget cuts have been a hot topic in today's society, starting back in 2008 with the recession. In the big world of budget cuts and what is being decided on being cut, education always comes up in the first draw. The children of this country are told every single day that they will grow up to be these fantastic forces to be reckoned with, but with the US ranking 17 out of 50 countries educational wise, it is hard to maintain that illusion of perfection. We are in a society of free-thinkers, scholars in training, prodigies, and those who want to become something fantastic so that they can stay afloat in this economy. In todays world, one cannot even get a job at McDonalds without some sort of formal education, or they cannot keep it without a high school diploma or a college degree of some sort. Public education is being sought after more than it was 30 years ago, and the popularity and demanding of a fine education is only going to continue to grow. Cutting the budget on education is not an option, although many politicians seem to believe it is the only choice. Their paychecks are absolutely safe, but the education of those who plan on taking over is in constant jeopardy, never to be looked over when the yearly budget comes out. Budget cuts have greatly affected how our children learn, what they learn, and when they learn; unfortunately although it is decreasing significantly, it does not look like it will vanish, at least not in this generation. The Programs that are being cut are becoming extensive, which causes our youth to be starved of their much needed art programs; with that in mind, the amount of the cuts in which are implemented are absurd which can sometimes cause simply, small communities to reach out for help to save their educationally malnourished children.
Joseph M. Calahan, Director of Cooperate Communications of Xerox Corporation states, “Arts education aids students in skills needed in the workplace: flexibility, the ability to solve problems and communicate, the ability to learn new skills, to be creative and innovative, and to strive for excellence” (National Performing Arts Convention). On January 8th 2002, President George W. Bush signed The No Child Left Behind Act, or NCLB, into legislation, since then the nation's schools have overrun teachers and students with yearly-standardized test. School funding is determined by these yearly-standardized tests. Because of NCLB art programs in schools have taken blows in funding, teachers, and curriculum. Since the legislation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, flaws in NCLB such as, high-stake standardized testing and lack of funding are consequentially denying young artists to lose the opportunity to flourish in creativity, self-expression, and imagination, because of this NCLB is unsuitable to be upheld in our nation’s education system.
Many schools around the country are cutting their music program because of budget cuts in their counties. The arts for some reason are always the first to be cut; apparently the school doesn’t think they are essential to their students learning. Schools try to focus on the more important academic classes because of the high testing standards they must now meet. (Nesoff 2003) This is not just happening in poor school districts it is happening in large districts across the country including magnet schools for the arts: “When Albert Margolis and his wife attended the final music program for their son's kindergarten class in May, they were shocked when a teacher stood up after the performance and announced that the music program was cut indefinitely…Bathgate Elementary School in Mission Viejo in California's affluent Orange County, is a magnet school for the arts…” (Nesoff 2003) When magnet schools for the arts start cutting music you know there is a problem. The problem is the schools do not know the importance of music and the arts and how necessary they are for children to grow and become cultured in our society.
Much too often in America today, modern music and art programs in schools are perceived to many as extracurricular activities rather than important subjects that are vital to a students learning and skill development. The truth of the matter is that encouraging music and art education in public schools has a much larger impact on student’s grades, academic performance, and the economy than the majority people realize. Within the next year city school budgets will be dropping by twenty five percent, and despite the fact that music and art programs have been showing a dramatic contribution to student’s learning, this substantial drop in funding for the programs will lead to no dedicated money for art or music programs (Mezzacappa). There is no doubt that a cut in funding for art programs will take a huge toll on students overall grades and test scores. Research has found that the studying of music and art facilitates learning in other subjects and enhances children’s skills in other areas (Brown). Furthermore, providing students with a creative outlet can do great justice in reducing the stress from many other classes and even offer insight for students in possible career paths involving the art field. The art industry today currently supports 4.1 million full-time jobs (Dorfman). By increasing the funding of music and art programs for students preschool through twelfth grade we can see a dramatic increase in the education of children across the United States, assist with skill development in young students, and greatly benefit the economy at the same time.
The fact that fine arts are needed is evident, but will schools respond or live in denial? The arts provide a safe environment for students to express themselves without the worry of ridicule. These kids should have the opportunity to participate in multiple fine arts activities as a way to communicate their feelings in a healthy atmosphere (Weber). Green Lake Elementary School believes its students “acquire a positive learning attitude for a lifetime, celebrate the uniqueness of all, understand similarities and differences, develop an appreciation, respect, and understanding of the physical environment, have fun, laugh, and enjoy learning” (New Horizons Dickerson 1).... ...
In this continuum, "participation" ranges from negligible or "co-opted"—in which community members serve as token representatives with no part in making decisions—to "collective action"—in which local people initiate action, set the agenda, and work towards a commonly defined
To achieve civic engagement is undertaken in many diverse ways. These are determined by several factors, amongst them the purpose of the civic engagement, the people involved in it, the funds to be involved amongst others. The...
The Importance of Arts Education Jane Alexander, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), once said, “Many children are missing out on something which gives their education context, gives their lives depth and meaning, and prepares them to be the future workforce.” This “something” that she spoke of is music and art education. Unfortunately, she is entirely correct. We are currently seeing a dramatic cut in arts education curriculum in our public schools due to the limited amount of time and funding. In many cases, budget cutbacks mean arts education cutbacks.
In today’s society anything can be considered “Art”. From the great sounds of a symphony, to the architecture of a modern structure, or even an elephant painting with its trunk, art is what the viewer perceives it to be. Individuals will always agree or disagree with the message behind a certain piece of art, as pieces can be offensive to some, but beautiful to others. Some argue that funding the arts in school is a waste of money, time, or a combination of both, but the benefits outweigh the negatives by far, due to a variety of reasons.
Enserink, Connor D. and Croal P. 2006. Public Participation International Best Practice Principles. Special Publication Series No. 4. Fargo, USA: International Association for Impact Assessment.
The first time I heard the phrase “arts advocacy” was about three years ago. I had obviously heard the word “arts” before, and knew that advocacy meant to publicly support, so I figured arts advocacy meant public support for the arts. However, I had never heard the words used together before. At the time, I was performing in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) and my director told us about how important arts advocacy, or support for the arts, is and how badly it was lacking in the South. Now, of course, that is a generalization, however it rang true for Lubbock, Texas, and after moving to Norman, Oklahoma, I observed the same problem: there is a lack of arts advocacy in the Oklahoma community. Both visual and performing arts culture and inform people about other humans and history in a creative fashion. For instance, drama is the study of the human condition; actors explore humans and then perform plays that contain characters that these actors have made their own. If this sub-branch of art isn’t advocated for, the less people will know about other humans and other cultures, and the more it will show. By discussing this problem, the stakeholders I have interviewed and I hope to raise awareness of the arts and increase the number of advocates and supporters of the arts in our community.
“Wise democratic processes are those which utilize a community's or society's diversity to deepen shared understanding and produce outcomes of long-term benefit to the whole community or society. Not all public participation serves this purpose. Public participation can either enhance or degrade the collective intelligence and wisdom involved in democratic processes such as making collective decisions, solving social problems, and creating shared visions. The principles below offer some guidance for designing wise democratic processes”. Tom Atlee, Co-Intelligence Institute