Hi Alison, great blog. Thanks for creating a forum to discuss such issues as arts advocacy.
It is frustrating to try and explain why and how the arts are so integral to humanity and education because it really is a DUH kind of statement. It seems so obvious to many, but alien to others. Curriculum really is a "mind-altering device," and the arts are a great vehicle to help people discover new ways of thinking and reacting.
A large part of the issue, from my point of view as a High School teacher, is that the system does not seem to value multiple forms of intelligence. Schools do not try hard enough to discover the individual strengths or potential intelligences that each person possesses. It is easier to aim for a uniform result. As a result, as the article mentioned in your post points out, 66% of High School Students were not exposed to the arts.
Now the issue is that legislators lack the vocabulary to understand the arts because they themselves have never been exposed to its benefits. The more the listener can hear, the greater likelihood of understanding.
We all know that the arts "plunge us into adventures of meaning," allow us to imagine new realms and break through boundaries of linear, logical thinking and go beyond the confines of a singular reality, but try explaining that to someone who has no experience in the arts.
The reason that this blog is called "Crystallizing Education," is that a teacher's main goal should be to help students discover areas where they do have strengths - what Charles Fowler in "Strong Arts, Strong Schools (my teacher bible) called a "crystallizing experience." To build on this, I see it as the moment when things fall into place for a student. Maybe a struggling student has that lightbulb moment, or a student who has been scared of school due to a fear of failure finds that area that they excel in, making the whole educational experience brighter.
I personally believe that school curriculum should consist of 50% Core or General Ed subjects and 50% Specialized "Electives." Every person carries a wide array of intelligences. To not make use of all of them and develop the strongest in each individual is a crime on humanity. A balanced curriculum consists of fields of study that all students should learn, coupled with subjects for which students have particular proclivities and inclinations.
The reason that I have been so busy and unable to comment on this blog is that my teaching experiences have been highly involved. I hope to share some of them with you in the near future, especially the painting of a mural for a neighborhood Elementary School which is in the early design stages.
That is enough for now on that subject, and since this is an Art blog, I will leave you with some art to look at.
How about some Photography?
Andrea Galvani-Lamorte.
Denise Grunstein.
Li Wei.
Nadav Kander.
