The Arts in Schools

You've just hit on one of my personal pet peeves. Since when do we consider going to the library or PE a "related art"? They do at many elementary schools (including the one my family is zoned for). I realize that with budget cuts, constantly striving to make sure no child is "left behind", and the pressure of standardized testing, that it is hard to place emphasis on something that so many people feel is extraneous, but the arts are so important if we want to raise our children to be more than automatons who regurgitate facts upon demand. I agree with you that exposure to the arts teaches children so many important things, not the least of which is how to be an emotionally and socially well-balanced adult.

Luckily we live in an area where the arts are encouraged and supported. Our school district developed a magnet program and we have magnet schools for the arts at both the elementary and middle school levels, as well as a fine arts center for high school students. If you do not live in an area where these kind of programs are available, maybe you could check with your school district to see if there would be interest in "converting" a school with declining attendance into a magnet school for the arts. There are many organizations that will help with incorporating arts into the curriculum. Here is a link I found for a program in California: www.teachingarts.org/resourceGallery/informational/readRecord$recnum=1489 and here is a link to a program in my home state of South Carolina: www.winthrop.edu/abc/ . There are many studies showing that children who learn with an arts-based curriculum do better on standardized tests and retain information better and longer, so it is advantageous to both the children and the school district to start such a school.

If all else fails, do everything you can on your own to expose your children to the arts. A large part of our family budget goes to music lessons, dance classes, and tickets to local performances. If your elementary school does not have a music or visual arts program to advise you on this, check with your local high school's fine arts teachers for opportunities, shows, and private teachers in your area.

Sorry for the long post, but you have hit on an area I am passionate about, can you tell? :-)

Ask you PTA if you could begin with a Parent Art Show. Parents come to school and share art work with students. This is free and to sets the tone for a support group of parents that promote the arts. Gathering like minds can come up with simple ideas. In our school we brought together a Friendly Revue. Classes in k-6 participate by choice. Parents practice with students during lunch. And a festival of friendship songs is being presented in a few weeks. One song per class, a group act, no individual acts. This brings the kids and parents together in a creative way, promoting the arts as well as relationships. This is just one of many "non budgeted" items that can occur when parents support the schools efforts to bring the arts into the educational realm.

My children's school's art and music instructions are pretty limited. Recently some artist parents in the school's Art Committee started a series of art projects including museum tour, art gallery tour and mural painting. It took the art instructions outside the classroom, and made it more tangible.

Luckily, my son goes to a public charter school that believes in teaching basic skills through the arts. For instance, letters are learned by painting and math is learned through drama and music. We also do massive fundraising, everything you can think of (personal donations, scrip programs, bake sales, fairs, auctions) to raise money for extra programs such as language, dance and music. This of course calls for heavy parental involvement. Parents working together and organized can make a real difference in your school!