The recent announcement by Kanawha County Schools that field trips to arts events will be cut during the forthcoming school year, while not particularly surprising, is certainly disturbing and may be indicative of an unfortunate lack of knowledge about the connections between the arts, academic achievement and student success.
The recent announcement by Kanawha County Schools that field trips to arts events will be cut during the forthcoming school year, while not particularly surprising, is certainly disturbing and may be indicative of an unfortunate lack of knowledge about the connections between the arts, academic achievement and student success.
According to the Aug. 5 Gazette, assistant superintendent for elementary education Jane Roberts said that future field trips will be limited to those considered "academic" and that by "academic" she meant "science, social studies, reading or math."
Roberts may be unaware that the 2001 "No Child Left Behind" federal legislation lists the arts as one of the "core academic subjects" of public education in the United States. In other words, the arts have equal billing with reading, math, science and the other core academic disciplines. This is not a wish or desire. This is the law.
In study after study, participation in and appreciation of the arts is a key component of student success in school. The arts:
Improve students' academic performance.Increase test scores.Develop skills necessary to succeed in a 21st-century workforce, including creative problem solving, critical thinking, team building and communication.Strengthen self-confidence and self-esteem.Keep students engaged and less likely to drop out.Teach students about diversity and tolerance.
Education experts across the country agree that a child's education is not complete unless it includes the arts.
A study by the Arts Education Partnership titled "Third Space: When Learning Matters," finds that "schools with large populations of students in economic poverty - too often places of frustration and failure for both students and teachers - can be transformed into vibrant hubs of learning when the arts are infused into their culture and curriculum."
Field trips to museums, to theatre and dance performances, and to musical concerts that are tied to specific content standards and objectives in the arts can produce astonishing results. Our children deserve curricular and co-curricular arts experiences that include rigorous and sequential classroom instruction as well as participation in community-based arts programs. This comprehensive approach to arts education is necessary to equip our students with the skills they will need to succeed in our new "creative economy."
Four years ago, the National School Boards Association and Americans for the Arts met to discuss arts education in America's public schools. The report they issued repeated the need to increase the presence and quality of arts experiences for students of all ages. They found that K-12 students who participate in and are exposed to quality arts programs are:
Four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement.Three times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools.Four times more likely to participate in a math and science fair.Three times more likely to win an award for school attendance.Four times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem.
Daniel Pink, author of the best seller A Whole New Mind, argues that "the fundamental cognitive abilities, the fundamental abilities of the workforce today and into the future and the fundamental abilities that our kids are going to be deploying at work are at their core artistic abilities" and that the arts "are neither an avenue to something else, nor are they a nicety, but they are fundamental to how the economy functions. And unless our kids have a broad, robust suite of artistic capabilities, they are going to be in a world of hurt as human beings and as productive members of the economy."
It should be pointed out that field trips to arts events are only one component of a comprehensive approach to arts education. After-school programs, artists residencies, service learning in arts disciplines, internships, apprenticeships, as well as rigorous outcome-based instruction in the classroom are all necessary if we are serious about improving student learning. We all know that the high price of gas and diesel fuel has made it necessary for all of us - including Kanawha County Schools - to make tough decisions and prioritize spending. But by arbitrarily eliminating field trips to arts events without engaging in a dialogue about these educational priorities, we run the risk of causing real harm to our children and to the many innovative collaborations that have been initiated among and between our schools and our local cultural institutions.
We are blessed to live in a county that has an excellent school system and so many high quality arts organizations. We need to strengthen - not weaken - the many partnerships that have existed between our schools and groups such as Children's Theatre, Kanawha Players, the West Virginia Symphony, Charleston Ballet, the Clay Center and Charleston Stage Company.
In a recent survey of CEOs, business leaders pointed out that skills that rely on creativity and innovation are now more important than "the three R's" to succeed in today's increasingly global and complex workplace.
Future creativity has been directly linked to the study of the arts and experiences in the fine and performing arts. The fact is our students need more arts experiences - experiences that teach them how to use words, images, sounds and motion to communicate - not less. I've seen firsthand how field trips to arts events can really change lives and offer new options and opportunities for students. Watching a ballet, experiencing a symphony performance or attending a Shakespeare play can spark a life of creative possibilities. Let's not prematurely extinguish this flame before it has a chance to develop. Let's hope school officials will reconsider their decision as we continue this important dialogue.
Wohl, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at West Virginia State University, directs the Charleston Stage Company and is president of Arts Advocacy, West Virginia.
The recent announcement by Kanawha County Schools that field trips to arts events will be cut during the forthcoming school year, while not particularly surprising, is certainly disturbing and may be indicative of an unfortunate lack of knowledge about the connections between the arts, academic achievement and student success.
According to the Aug. 5 Gazette, assistant superintendent for elementary education Jane Roberts said that future field trips will be limited to those considered "academic" and that by "academic" she meant "science, social studies, reading or math."
Roberts may be unaware that the 2001 "No Child Left Behind" federal legislation lists the arts as one of the "core academic subjects" of public education in the United States. In other words, the arts have equal billing with reading, math, science and the other core academic disciplines. This is not a wish or desire. This is the law.
In study after study, participation in and appreciation of the arts is a key component of student success in school. The arts:
Improve students' academic performance.Increase test scores.Develop skills necessary to succeed in a 21st-century workforce, including creative problem solving, critical thinking, team building and communication.Strengthen self-confidence and self-esteem.Keep students engaged and less likely to drop out.Teach students about diversity and tolerance.Education experts across the country agree that a child's education is not complete unless it includes the arts.
A study by the Arts Education Partnership titled "Third Space: When Learning Matters," finds that "schools with large populations of students in economic poverty - too often places of frustration and failure for both students and teachers - can be transformed into vibrant hubs of learning when the arts are infused into their culture and curriculum."
Field trips to museums, to theatre and dance performances, and to musical concerts that are tied to specific content standards and objectives in the arts can produce astonishing results. Our children deserve curricular and co-curricular arts experiences that include rigorous and sequential classroom instruction as well as participation in community-based arts programs. This comprehensive approach to arts education is necessary to equip our students with the skills they will need to succeed in our new "creative economy."
Four years ago, the National School Boards Association and Americans for the Arts met to discuss arts education in America's public schools. The report they issued repeated the need to increase the presence and quality of arts experiences for students of all ages. They found that K-12 students who participate in and are exposed to quality arts programs are:
Four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement.Three times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools.Four times more likely to participate in a math and science fair.Three times more likely to win an award for school attendance.Four times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem.Daniel Pink, author of the best seller A Whole New Mind, argues that "the fundamental cognitive abilities, the fundamental abilities of the workforce today and into the future and the fundamental abilities that our kids are going to be deploying at work are at their core artistic abilities" and that the arts "are neither an avenue to something else, nor are they a nicety, but they are fundamental to how the economy functions. And unless our kids have a broad, robust suite of artistic capabilities, they are going to be in a world of hurt as human beings and as productive members of the economy."
It should be pointed out that field trips to arts events are only one component of a comprehensive approach to arts education. After-school programs, artists residencies, service learning in arts disciplines, internships, apprenticeships, as well as rigorous outcome-based instruction in the classroom are all necessary if we are serious about improving student learning. We all know that the high price of gas and diesel fuel has made it necessary for all of us - including Kanawha County Schools - to make tough decisions and prioritize spending. But by arbitrarily eliminating field trips to arts events without engaging in a dialogue about these educational priorities, we run the risk of causing real harm to our children and to the many innovative collaborations that have been initiated among and between our schools and our local cultural institutions.
We are blessed to live in a county that has an excellent school system and so many high quality arts organizations. We need to strengthen - not weaken - the many partnerships that have existed between our schools and groups such as Children's Theatre, Kanawha Players, the West Virginia Symphony, Charleston Ballet, the Clay Center and Charleston Stage Company.
In a recent survey of CEOs, business leaders pointed out that skills that rely on creativity and innovation are now more important than "the three R's" to succeed in today's increasingly global and complex workplace.
Future creativity has been directly linked to the study of the arts and experiences in the fine and performing arts. The fact is our students need more arts experiences - experiences that teach them how to use words, images, sounds and motion to communicate - not less. I've seen firsthand how field trips to arts events can really change lives and offer new options and opportunities for students. Watching a ballet, experiencing a symphony performance or attending a Shakespeare play can spark a life of creative possibilities. Let's not prematurely extinguish this flame before it has a chance to develop. Let's hope school officials will reconsider their decision as we continue this important dialogue.
Wohl, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at West Virginia State University, directs the Charleston Stage Company and is president of Arts Advocacy, West Virginia.
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Joe6Pak says that our schools are awful and that arts take away from the basics. Then he says that more taxpayer funding won't work. All right, then what is the solution? How do we "get the basics right"? I see a lot of complaining, but no constructive ideas. Should education become a privatized industry? You might get higher quality... but only for those who can afford it.