The art of education must include the arts

The art of education must include the arts

Barbara Hall
is a freelance journalist

who writes on education

His name is Andrew, and we nearly lost him.

Around 2000, Andrew was a 12-year-old, at-risk student at Harding Elementary School in Erie. He was saved from dropping out, his teachers believe, by an all-community arts-education program focusing on opera. The program, an ambitious and successful effort, thrives today.

Erie has received a $15 million, five-year math-and-science grant from General Electric. Thinking creatively, Erie administrators are directing a portion of this to Harding's school opera program. As a result, a resident visual artist, poet and dancer will work with students on this year's production.

Arts education in Erie is flourishing.

Not so in Philadelphia. School district administrators confirm there are literally no music or art teachers in the city's middle and high schools - even though music and art are core curriculum subjects with minimum standards for instruction.

Those who care about arts learning in Philly schools are hoping that the School Reform Commission's new CEO, Sandra Dungee Glenn, will include art and music in her priorities.

For now, organizations such as the Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership and the National Endowment for the Arts are picking up some of the slack. The NEA's 2007 Learning in the Arts for Children & Youth grants total five. They cover an Asian youth folk-arts festival, a Latino youth artist program, a young playwrights project titled "Exploring Ourselves and Our Cultures," a youth mural project, and an advanced study program at the Settlement Music School of Philadelphia.

Such help, though, cannot compensate for the arts-teacher vacuum in city schools.

Why does arts education matter?

A recent survey by Target Corp. polled millions of American parents over age 18. Ninety-four percent said they consider arts education important to their child's intellectual development. And more than half said they feel their music and art school programs were underfunded.

"Arts have traditionally been the first programs to go when there are tight budget constraints," says Philip Horn, executive director of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. At the same time, he adds, "Pennsylvania does pretty well by comparison to other states."

What can parents do for their children and the arts?

Join parent organizations and advocate, urge Horn and Michael Faison, program head at the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

"A school can only be as strong as its families," counsels Dennis Creedon, administrator for creative and performing arts in Philadelphia schools. "Help offset school cuts in arts education by doing your part. That way, school will never be out!"

Take full advantage of culture around the state. There's the Barnes Museum (for now) of Merion, the Brandywine in Chester County, and, of course, the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Philadelphia Orchestra, led by conductor and artistic director Charles Dutoit, has a spectrum of year-round cultural events.

As former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige observed, "From music and dance to painting and sculpture, the arts allow us to explore new worlds."