Upon her arrival, however, she was disappointed to find virtually no art program in her children’s new elementary school. Because of budget cuts, funding for the arts varies among school districts, as do the programs. So she made an interesting pitch to the principal.
Dean of Arts and Science Alistair MacLean attributes this to the pending retirement of one of the program’s three full-time professors (“I was concerned with admitting new students without being certain we could fulfill course requirements,” he said).
… “For MacLean any crisis is a broader one. In a tightening funding environment — Ontario schools have been told to expect no funding increases for at least six years — universities chase dollars wherever they can find them. Art programs, he says “can be seen as boutique — they take up lots of space, they have small classes. So if they’re not healthy, they’re vulnerable.”…
Kniazuk’s arguments are locked and loaded, like live ammunition.
“You’ve got your art for art’s sake, you’ve got your quality of life, you’ve got your economic, you’ve got your tourism, you’ve got your education piece,” he said. “Then the last piece of the argument — and I’m probably forgetting a dozen other good ones — is [drawing] businesses and the creative class.”
“Quite frankly,” he continued, barely pausing to catch his breath, “it’s a model that other sectors of the economy should probably be trying to emulate.”
The Arts are imperative in education. Whether its music, drama, or painting, students should be encouraged to explore their creativity. They should not always be told what to learn or given a formula.The Arts empowers youth to express themselves and to be heard. Art gives students a voice.
By Lesli A. Maxwell
Premium article access courtesy of Edweek.org.
Thousands of California public schools face the prospect of slashing up to a week of instruction, canceling bus services, or laying off nonteaching staff in the middle of this school year because state revenues are expected to fall below what the governor and lawmakers counted on when they approved an $86 billion general fund budget last June.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office—the nonpartisan fiscal adviser to California’s state lawmakers—predictsRequires Adobe Acrobat Reader the state treasury will be down as much as $3.7 billion, which would automatically trigger up to $2 billion in midyear spending cuts in public programs that will fall hard on K-12 education. The analyst is also projecting a $13 billion shortfall in next year’s budget.
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