Saturday, October 10, 2009
Kennedy Center Enlists Art Groups for Education
Backstage: "The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is starting a new program that could reinvent arts education for schools struggling with budget cuts and fewer art teachers, organizers said Friday."
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5 comments:
This ambitious plan might just work. I think Michael has hit upon a philosophy here that we all know and understand, but have a hard time putting into practice; arts education starts at and in the early school years. Unlike other arts outreach programs, this one seems to focus more on exposure than teaching a specific content, such as acting. Often for financial, time, and access reasons, many children don't have access to the art in their own community, let alone anything majorly nationally going on. Michael with his team from the Kennedy Center will have great success by pairing local arts organizations with public schools in both arts education and fostering new audiences. In a time where ticket sales are down and arts organizations are struggling, there is a lot of hope in this program to raise awareness and perpetuate the art.
This is a very ambitious plan but I think it is a very good idea. I love it when I hear of well respected places like the Kennedy Center making an effort to better the arts education in schools for children. I personally really like the idea of having local companies doing some of the instruction in some of these classes. My senior year my state actually got some kind of grant to do just that. So for my choir class, we had a local dance troupe come in and teach us movement, and not being a big dancer I thought it was a lot of fun. On that same hand we were also facing budget cuts and people I am very close to were on the line. I dont want students to have to face losing their arts program, because it is terrifying. I hope that this program takes off and will work out well, because cultivating the arts when kids are young is so important.
I think it puts a big impetdous on the local organizations to have staff available to come help teach in the schools. The program also requires that there BE a local organization, let alone one with the staff to help out. I think that many schools in poorer areas don't have the local orgs it is requiring. Beyond that, the reason that schools are diminishing the arts is budget cuts. A local org is also probably having funding issues themselves, and won't be able to spare someone to teach. Even if they could pay them, they need their attention on their work. I feel like it is a good one time thing (like Sonia mentioned) but would be difficult to form an entire arts curriculum like that...
I am really looking forward to following this program and see what it does. The officials at the Kennedy Center are exactly right, this country needs a comprehensive, standardized arts education program. This is a step in the right direction. The arts are a vital part of our culture, history, and central to our method of communicating ideas and inspiring change. A comprehensive education in the arts will not only help the students become better citizens of the world, but it will help them with their reading comprehension, writing and language skills, as well as possibly bring some of them out of their shells and creating the next generation of theater artists. One thing I would like to see as this program moves on is an expansion into high schools as interested students work with the arts organizations as interns or casual employees to gain a better understanding of the world in which they live.
This plan sounds like a great idea but this seems like a difficult time to try to implement it. I completely agree with the idea that arts and the chance for kids to be creative and explore from a young age and more importantly for the entire length of their education is absolutely essential. However the current economy and undeniably deeper problems with the education system make me wonder how a program like this will be received by those who believe there are more pressing matters to address. Personally I am conflicted, arts were an essential part of my education but at the same times I have run into many articles about kids who cannot read or buy school supplies, books or school lunches, so it is difficult to decide what we should be spending money on.
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