Ron Jones

In the late Eighteen Hundreds Harvard decided to add an “art appreciation” course to its offerings and thus began a recognition by higher education that knowing about and, later to come, engaging in the arts was a good thing for students in American colleges and universities. Centuries before, the University of Paris had established music as one of the major subjects of study but that effort, of course, was driven by the University’s interest in mathematics, not aesthetic sensibilities.

By the 1940’s and 1950’s American higher education was steeped in both required arts courses as well as the blossoming of full-fledged programs of study in the arts. By the end of the Twentieth Century music, theatre(er), visual arts, and dance were acknowledged members of the academy. In most places, respected; in some, only tolerated.

From this admittedly brief and over-generalized history it is clear that the arts were increasingly enjoying a place of acceptance, even respect, within the academy. Those good days seem to be passing as the nation tightens its fiscal belt and increasingly questions the value of higher education, gravitating now toward a valuing system that focuses on careers and income potential (e.g., check out this naïve post to Yahoo! Education, Don’t Let your Kids Study These Majors. Business practices are dictating the course of higher education and the arts are being forced into a box lined with expectations that tend to minimize the “real” values of the arts and ignoring the “real” contribution the arts have and continue to make to our system of higher education. Squeezed into submission, American colleges and universities are scrambling to parasitically survive by attaching themselves to STEM or giving lip service to career development or just giving up and eliminating arts programs.

It would be foolish to suggest that we must resist these trends, rallying to the cause and fighting against the business model. We are too insignificant within the academic community to influence the direction of higher education; costs are rising, revenues are shrinking, expectations are changing. For the arts to survive (in a form of which we in the arts can all stand proud), however, requires that we accept the inevitable but we must invest our creativity and resolve to find ways to fit within a new infrastructure while retaining our passion for the magical power of the arts in our lives.

We do not have to compromise our values in order to accommodate the new directions that on the surface seem to be transforming academe into economic and social engines that deliver a workforce to this nation. To protect that which we value, all we have to do is quietly and intentionally commit to preparing graduates who have the skills, knowledge, and creative acumen to excel while also acquiring the experiences and spirit to ensure lifelong success in art and design. We can and must do both!

Carol Bogash

In 2006, the U.S. National Academies, expressing their concern about the state of education in our country, recommended improving K-12 math and science education. In 2007, Congress passed the America COMPETES Act, which authorized funding for STEM initiatives, kindergarten through graduate school. I think most everyone would agree that we are not where we had hoped we would be. 2012 National Assessment of Education Progress tests results showed only a tiny increase in 8^th grade science scores over 2009. This same test showed that 4^th, 8^th, and 12^th graders performed poorly when asked to use problem solving and critical-thinking skills in laboratory settings.  So why aren’t these initiatives working?

Now, President Obama has announced a major initiative to create a national Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Master Teacher Corps. This is to underscore that STEM education is a top priority for the Obama administration. “A world-class STEM workforce is essential to virtually every goal we have as a nation – whether it’s broadly shared economic prosperity, international competitiveness, a strong national defense, a clean energy future, and longer, healthier, lives for all Americans.”

Of course, this is important for the future of the United States. But, I believe it is equally vital that “longer, healthier, lives for all Americans” include reference to productive, creative, fulfilled, happier, inspired lives as well. We truly need to focus on developing creativity in order to help achieve these lofty goals – otherwise , I believe , all these initiatives are doomed to continue to fail.

Creativity is developed through active participation in the arts.

There are many educators who understand that the arts must be included in the STEM movement. It is through the arts that creative minds are developed, that both sides of the brain are engaged, that free expression and out-of-the-box thinking are encouraged. Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo weren’t just artists, they were also amazing scientists who saw no barrier between the arts and science. Albert Einstein was a scientist actively playing the violin.

In a useful book on this topic, From STEM to STEAM, authors David A. Sousa and Tom Pilecki, present “convincing evidence from research studies in cognitive and social neuroscience that demonstrate how activities associated with the arts enhance creativity, problem solving, memory systems, motor coordination, and analytical skills – all critical elements to achieving the STEM objectives.”

When school systems around the U.S. made the decision to decentralize in the 70’s, eliminate content specialists, and most dramatically – the arts – test scores began to suffer and creativity in our youth flagged. It is little wonder, then,  that the United States education system is no longer ranked first in the world. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the result of having dropped the arts as a priority in our public school systems.

I understand that there are competing priorities in our schools. With the increased focus on teaching STEM subjects, there are fewer hours in the day. With ever tightening budgets, the arts are often seen as unessential “extras,” and are reduced or eliminated. And, the mania over test scores has only increased this deplorable trend, to the detriment of our children, and more often those in low-income schools.

Michelle Rhee, former Chancellor of the D.C. Public Schools, once said to me – “the arts are fundamental to an excellent education.” And, she supported that statement by ensuring that all DCPS schools had a music teacher and a visual arts teacher. This is a good start. This needs to happen in all school systems across the country.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is incorporating STEM concepts into its mid-week youth concerts, in an effort to support the natural connections between music, science and math. Our teaching plans are designed to help teachers provide opportunities for their students to think more creatively, to problem-solve, to draw on their curiosity and perception skills, to construct meaning and express observations accurately. Truly with STEAM we believe we can help to make a difference through the power of music.

I can only hope that the leaders of our country begin to finally realize that the arts must be a priority in the education of our children. Albert Einstein stated that “the mere formulation of a problem is far more often essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill.  To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advances in science.”

Jessica Wilt

In January 2012 I started the New Year with an ARTSblog entitled So Many Resources, So Little Time. I wrote, “With endless emails, text messages, Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds, I sometimes feel a little overwhelmed.” For the most part, that statement was true – except for one thing. I wasn’t using Twitter!

Of course after mentioning Twitter in the resources ARTSblog someone would reach out to me in an email requesting my Twitter handle. Uh oh. Once upon a time I had set up an account, but when I tried to remember what the original handle was and how to login? Forget about it. I had been caught red-handed!

Just what I needed, one more thing to add to what already felt like an overflowing plate. I couldn’t respond back with, “sorry, I don’t do Twitter” after mentioning it in my blog so I decided it was time to officially throw myself into the #Twitterverse. Hence, @JessicaLWilt was born.

Over the past year I’ve been teaching myself how to navigate and speak the language that is Twitter while building a truly authentic and genuine community. I don’t have thousands of followers – yet – but I do regularly interact and connect with a diverse group of people. Never could I have imagined how vast the information, people, ideas and life-changing events I’ve experienced through Twitter would enhance my personal and professional circles.

Information Sharing
Throughout the day, as I’m reading Twitter feed I will:

• Retweet information I find of value to share with others
• Reply to a tweet or quote a comment to engage in a deeper conversation with another person or a group
• Use a #hashtag like #artsed to identify a specific topic or participate in a Twitter chat with others
• “Favorite” a tweet posted by another to let them know I’ve seen it

In 140 characters or less I can pretty much gauge what’s happening throughout the day, interact with people and organizations from literally all over the globe and learn a ton of information all in one place that I might otherwise never see.

The People
The occurrence of serendipity and the chance happening of meeting others is one of my absolute favorite human experiences. Not too long ago I came across an article in Inc. Magazine where Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh talks about this very experience. He said, “Meet lots of different people without trying to extract value from them.You don’t need to connect the dots right away. But if you think about each person as a new dot on your canvas, over time, you’ll see the full picture.” I love this thought and it’s exactly how I envision my use of Twitter.

Here’s how it works:
In January I saw a hackathon tweet about an upcoming Startup Education Weekend (@StartupWeekend) happening in New York City. Education and technology people from all over the tri-state area came together to brainstorm project ideas, including arts education, that in 48 hours would be presented to potential investors. The energy was electric and the ideas were mind blowing. One of the project idea winners that came out of the weekend is called @BetaMatch and they are doing cool work connecting teachers with technology.

Milena Arciszewski who is the “Director of Opportunity” for The Future Project, (@DreamDirectors) an organization that is “reimagining education one dream at a time” spotted me tweeting about Startup Weekend on Twitter. It turns out Milena started following me on Twitter during last fall’s presidential election when I won a contest (I learned about through Twitter) writing for The Huffington Post. Milena tracked me down at Startup Weekend and invited me to attend a Future Project event. It was there where I met Steven Hodas, the Executive Director of iZone (@innovatenycedu),a technology-based K-12 program sponsored by the NYC Department of Education (@NYCSchools).

A few weeks later two other groups called The Centre for Social Innovation (@csiSL) and Be Social Change (@BeSocialChange) co-hosted a panel discussion at the Avenues World School (@Avenues_org) in Manhattan called, “The Future of Education: Innovation in K-12 Learning.” Milena’s organization The Future Project had a Dream Director speak on the panel along with a NYC DOE iZone staffer from Steven’s department. Through Twitter not only have I made incredible connections with Milena and Steven’s networks, but I also have found new professional friends with CSI and Be Social Change.

Are you starting to see how these Twitter dots connect?
This story comes full circle when I was recently planning a NYC Arts in Education Roundtable (@nycaier) panel discussion where the topic of conversation was about the integration of arts education with technology. The Apple store in SoHo graciously agreed to be the venue host. As the moderator, I quickly realized I needed help finding panelists.Through my Twitter connections and Steven Hodas at iZone/NYCDOE, I was able to curate this incredibly diverse group of educators, teaching artists and cultural organizations that inspired an evening of rich arts education and technology conversation at Apple SoHo. Success!

For whatever reason people, especially in the arts and culture sectors, remain fearful of using technology and social media in a way that enhances communication. I hope my example of effectively utilizing Twitter demonstrates how social media can play a crucial role connecting communities by sharing information and ideas with others in the field. As I’ve embarked on my Twitter journey, I’m starting to see the dots Hsieh speaks of and a beautiful canvas is coming to life every day. Don’t be afraid, just do it!  And feel free to reach out if you’d like some help.

Talia Gibas

Four years ago, when I first heard the phrase “turn STEM to STEAM” – i.e. add the arts to the federally-recognized acronym for science, technology, engineering and math — I was skeptical.

As a theater geek born to a physician and biologist, I understood that the artistic process and scientific process have a lot in common, and that participants in each arena can learn a lot from one another.

My skepticism was not rooted in whether the arts and sciences are connected. What was missing for me as the “STEM to STEAM” mantra started to pick up more and more (ahem) steam was an articulation of how they are connected. Sure, there are elements of geometry in visual art, and yes, you need to understand basic math in order to read music or follow rhythms in dance. But arranging letters on a page is one thing; bringing different disciplines together in a thoughtful and authentic way is something entirely different.

In my mind, the ability to articulate and explore the authentic relationships between the S, T, E, A and M is crucial.  The arts and the STEM subjects have similar processes, but provide different means of understanding what currently exist, as well as imagining what does not yet exist. If we want the STEM to STEAM movement to have longevity, we need to get specific about what those relationships are.

Luckily some people have already tried to do that, and we have an opportunity to build on their work. Later this month, thanks to the leadership of The Boeing Company, about thirty stakeholders from across the arts and STEM communities in Los Angeles and Orange Counties will be coming together for a two-day retreat to explore the natural alignment between the arts, STEM and Common Core.  In preparation for the retreat a colleague introduced me to the work of Georgette Yakman, a researcher and educator from Virginia who has been developing her own educational framework for STEAM since 2006.

The framework defines STEAM as “science and technology, interpreted through engineering and the arts, all based on mathematical elements.” That definition evolved since Yakman began her work. In an earlier version, she articulated the relationships as follows: “We now live in a world where you can’t understand science without technology, which couches most of its research and development in engineering, which you can’t create without an understanding of the Arts and Mathematics.“ (You can read Yakman’s description of how she developed and refined the framework here.)

Yakman defines “the arts” very broadly, which I know many readers of this blog may take issue with. Some elements of the framework don’t ring true to me, but it excites me as an honest and thoughtful attempt to articulate how these various disciplines represent different ways of understanding the world.  It also raises a lot of intriguing questions. Is there a way to flip the relationship between science/technology and the arts, so that the arts are interpreted through science? (Is that what conservators do?) Are there any other ways to make the arts the end goal? And if not, are we okay with that?

Our retreat between Los Angeles and Orange counties will raise even more questions and hopefully provide some answers. In the meantime, I invite you to begin pondering them within your own communities. What do you make of Georgette Yakman’s framework? How would you articulate your own understanding of how the arts, science, technology, engineering and math relate to one another?

Rob Schultz

For those of us who’ve been involved with arts education for any length of time, we’ve seen many theories and practices arrive on the scene. All are well grounded, express a philosophy of teaching, and hopefully build upon the education foundations already laid since the late 19th Century and the rise of the Picture Study Movement. Today, over one hundred years later, Common Core’s focus on national standards is receiving much attention from educators, commentators, think tanks, and politicians.

What seems overlooked in this evolution is the tectonic change that’s occurred inside the classroom. Specifically, inside the arts classroom–or on the mobile cart that carries the arts into the “regular” classroom.

Much time, it seems, is spent studying arts education practices at the macro level. We in the field read, listen, talk, debate, and write consistently on how theory and practice impacts students. In my household, alternatively, we generally eschew theory and instead talk a lot about reality. Why is that? Because my wife is a visual arts teacher in a K-8th grade public school.

In her 27 years in the classroom, things have changed. Kids haven’t really changed all that much, but the atmosphere surrounding public education certainly has.

The challenges she faces in her job on the front lines of education have evolved significantly. At one time, she felt supported by her principals and school administrators, especially in areas like discipline. Today, the kids rule. Principals now consider the child’s side of a dispute more than the teacher who brought it to their attention. School board members bend sideways with any angry parental breeze. Imagine an eight-year-old lying through their teeth after being caught doing something wrong, in spite of plain evidence to the contrary, and having the principal castigate the teacher for not “truly understanding” the child’s behavior.

Now, imagine working within a school so enlightened that one art class is scheduled to end, and the next one to begin, literally in the same minute. This is now the norm for her day.

Behavioral problems are nothing new, of course. But what makes it most difficult for teachers to struggle forward is the general apathy toward “special areas,” as art, music, and physical education are now known. Special areas are not tested, and EVERYTHING revolves around testing. Of course, there are reams of studies to prove that children who participate in the arts do better on standardized tests, but the arts aren’t tested. However, the pay of special areas teachers is tied to test scores. Go figure.

When a teacher’s love for children and for learning is strong enough, they’re willing to put up with the tsunami of bureaucracy, indifference, and ignorance that is public education. As part of the arts education field, one of our tasks must be to focus on BOTH the macro and the micro, the theory and the reality, the teacher and the system. As a well-rounded education comes from studying the arts, so too does an understanding of the day-to-day challenges of those in the trenches solidify a raison d’etre for what we do.  Teachers are, in many ways, the “first responders.”

Tim Mikulski

This is my 149th ARTSblog post as a writer. It’s also my last—at least as a staff member here at Americans for the Arts.

I have been with the organization for almost six years and started blogging four years ago (after becoming ARTSblog editor a little over two years ago).

In those two years, I have tried to write, recruit, or find at least one relevant post per day to publish on the site. Some weeks were easier than others, but it is pretty amazing to see the depth and breadth of the quality of the posts that I have had the pleasure of adding to the site.

And, of course, I can’t help but think of the 20 Blog Salons I have worked on along with the fantastic program staff at the organization who work hard to find the bloggers, gather the posts, pictures, and profiles, and send them along to me for editing, formatting, and social media promotion.

While those weeks are some of the more stressful due to the work that it all entails, I think the fantastic collection of resources in the right side bar speaks for itself.

I’m leaving ARTSblog in the perfectly capable hands of our marketing and communications staff members, but I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for visiting our little corner of the web to read, comment, and share the amazing work of our bloggers.

Americans for the Arts represents a diverse group of interests—from arts administrators to marketing professionals to advocates to arts-education-supporting parents—and I hope that my work on the site has represented you at one point or another. If it hasn’t, I hope you will consider adding your voice to the mix sometime soon.

Until next time…

Tim

Stephanie Milling

As a university administrator and associate professor, I frequently interact with parents who visit our campus with respective students. The one question that is always interesting to field is, “What will my child be able to do with a degree in (fill in your respective arts area here)?”

From a financial standpoint the question is a valid one: parents want to know that their investment in their child’s future is going to lead to gainful employment and prevent him/her from returning home and living on their couch after graduation. However, the assumption that any college degree, regardless the area of study, will lead to a specific job is a misconception.

While a degree does set one on a career path with a specific skill set, it does not guarantee employment in any specific field. The question is also valid because in my experience, the knowledge that a majority of students and their parents have of the opportunities in the arts is limited to practical involvement in their respective art area of study: singing, painting, dancing, acting, etc.

In higher education, I have witnessed practicing an art form as the point of entry that many students take into their respective fields. However, that initial exposure leads them to a variety of careers within and outside of the arts. Therefore, I try to quell the notion that a degree in the arts leads to being a starving artist. Instead, I point them to resources that will help them expand their perspective of the possible career options for those with arts backgrounds and discuss the transferable skills that students learn within the arts.

If someone wants to work in the arts or an arts-related field upon graduation, the choices are numerous and extend beyond practical involvement in the field. Many college arts programs and career centers post information about the careers a person can pursue with a degree in specific arts area.

The Career Center at Boston College and The Career Center at the University of California Berkeley are two just examples of this type that can be located on college and university websites. By directing prospective students and parents to such resources, it enables them to peruse career profiles and their accompanying qualifications. In addition, many of these web pages include links to other websites for internship possibilities, professional organizations, and career finder search engines.

Making the connection between a college major, a prospective job in the field, and the professional networks that exist for various arts-related professions is one way of helping people understand that individuals in the arts do work and contribute to the functioning of industry in a variety of ways.

While there are specific long-standing careers in the arts and arts-related professions, recent discussions in higher education circles and news media have revolved around arts entrepreneurship and innovation.

At the International Council of Fine Arts Deans conference that I attended in October, James Undercofler, Artistic Director of the National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland and special advisor to Ithaca College’s new MA in Entrepreneurship in the Arts, spoke about how today’s arts students are inventing their own careers. He frequently blogs for Arts Journal and shares Entrepreneurship in Music and Arts Student Projects completed by students at Drexel University.

The projects demonstrate how the students are able to think outside of the box and create their own opportunities within the arts. “Innovation-ready” students who are inventing jobs are discussed by Thomas L. Friedman in an op-ed piece entitled “Need a Job? Invent It” recently published in The New York Times. In his review of Tony Wagner’s book entitled Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World, Friedman summarizes Wagner’s argument regarding education reform in the United States.

Wagner believes that students in the United States are getting shortchanged when curricula does not allow them to develop creative problem solving and critical thinking skills: these are the capabilities that he believes will set them apart in a competitive marketplace where employers are expecting workers to do more than possess knowledge of their field and demonstrate innovative ways to use their knowledge.

A similar sentiment was discussed in “The value of a liberal-arts education spurs major debate,” a recent article in The Columbus Dispatch. Creativity is being valued in corporate America, which is demonstrated by a recent example discussed in “Dance troupe markets creativity to cube-dwellers.” This article highlights the efforts of Hewlett Packard as the organization has engaged Trey McIntyre Project, a dance company, to help employees learn about creative process and its potential in the workplace.

There are countless other articles that have appeared in recent media sources, and I am sure that you have discovered similar stories that I encourage you to share. I have begun compiling these resources to use as tangible examples to support the list of careers in the arts to help me I am asked what one can do with a degree in the arts. Perhaps real world stories like these might resonate with skeptics in a way that research cannot and encourage a perspective that values the arts at the center of human experience.

Kristen Engebretsen

“If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves…We have, in effect, been committing an act of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament.” ~ from A Nation at Risk

Last Friday I attended an event at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute looking at the impact of the report released back in 1983, A Nation at Risk: The Imperative For Educational Reform. According to the Fordham Institute’s website:

“Thirty years ago, A Nation at Risk was released to a surprised country. Suddenly, Americans woke up to learn that SAT scores were plummeting and children were learning a lot less than before. This report became a turning point in modern U.S. education history and marked the beginning of a new focus on excellence, achievement, and results.”

The report language itself called for many sensible reforms, including more instructional time, higher standards for courses and content, stringent high school graduation requirements, and demanding college entrance requirements.

But the sound bite that came out of the report was that we have a “desperate need for increased support for the teaching of mathematics and science.” And, “We are raising a new generation of Americans that is scientifically and technologically illiterate.”

Many arts education advocates look at this report (building on the fervor for math and science after the Russian’s launch of Sputnik) as a turning point in education, where a focus on testing in reading and math began to dominate education, and the curriculum began to narrow to these tested subjects. In fact, many current education reforms have roots that can be traced back to this report:

1 – The Common Core State Standards Initiative—with its focus on English Language Arts and Math. (One of our recent Blog Salons was all about the implications for the arts with Common Core.)

2 – Race to the Top—with its focus on teacher evaluation and data-driven decision making.

3 – No Child Left Behind—with its focus on high-stakes testing.

Several recent reports cite one of the major unintended consequences of current education reform is a narrowing curriculum.

Two-thirds of teachers believe that subjects like art and music are receiving less instructional time. (Click this graphic for more from our “Facts & Figures” e-book.)

However, when you read the full text of A Nation at Risk, you see that it was decidedly NOT the authors’ intent to narrow the curriculum.

In fact, having excellent content taught in high schools is one of the major recommendations of the report. Take a look at this gem of a quote:

“Some worry that schools may emphasize such rudiments as reading and computation at the expense of other essential skills such as comprehension, analysis, solving problems, and drawing conclusions. Still others are concerned that an over-emphasis on technical and occupational skills will leave little time for studying the arts and humanities that so enrich daily life, help maintain civility, and develop a sense of community. Knowledge of the humanities, they maintain, must be harnessed to science and technology if the latter are to remain creative and humane, just as the humanities need to be informed by science and technology if they are to remain relevant to the human condition.”

The report also calls for lifelong learning, and what it calls the Learning Society, where “educational opportunities extend far beyond the traditional institutions of learning, our schools and colleges. They extend into homes and workplaces; into libraries, art galleries, museums, and science centers.”

Speaking at the Fordham Institute was William Bennett, the former U.S. Secretary of Education. He is also the former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. During his speech, he heavily quoted E.D. Hirsch and continued to stand by the recommendation of the report to focus on quality content, including civics, humanities, and the arts.

So how do we mitigate the unintended consequences of education reform, which include a narrowing curriculum? Are current education reforms not compatible with a well-rounded education? How do we live up to the dual standards of both excellence and equity in education?

I, of course, think that the arts and humanities can be a solution for our schools. A way to transmit cultural literacy, tap into student passion and potential, and keep our kids on track to graduate college and career ready.

However, if our educational leaders do not make it a priority to require a well-rounded curriculum for all students (particularly in grades K–8, where teachers are primarily, as David Coleman calls it, “guides to the world”), then are we still on the path to “unilateral educational disarmament?”

I invite you too to reflect on the impact of this landmark report by perusing a roundup of resources about A Nation at Risk’s 30^th anniversary.

And as you read, you decide: Are we still a nation at risk???

1 – The full text of the report (an oldie but a goodie).

2 – Five views by different bloggers on Education Week’s new blog “OpEducation.”

3 – An article with a cool infographic on Education Week’s website comparing test scores now and 30 year ago.

4 – An excellent 20-minute video by the Fordham Institute interviewing several Secretaries of Education, Diane Ravitch, and other education policy gurus.

Jamie Kasper

Imagine a fast-growing, increasingly diverse school district with approximately 2,700 students in grades K–12, located 12 miles from the downtown area of a city. The district currently consists of three buildings: an elementary school (grades K–4), a middle school (grades 6–8), and a high school (grades 9–12). Also imagine the following:

• Because of the growing population, the district is building a new facility for grades 3-5 that will open in the 2013–2014 school year. This building will have a STEAM focus.

• In addition to visual arts and music, students in the elementary school also participate in an Arts Alive class. Arts Alive is a performing arts class that focuses on storytelling; students employ dance, music, and theatre to tell and create stories. Students often comment that they wish Arts Alive would continue into the middle school because they learn so much in elementary school.

• The administrative team—including the superintendent and other central office staff; building leadership; heads of transportation, food service, and grounds; and other leaders—has spent its last three summer leadership retreats at local arts and cultural facilities, engaged in creative arts-based learning with staff from those facilities.

• The middle school visual arts teacher took it upon herself a few years ago to attend a robotics workshop at a local university. With the help of staff from a special robotics program at the university, she now engages her middle school students in designing, creating, and programming kinetic sculptures that use the elements and principles of design.

• Over the past two years, the district has collaborated with a local nonprofit organization to conduct self-assessment processes focused on improving the quality of the music, health/physical education, theatre, and visual arts programs. As a result of that work, teachers in those areas participated in rich professional learning experiences in areas such as music technology, incorporating dance and movement into physical education, and decoding works of visual art. These experiences utilized artists from local organizations and teachers from other school districts.

• The district has received multiple STEAM grants from a regional funder, allowing district staff to engage students in project-based learning focused on STEAM subjects.

This district is real, and it is right here in Pittsburgh.

South Fayette Township School District is engaging community partners and collaborators—designated in bold type above—to offer its students world-class learning opportunities across all content areas, including the arts. The story above is only an example of what happens each day in South Fayette, and partners and collaborators are an important part of the work. My organization, the Arts Education Collaborative, is lucky enough to be one of those collaborators.

Before I go any further, I’d like to talk a bit about the differences between partners and collaborators. I fully (and proudly) admit to stealing these definitions from the director of my organization, Dr. Sarah Tambucci.

Partners are people or organizations that come to the table to enhance a project or initiative already conceived.

Collaborators are people or organizations that come to the table at the beginning of the planning process to create a project or initiative.

Both partners and collaborators have important roles to play in supporting quality learning in school districts.

In South Fayette’s case, the superintendent, Dr. Bille Rondinelli, has a strong interest in placing the arts in a visible place in the district’s work. The self-assessment processes that the Arts Education Collaborative has conducted recently in the district have ensured that while the arts are frequently combined with other subjects, they are also taught as stand-alone disciplines that are valuable in their own right.

Dr. Rondinelli and her staff leverage their partners and collaborators to strengthen the expertise, experience, and passion already in the district. My organization has worked directly with the health/physical education, music, theatre, and visual arts educators over the past three years. These educators have extensive knowledge about the community and their students, so it makes sense to provide them with connections to people and organizations that can share very specific expertise in areas such as robotics, computer programming, and contemporary music.

South Fayette has chosen to take a unique approach, utilizing community partners and collaborators to immerse students in content in the arts and other important subjects while presenting them with engaging, real-world problems.

When we asked South Fayette students to tell us what would happen if the arts were cut from their schools, one student said, “I would leave school with a headache! There would be nothing to look forward to.”

I think the approach might be working.

The Americans for the Arts Annual Convention is heading to Pittsburgh in June. Follow along as we spotlight the city every week between now and then here on ARTSblog. Also, don’t forget the Advance Registration deadline is May 31 so be sure to register before then to receive a discount!

Raymond Tymas-Jones

Arts education in our society sometimes gets a bad rap. When I’m speaking with potential students and their families I’m frequently asked questions such as: What do people actually do with a degree from the College of Fine Arts? What kind of jobs do they get? How much money do they make?

These are all valid questions, but the answers are often more complicated than the inquirers desire. I often wonder whether or not these are the most important questions for people who are passionate about studying and creating art.

The Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) is an organization designed to enhance the impact of arts-school education. To do this, SNAAP partners with degree-granting institutions to administer an annual online survey to their arts alumni. The information from the survey provides important insight as to how artists develop in this country, help identify the factors needed to better connect arts training to artistic careers and allow education institutions, researchers and arts leaders to look at the systemic factors that helped or hindered the career paths of alumni.

SNAAP defines “the arts” and “the arts alumni” broadly, to include the fields of performance, design, architecture, creative writing, film, media arts, illustration, and the fine arts. The survey population includes alumni from undergraduate programs, graduate programs, and arts-focused high schools.

SNAAP launched its first national survey in 2011–12 and, for the first time, alumni of all ages were surveyed and over 36,000 arts alumni from 66 institutions in the U.S. and Canada responded. The population of respondents graduated from schools or programs within the last 20 years and tracked such information as jobs and livelihoods, self-reported satisfaction with their training, how their jobs may or may not invoke their arts training, and what kinds of additional skills or knowledge would have proved useful to them as arts alumni.

Among the topics surveyed, arts alumni are asked about current and past education and employment, relevance of arts training to work and further education and satisfaction with curricular and extracurricular experiences. There were 33,801 alumni who responded to the survey. Seventy-two percent of the respondent reported that they continue to practice art separate from work, while 77% reported artistic technique as being important to their work. It is interesting that 75% of these alumni have been self-employed at some point in their career.

It is safe to conclude that artistic skills and competencies were gained during matriculation. The respondents, however, identified as “important skills and competencies” acquired during their studies in the arts are critical thinking, creativity, listening and revising, teamwork, broad knowledge, leadership, project management, networking, research, technology, entrepreneurial, and writing skills. Each skill is applicable for any vocation and often provide opportunities for arts majors to be major contributors in any environment.

The alumni provided an impressive array of occupations that arts graduates hold with their fine arts degrees. Of course, the jobs within the arts are not surprising, such as design, fine artist, musician, film/TV/video artist, arts administrator, arts education, curator/museum, dancers/choreographers, writer/editor, and so forth.

On the other hand, outside of the arts, alumni are employed in a variety of fields, such as the legal profession, management, financial advising, computer/mathematical, communication, engineering/science, and transportation.

A truly amazing statistic is that 29,406 (87%) arts alumni said that they were satisfied with their primary job. Also, 28,392 (84%) indicated that their current job included creative work opportunities and 27,378 (81%) had opportunity to create work for the greater good. SNAAP respondents confirm that arts schooling is a good economic investment as well as a meaningful ladder to meaningful work.

All in all, college students who major in the fine and performing arts acquire skill sets that serve graduates in a myriad of ways and opportunities. Significant percentages of responding alums in the 2011 SNAAP Survey indicated that they were gainfully employed and content with their lives as contributors to the public good.

The important fact is that most alumni with a fine arts degree do not consider that they are without options and opportunities. It is inherent that artists can create for themselves and others through the power of their imagination, creativity, and innovation. In other words, artists are alchemists.

Greg Coppa

For decades, science and math educators have been the beneficiaries of government largesse, which has often been supplemented by corporate philanthropy. As a high school science teacher for three decades, I have often benefited from this policy along with my students and I have never questioned why it was so.

Many of my post-graduate courses were funded in whole or part by grants from the National Science Foundation. A good number of the many summer programs that I have attended were federally financed by one agency or another. Texts, videotapes, and computer software which I used were developed with government, corporation, or coalition assistance. And I have been very fortunate to have received honors and grants which have been sponsored by federal agencies and an assortment of professional societies.

I cannot warrant that every penny used to fund the variety of things just mentioned was spent wisely by the numerous government agencies and grant recipients. But overall I would have to say that from my vantage point, the taxpayers and corporate sponsors got their money’s worth.

People were trained, energized, and assisted so that they could become better teachers of science or math. Resources or teaching methods were developed which were often better than those previously utilized, or if they turned out to be worse, at least it was known for the future that that was the case. Failure was acceptable and looked at as part of the price for future success.

One might wonder, though, why science, math, and now technology teachers seemed to be among the chosen ones when it comes to getting money for training and equipping their labs and classrooms. To those in the “E=mc2″ communities the reason is so obvious that the question isn’t often asked. And if it is asked the response is something to the effect that science and technology provide the fuel which stokes the nation’s  economic engines.

In addition, superiority in these areas provides for national defense which has come to rely on technically sophisticated weaponry. Many believe that the strength of the nation is closely linked to the quality of science and math instruction.

What I am about to say may seem strange coming from a science teacher, but I am a strange science teacher. I possess a social studies teaching certificate, have taught and enjoyed teaching English, and like to write about scientific and non-scientific topics. I also have been a keen observer of students as persons and not just as young people to be taught science, math, and other academic subjects.

I believe that the true strength of a community and a nation lies in having many confident, capable, and productive people possessing skills in many diverse areas.

A musician capable of inspiring people with his song, an artist capable of giving vision to a fantasy with her sketch, a writer capable of motivating a population to successfully take upon itself a challenge are as important to any society as a skilled engineer capable of designing a missile guidance system.

I believe that money like that which has been spent to improve K-college science and math education programs should also be spent to improve instruction in and build support for other disciplines as well, but particularly art, music, and drama which tend to get minimal funding in many schools. The amount of money allocated need not equal what is allocated to science and math students on a per capita basis, but it should be much more than what is currently expended.

The justification for this?

Well, repeatedly in my career I have attended school exhibits, plays, and musical presentations where a student who had failed to distinguish himself or herself academically, or a student who for whatever reason was “invisible” to most peers and teachers in the classroom, attracted the notice of everyone by virtue of an exceptional piece of artwork or an impassioned and inspired stage performance.

It is as if these young men and women are shouting out: “Here I am world!  Maybe I can’t do chemistry, or trig, but I can move you to tears with my acting, or I can play a sax so well that you can’t possibly not tap your toes to the music while you listen to me!”

It may surprise many people, but it surprises me no longer, how these students can shed one image and assume another after being in the limelight for even a brief moment. Often they do suddenly demonstrate a new capability in the science and math classes in which they previously struggled; frequently they are surrounded by new friends who give them attention never before enjoyed. It seems that gaining or recovering self-confidence can have a multitude of beneficial effects for our youngsters!

I often wonder though. Supposing there were no music or art programs; no drama or dance in the schools? Many less enlightened or more poorly financed school systems than my own consider these areas to be frills to be cut at the first sign of budgetary distress. But what happens to those students whose talents are never displayed or developed as a result of these cuts?

How many people are out there now who have never been given the opportunity to shine, but only the chance to be mediocre in areas that were never among their strengths? Have they ever been able to develop the confidence to reach their full potential and contribute the most they could to our society?

Sometimes the school programs that seem to be the most superfluous to some are the most important ones for others. Students certainly have to develop a multitude of skills by the time they exit the schools. But as athletes and coaches know so well, skills without confidence are often useless. And confidence is attained by each of us in different ways.

Valerie as a fairy in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at age 3 1/2.

We recently launched a new series on ARTSblog that spotlights the staff at Americans for the Arts that I call “Ten Questions with…”, in which I will ask everyone the same questions and see where it takes us.

This time I have turned to Valerie Beaman who currently serves as Private Sector Initiatives Coordinator.

1. Describe your role at Americans for the Arts in 10 words or less:

Program planner, council wrangler, seeker of speakers and bloggers, herder

2. What do the arts mean to you?

In my family it was an anomaly if you weren’t involved in the arts in some way. We are all a bunch of introverts and eccentrics who’ve managed to stay sane by participating in the arts. My first stage experience was as a fairy in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Redlands Bowl at age 3 ½. I still get goose bumps when I hear Mendelssohn’s music for the entrance of the fairies! Experiences like that never leave you. It’s very important to me to that children everywhere have an opportunity to connect with the arts. They’re a lifesaver.

Valerie returning to Earth.

3. If you could have any career you wanted (talent, education not required), what would it be and why?

A test pilot because I love everything to do with the experience of flight. I took up skydiving because I wanted to know how it felt to step out into nothingness.

4. How many places have you lived? Where?

Five: I was born in Southern California; spent my school years in Pittsburgh, PA; I’ve lived most of my life in New York, NY, taking five years off in Bernalillo, NM to recharge, and Paris, where I always feel instantly at home.

5. What is the best compliment you’ve ever received?

Someone once said about me, “Look, she even ties her shoes gracefully.” At the time I laughed, but I still think of it every time I tie my shoes.

6. Name three people in history (dead or alive) with whom you would want to sit down to dinner.

Merce Cunningham, John Cage, and Robert Rauschenberg. I was a huge fan of the Cunningham Company and would love to hear about their collaborations and their crazy road trips. I’d ask John Cage to provide some delicious mushroom dishes and maybe read from Finnegan’s Wake in the wee hours. I’m sure the I Ching would come into play at some point in the evening.

7. Would others say that you can dance? Explain.

Well you’d think I could dance, having been in an opera ballet company and all the rest of my performing career, but somehow none of that training translates onto the regular dance floor. I couldn’t do the popular dances very well, so I created the Pussy-foot Stomp—not exactly the Harlem Shake—more like a demented Irish step-dancer.

8. What is the earliest memory you have of being an audience member for a live arts event?

Does the circus count? I was maybe five or six and I loved the man being shot out of the cannon, of course. I wanted to be shot out of the cannon too and cried when no one took me seriously. An early indication of my pursuit of flight!

9. What would the title of your autobiography be?

No One Here Thinks I’m Funny! I have a picture for the cover:

10. Finally, if you could paint a picture or take more photos of a place you have been in your life what would you paint or photograph?

I’m a novice with water colors and have been trying to capture the “walking rain” of New Mexico when the rain falls only halfway down from the sky. It’s magical at sunset. I suspect that magic only exists in the moment and can’t or shouldn’t be captured.

That’s it for Valerie. Stay tuned for more “Ten Questions with…” soon!

Erin Gough

It has been an exciting few weeks for arts and arts education professionals and advocates in the nation’s capital.

After a week of activities hosted by the Arts Education Partnership, Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network, Emerging Arts Leaders at American University and Americans for the Arts’ State Arts Action Network, training for Arts Advocacy Day began on April 8 and we were off to the races to meet with our congressmen and women all day on April 9.

Quite honestly, by the time I headed home, I expected to be totally wiped out—overloaded with information and overwhelmed by the situation at hand. Instead, it felt like the more time I was able to spend with such passionate people, the more energized and inspired I became.

People do not work with students, schools, community organizations, or become advocates because they are passive. They do it because they see a need to ensure arts opportunities for all of America’s students, but they know that the annual Arts Advocacy Day activities are only a small part of the work that needs to be done.

Coming down to Washington to learn about and discuss federal issues is a change of pace for me, and for most of us who work at the state and local levels.

It is absolutely important to learn about, and try to influence, federal education issues that impact the arts such as the reauthorization status of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Delayed. Again. Still.), Race to the Top requirements (which require teacher effectiveness evaluations for all subjects, including the arts), and No Child Left Behind waivers (which allow for more flexibility at the state level to pursue changes in graduation requirements and assessments).

These issues are the hot topics in Washington, and are important, but they are implemented in our states, and in our districts. It is important to share the Arts Advocacy Day asks with your congressmen and women; but it is imperative that you remain active in your home district and state throughout the year as well.

The idea that all politics is local is more relevant now than ever. In fact, lately, inaction at the federal level has created a necessity for action at the state and local levels.

It is great to share the policy asks with the data and research that Americans for the Arts provides for advocates (it really is—view this year’s Congressional Handbook), but what they really need to hear are the stories about how these policies and the arts are impacting students and families in their home districts.

Earlier on ARTSblog, Charles Jensen wrote an excellent post about how the messaging and work of your own organizations is also an advocacy message. This is absolutely true.

Those who work in education, however, don’t often have such a naturally existing vehicle for messaging. Arts teachers in public schools don’t have a marketing budget. Where other arts organizations may structure their programming around what will bring in audiences and grow a reputation, arts educators work within the constraints of policy decisions that are made by individuals for whom the arts may not be a priority, or even on their radar.

Without collective and strategic action, arts education can be swept under the rug by policymakers in discussions about budgets and academic requirements. As many proclaimed throughout the week, “Arts education advocates must be AT the table before we end up ON it.”

For so long, the work of arts and arts education advocacy was the work of arts organizations. We had siloed ourselves off from the actual decision makers and spent our energy “preaching to the choir,” and then wondered what happened when new policies are enacted that didn’t benefit the arts. We often speak amongst ourselves talking about the benefits of arts education, but only share them with “others” when we’re playing defense.

In Pennsylvania, our Arts Education Network is housed and staffed by the Education Policy and Leadership Center. Because of this, the organizations and individuals who helped develop our policy inventory and policy agenda were those who knew, understood, and influenced how education policy was created and enacted. Their institutional knowledge helped to include arts education issues in the discussions that policymakers were already having, and has helped to grow an nontraditional network of support.

Yo-Yo Ma alluded to this in his Nancy Hanks Lecture on April 8 at the Kennedy Center. He spoke about how, at age 7, he was transfixed when Danny Kaye came down to the eye level to “meet at the crucial edge that divides adult and child.” Ma said he has continued to try to internalize that gesture and that attitude, to meet people at the edge that divides one person from another. (Read/see more on Yo-Yo Ma’s inspiring lecture from another ARTSblog post).

The idea that the arts can bridge divides is nothing new for arts educators. We’ve always known that the arts enhances understanding in all subjects—but now we need to apply it to our own work, to create and enhance relationship with crucial decision makers to better influence education policy at all levels, and at all times.

On a lighter note, arts advocates should be encouraged. We must be doing something right as we are now getting credit for the advocacy efforts of others.

Michelle Clesse

An installation art museum, a nationally renowned glass studio, and a cartoon museum walk into a bar. Just kidding. Museums and studios do not have legs, and therefore, cannot walk anywhere.

Plenty of cities have great art resources for artists and art enthusiasts alike. When I stumbled into Pittsburgh in 2009, I was amazed by the combination of major arts institutions, niche arts organizations, and scrappy little start-up arts groups; but even more so by how approachable and accessible the Pittsburgh arts community was.

I had a hotbed of arts at my fingertips. By the time I’d been in Pittsburgh for a year, I’d taken two glass blowing classes at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, dragged every out-of-town visitor to the Society for Contemporary Craft, and learned about Gertie the Dinosaur at the ToonSeum.

Now, I certainly didn’t limit myself to the visual arts scene. During my first year I also saw the Pittsburgh Ballet perform twice, checked out the Pittsburgh Symphony, and saw The Mikado performed by CMU’s School of Drama.

As I’ve settled into the city and put down more roots, I still frequent some of my favorite art spots fairly regularly. I have also continued to explore both large and small performance art groups, while keeping my hands busy (and dirty) at many of the public access and cooperative art studios.

I spent last Tuesday evening covered in clay and listening to the Penguins game with a slew of other ceramic artists. This weekly ritual is part of the wood fire seminar at Union Project’s ceramics studio. Ceramic artists eager to learn about the firing technique spend eight weeks working in the studio together, and then pack up their bisqueware and head out to spend the weekend stoking the wood kiln and making s’mores.

I jumped at the chance to join the wood fire seminar, largely because during the 15 years I’ve worked in clay I’ve never had access to a wood kiln before. It also gives me the chance to meet new folks and create art in a group setting.

Every new person I meet has their own piece of the Pittsburgh art scene that they’re truly passionate about. I’ve learned about new experimental theater groups, galleries housed in abandoned spaces, and solo artists producing their next body of work. Just about everyone involved in the arts community has their hands in a few different projects, and wants to share that art with you.

Pittsburgh has plenty of possibilities for the art lover. Excursions range from busting out your best duds and enjoying an evening with the Pittsburgh Opera to throwing on your ripped jeans and heading over to Artist Image Resource to screen-print concert posters for your band.

So, when you come to Pittsburgh for this year’s Americans for the Arts Annual Convention, be prepared to prioritize your “To Do List.” Visit your favorite Pittsburgh art spot, but be sure to try something new. Maybe something you’ve never had the chance to experience before—I’ve heard the Pittsburgh Banjo Club’s Wednesday night jams are not to be missed!

The Americans for the Arts Annual Convention is heading to Pittsburgh in June. Follow along as we spotlight the city every week between now and then here on ARTSblog. Also, don’t forget the Early Bird Registration deadline is April 26 so be sure to register before then to receive a big discount!

Ronda Billerbeck

On a chilly January afternoon, I sat in a high school library, along with 40 students, listening to Suzanne Vega talk about music. Listening to any artist speak about their work is interesting at the very least and more often than not quite compelling. This was not just any artist.

Suzanne Vega is widely regarded as one of the great songwriters of her generation. She is a masterful storyteller who rewrote the book on what female singer-songwriters can say and do, paving the way for artists like Sarah McLachlan, Tracy Chapman, and the entire Lilith Fair revolution.

Suzanne performed as part of the Kent Arts Commission’s Spotlight Series. In addition to her public concert, she led a school workshop. I incorporate educational activities with professional touring artists as often as I can. Interacting with an artist in an intimate setting, hearing them discuss their vision and process, offers depth of experience that a traditional concert performance cannot. Getting that kind of glimpse into the creative process is unique and powerful—it ignites a passion for and connection with art unlike anything else.

When we have communities that are engaged with art, where art is an integral part of life and a defining characteristic of place, our communities are better for it. They are better economically, socially, and because individuals’ lives are enriched. 

It was thrilling to watch Suzanne Vega—a Grammy Award winner, an iconic voice in American song—standing in a humble school library speaking to students with an obvious conviction that they each have the potential to achieve as much as she has.

She spoke about her creative process and gave them tips on finding their artistic voices. She read poetry, told stories, and discussed the music business.

It is important to note that this activity was optional and students chose to sign up and stay after school to participate. It was the Friday after semester finals and I was worried no one would show up. Not only did students show up, they were thoroughly engaged.

One boy who sat in the front row with his guitar was the first to raise his hand and ask a startlingly insightful question. Teachers later told me that the young man rarely speaks in class.

The group was diverse, including African American, Latino, Asian, and Caucasian students. 70 percent of the school’s student population receives free or reduced lunches, so it is safe to assume that many of the participants were from lower-income families.

These are the times I truly love my job. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out so well. I’ve had more than a few outreach opportunities go unused because I couldn’t find anyone to host them. Between classes, administrative demands, trainings, and tests, educators have a lot going on; it’s difficult to make time for extra activities.

Another part of the problem is the lack of a neat and tidy way to get the word out.

Kent’s district is big—40 schools and 25,000+ students, big. I’ve tried starting with the district arts coordinator; going through principals; contacting music, art, and drama teachers. None of these strategies work as a rule.

The only approach I’ve found to be effective is labor intensive—making repeated phone calls and emails to varying people until I happen upon the right one—a principal, a teacher, even a parent.

Two schools passed on the Vega opportunity before I connected with an energetic teacher at Kent-Meridian High School. He got excited and wasn’t daunted by extra work. He made a video and played it in the cafeteria during lunch. He talked it up and, as a result, 40 kids had a wonderful experience.

He wrote me a note the next week saying, “The world needs more artists who make themselves accessible.” I agree.

The world also needs more teachers who are willing to go the extra mile to connect artists to students, as well as more presenters, agents, and managers who are willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.

It required the work of many people to make Suzanne’s workshop happen. Some people might look at the effort involved for the number of kids served and question whether it’s worth it. They would be underestimating the depth of the impact on those 40 kids.

My high school had an annual career day: lawyers, doctors, accountants, and insurance agents filled the classrooms. None of them moved me.

One year, somebody different showed up—a screenwriter named Lorraine Williams. She and her husband, Oscar-winning editor, director, and producer Elmo Williams, had just retired to my tiny Oregon town.

Lorraine was mesmerizing. I listened to her all afternoon, transfixed by how exciting she was, speaking passionately about the movie industry and writing. She was an artist, talking about art, and it inspired me.

Lorraine Williams passed away in 2004. Even though she didn’t know me—I was just a kid, at a desk, listening to her speak—I think of her often. I’m thankful that somebody at my school thought it was important enough to give her time and space to share with us.

I have no idea what we were studying or what we would have been doing that day, but I’ll never forget that afternoon with an artist. I hope the students at Kent-Meridian High School feel the same way about Suzanne Vega 20-some years from now.