Quality of Arts for All Students
The state and
federal government now consider the fine arts as a core academic subject,
along with math, science, reading, and social studies. This new level of
importance for the arts can be seen in Education, Yes!, the new
Michigan legislation, as well as in the new Bush education plan, No
Child Left Behind.
Education,
Yes! is the new accountability system for Michigan schools. Each
school will continue to be accountable for their MEAP scores, but
schools are also asked to report annually to the state on the
qualifications of their teachers, the quality of their staff
development, the appropriateness of their facilities, and the quality
and continuity of their fine arts programs. Tom Watkins, the state
superintendent, reported last February that
A highlight
of the changes recommended in Education, Yes! is the new indicator for
arts education to emphasize the connection of arts to thinking skills
and to focus on arts opportunities for all students.
Likewise, the
federal government states similar language in the new Bush legislation,
No Child left Behind. Under Title V, Subpart 15 it states:
The
purposes of this subpart are the following:
-
To
support systemic education reform by strengthening arts education as
an integral part of the elementary school and secondary school
curriculum
-
To help
ensure that all students meet challenging State academic content
standards and challenging State student academic achievement
standard in the arts.
-
To support
the national effort to enable all students to demonstrate competence in
the arts.
With this new
focus on the quality of arts education for all students, it is
imperative that schools develop fine arts curricula based on the state
standards and benchmarks. These standards and benchmarks, as stated in
the Michigan Curriculum Framework (MCF), lay the foundation for all fine
arts instruction in every elementary, middle and high school.
Secondary music
teachers traditionally have difficulty meeting all of the standards and
benchmarks in their classrooms. Performance has been the primary goal in
middle schools and high schools from the inception of school music
programs in our country. The MCF, however, requires educators to develop
compositional and improvisational skills in all students in the K-12
system. Because composition and improvisation is not commonly taught in
university teacher preparataion programs, most teachers do not have the
required expertise to teach these skills to their students. If we expect
music educators to embrace the MCF, we must be willing to support them
with substantial retraining to meet these standards.
Another issue
for schools is the fact that only 10-20% of secondary students
participate in fine arts programs. Superintendent Watkins makes it clear
that the state expects all students to be provided with an
education in the arts. He writes:
Accordingly,
our system of public education will provide all students the
following:
So, how does
your district begin?
Fine arts
curricula development continues in many Macomb County districts. The
most successful development projects have been initiated by the
assistant superintendent for curriculum and are a part of their
district's academic curriculum development cycle. Successful districts
have committed to long-term development (3-5 years), and include a
review process, the development of new curriculum, and the
implementation of the curriculum with the appropriate staff development.
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