I don't recall many of the basic lessons I learned in elementary school. I vaguely remember multiplication tables in the fourth grade, memorizing state capitals in the fifth and tackling a science project on birds as a sixth grader.
What I do remember is how much I loved art. I can still picture in my mind how proud I was of the watercolor zebra I painted, the prints I made using ink and styrofoam plates, and the chess pieces and bowls I made in the classroom kiln.
I can also flash back to Christmas music programs, singing about how there would be no school tomorrow if it snowed, then giddily throwing white paper confetti in the air. Or how my music teacher would make the class sing songs about John Henry or play recorders to the tune of "Three Blind Mice."
I find it really sad that, for many kids today, such memories will never be made as more and more schools across the country are being forced to cut arts curriculums in the face of looming budget cuts.
For school administrators who must make the final call, arts and music classes take a back seat to core curriculum, making them easy targets for elimination. But many say they feel as if they are left with no other choice than to eliminate these "nonessential" courses in the face of the budget crunch.
Others shift the blame for the disappearance of arts curriculums on the No Child Left Behind Act passed by President Bush in 2001, which sets demanding achievement standards in reading and math that schools must achieve to qualify for federal funding.
In just the last year alone, the Indiana Department of Education reported that 117 of the state's 791 Title I schools failed to meet those standards, meaning many of them will be putting their arts curriculums -- and some sports activities -- on the cutting room floor in order to step up core classes and make the grade.
While there may be no good answer to how our schools can save arts curriculums (outside of parents helping to raise donations or pledges), I'm sick and tired of these courses being labeled as the underbelly of education, serving as the first to be tossed aside in the face of such a crisis.
Art and music re-enforce courses like math and science by giving children problem-solving and thinking skills. In art and music classes, there are no right or wrong answers or rules an unruly youngster must follow. There is simply the chance for the child to express his or her creativity and feel good about it when they create a piece of artwork or play a note in tune.
Not every kid is going to grow up to be an astronaut, chemist or master of prose. For many students, art and music provide a niche they can find nowhere else. These opportunities help them feel as if they belong, giving them a reason to go to school in the morning, a class to look forward to in the afternoon and a chance to prove their skills may lay outside of the traditional classroom setting.
So why should we care about the fact some little kid isn't getting the chance to make paper-mache mosaics or bang on a musical instrument? Because it wasn't that long ago that we were that little kid -- and some day, at some point, that little kid is going to be our own.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
