Arts Advocacy Day February 14th

The Indiana Coalition For the Arts will hold their annual Arts Advocacy Day at the Indiana State
Capitol on February 14th. I will share more information on this important event soon.
Please consider joining me and other arts advocates as we communicate the importance of fine arts experience in our schools and in our communities to members of the Indiana General Assembly.

Clyde Gaw speaks with Senator Brent Waltz of Greenwood during the 2012 Arts Advocacy Day.

Arts Education At Risk Again....

Back in 2010, Robert Sabol published the results of a study from a national survey he conducted in which 3412 visual art teachers responded to qualitative and quantitative questions regarding the impact the No Child Left Behind Act had on their art programs. To my knowledge, Dr. Sabol's study, gives us the clearest picture yet of the affect NCLB has had on programs devoted to the development of creativity in U.S. Schools. The results are not pretty:

•  Respondents reported that NCLB has had negative effects on scheduling, workloads and funding for their visual art education programs.
•  NCLB has had limited negative consequences on the areas of staffing, teaching loads and enrollments.
• Respondents reported that NCLB’s focus on assessment has had unintended secondary consequences on student learning, including a narrowing of students’ interests in learning and
  exploring a broad range of content.

What has changed since? Race to the Top.

From my perspective, RttT emphasizes teaching to the test and the narrowing of the school curricula even further than NCLB.

Now, to complicate matters: According to a recent U.S.D.O.E. report on arts education, program funding devoted to creativity development in U.S. schools has stagnated. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan states: "... there have not been significant national declines in the availability of music and visual arts instruction in elementary and secondary schools."

 Secretary Duncan states we are not experiencing significant declines from a vital area in education that has already been marginalized? This is not good for children.

Add to this situation the state and federal funding dilemma schools face in this age of austerity and children are at a higher risk of having their fine arts learning opportunities reduced even further.

Let me just say that as schools are charged with the immense task of developing the future inhabitants of civilization, children's creative capacities are an aspect of their education that should never, ever be neglected.

If you have not communicated the importance of arts education funding in our schools, I urge you to contact your Indiana Legislators here:

Not sure who to contact? You can find Indiana and U.S. Legislators here.

Need advocacy talking points? Find them here:

Your efforts are critical for the preservation of creativity development and fine arts learning opportunities in our schools.

Best wishes....Clyde

5th Grade boys and their 12th Grade mentor collaborate on a kinetic sculpture in art class at New Palestine Elementary.

Education by Worksheet?

What does a steady diet of worksheet learning activities do to children's natural desire to learn?

The Creativity Crisis in American Public Schools....

There is a concerted effort on the part of U.S. public schools to emphasize preparation for high stakes testing in reading and mathematics. Teachers, administrators and even schools can get the axe if their test scores are not high enough after a few years or so. So what does that mean? More standardized curriculum, rote memorization and nationalized testing. Children are left out of the decision making processes central to the educational activities they engage in. This is where creativity takes a hit. Because without autonomy, creative learning experiences are snuffed out. Should policy makers be concerned about this? Apparently not.

Senseless....

"This doesn't make sense to me. Why are we lowering standards to become a teacher when obviously Tony Bennett didn't think that teachers were qualified?" Sarah Verpooten,  Lake Central High School.

What is the reasoning behind REPA 2? Good question. We heard over and over and over from the current IDOE Administration that we had a problem with instruction and a problem with teachers. So it boggles the mind that Tony Bennett and his cohorts would create conditions for less educated and less experienced teacher and administrator candidates to educate Hoosier school children who lack comprehensive training and education.

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has a great summary  of Tony Bennett's final education initiative for the citizens of Indiana.

REPA 2 Means New Teacher Candidates Can Be Less Prepared....

REPA 2 licensing changes have been passed by the Indiana State Board of Education under Supt. Tony Bennett.

Ultimately, this change means fine art teacher candidates can now be licensed by passing a test. It doesn't matter that the teacher candidate lacks extensive knowledge of cognitive psychology, curriculum design, learning environment design, child development, instructional methods or extensive practicum and studio experience.

No teacher licensing test prep can adequately prepare a candidate for the real classroom with real children like professional schools of education. 

Would you send your child to a medical professional who was not fully trained or educated in their field?

This is an attempt to degrade the teaching profession.

The passage of REPA 2 is a sad chapter in Indiana education history.

What happens when non-educators reform public education....

From Dov Rosenberg

"Education Reform, beginning with the No Child Left Behind 
Act and continuing with Race to the Top, has produced no US score 
gains on international tests in science, math, or reading. There has 
been no shrinking of the "test score gap" by race or class, no 
reduction in child poverty, no narrowing of income inequality, 
and no diminution in the prison population. However, it has 
resulted in huge profits for Pearson and other testing firms;
 the reduction of teacher morale to its lowest level in history; 
expansion of "Teach-For-A-While" elite programs where teaching 
is viewed as a career stepping stone, and the proliferation of
education consultants and charter school leaders making 6-figure 
salaries. Look at what's going on in your city & your 
community since high-stakes testing has been imposed (2001).
 Have students in poor and under-served communities been 
empowered? Are they enjoying school more? Are their families 
being energized by the new choices they now have? Or, have 
precious portions of the school day, that should be devoted to the 
arts, music, sports, physical education, been sacrificed as schools 
are deluged with tests? Have special needs & English Language 
Learners been marginalized because they might lower a class or 
school's test profile? There is a story to be told here, school by school,
 city by city, state by state. Your TV, radio, and newspapers haven't 
told it yet. It's up to you to tell it. Be heard." - Inspired by Mark Naison