Americans for the Arts

Creative Worker Bees

Posted by Americans for the Arts, Oct 01, 2007 0 comments


Americans for the Arts

Week after week, story after story is published in newspapers and magazines all across the country. They take different angles, but they all have the same message: an education that includes the arts produces workers that companies want to hire.

  • The San Diego Business Journal writes that in an age of increasing globalization, jobs that lack elements of creativity will wind up overseas. So while math and science are important, it might be music and art that make the difference between a lay-off and a promotion.
  • The Daily Press in Escanaba, MI, published a story this week about China's shift from a teaching-to-the-test curriculum to one that encourages creativity, just as the United States is doing the opposite. The No Child Left Behind philosophy is not preparing our children for tomorrow's world.
  • Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is driving the point home in speeches on the campaign trail, saying that employers are looking for creative types. Like Richard Florida, Huckabee believes that creatives will make up the American workforce in the future.

So the word is getting out. The idea is catching on. Creative workforce has Buzz. And Buzz is the beginning. Before Paris Hilton was everywhere, she had Buzz in the Manhattan nightlife scene. Before healthcare reform was on every politician's agenda, Michael Moore's Sicko had Buzz.

But what do we do now? How do we in the arts harness the creativity Buzz and use it to ensure that every child gets a quality arts education?  At Americans for the Arts, we are working on leveraging the Buzz to get foundations, corporations, and political leaders involved so that No Child Left Behind doesn't leave the arts behind.  We know you are working on it too. What are you doing with the Buzz?

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