Marete Wester

When it comes to advocating for arts education, I think we are in the “best of the best”—and the “worst of the worst”—of times.

I’ll start with the "worst of the worst."

The political environment for education is more hostile and corrosive than ever before.

The economy has not rebounded enough to help stave off what the loss of federal education funds to the states through the 2010 stimulus package will mean to local districts. Loss of teachers and programs are not just happening in the arts—they will happen system and subject-wide.

One recent example is the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) to provide funds for FY 2011 (current year) for two weeks to avoid a federal government shutdown. The two weeks is up on Friday.

The CR actually makes a $4 billion cut in domestic spending, including a number of federal education programs—such as Teach for America.  Not surprisingly, among these programs designated for cuts is the $40 million Arts in Education program for which we advocate every year.

Rachel Evans

I wish I had counted how many people said to me over the last seven years that I need to teach the pre-service theatre educators in my classes to be arts education advocates.

On one hand, it’s exciting to realize that the field has progressed to the point that it recognizes advocacy as a necessary part of the student-teaching experience. On the other hand, crafting an identity as an advocate and adopting an advocacy agenda--that’s quite a bit of pressure on the young educator.

Or so I thought.

I chose to start small. The students in Kean University’s Topics in Theatre Education class began by reviewing advocacy sections on the websites of various service organizations.

We looked at the materials I saved from Arts Advocacy Day 2010 and we watched the video ad for 2011’s gathering.

I spoke as passionately as I could about the lasting effects last year’s AAD experience had on me: building my convictions and motivating me to find my own voice as an advocate for the arts.

Rob Schultz

One of the tried-and-true methods for advocating government funding for arts education is to tell a story about the positive impact of the arts on an individual. If the story can convey transformative change in that individual, the more powerful the message will be.

Well, here is one story.

It may not be Hollywood blockbuster material, but perhaps some can relate.

Several decades ago, an individual was growing up in a 1960’s suburban, middle-class American neighborhood and living a relatively mundane and somewhat sheltered life.

Afflicted with what would today be diagnosed as ADHD, this individual had difficulty in school, especially high school.

Clayton Lord

Last week, arts advocate Arlene Goldbard spoke at the Association of Performing Arts Service Organizations conference in Austin. Goldbard believes we need to start using a more empowered (and less-numbers-based) vocabulary for arguing for the value of the arts. At one point she said this:

"The best argument for arts education is that children today practice endlessly interacting with machines, developing a certain type of cognitive facility. But without the opportunity that arts education affords to face human stories in all their diversity and particularity, to experience emotional responses in a safe space and rehearse one's reactions, to feel compassion and imagine alternative worlds, their emotional and moral development will never keep pace."

Later, she noted:

"Students today are preparing for jobs and social roles that have not even been imagined yet. They cannot be trained in the narrow sense for jobs that do not yet exist."

Goldbard argued that arts education, with its ability to instill social skills, empathy, intellectual development, critical thinking, etc., would allow students today more flexibility as those as-yet-unknown jobs and roles revealed themselves over time.

Merryl Goldberg

The film Race to Nowhere is a provocative entrance into a conversation about educational reform and, in my role as Chair and Professor of the Visual and Performing Arts as California State University San Marcos, I've been invited by local PTAs to comment on the film and begin a dialogue with teachers, parents, and school administrators.

I've created a top ten list in response to the film and to what I see as core needs in schools. In embarking on a path to student success, I suggest reinvigorating curriculum development and policy with the following:

1.    Wonder – Wonder sets the stage for learning. Children (indeed all of us) have an innate ability to imagine and create – all of which starts with wonder. Scientists, mathematicians, and artists are wonderful role models for the act of wondering and the arts cultivate wonder – engaging us, both as creators and as audience members.

Victoria Plettner-Saunders

As Chair of the Arts Education Council of Americans for the Arts, I’d like to welcome you to the first Arts Education Blog Salon of 2011.

There are always so many things to learn from our colleagues as we share blog posts and commentary on a particular theme for one full week.

I hope you have time to return to the Salon several times throughout the week (and again after it ends on Friday) and post your own thoughts or questions as they arise.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to share with you a little bit about the Arts Education Council and what our agenda for 2011 looks like.

This past January, the council met to plan its annual agenda. With a renewed focus on supporting members at the local level, we developed a rather ambitious set of activities for the year around five main themes (some of which were the result of the council’s Trends Report that has been developed over the past two years).