Children involved in the process of art.
We need your help! The Case for the Arts in Public Education
“The arts are essential for the healthy development of children and are an integral component of our educational system in development the attitudes, characteristics, and intellectual capacities required for students to participate successfully in today’s society and economy.” Dr. Shirley J. Neeley, Commissioner of Education, Texas Education Agency
“Teaching art is going the way of the dinosaur at [one of the Lampasas schools]. Yes they still have it, but for how long and what exactly kills it will be some sort of mystery. It was hard enough to teach art seeing kids once a week, half of them don’t remember what they started the previous week. Next year possibly seeing them on an every other week basis is going to be worse.” Local art teacher
A local art teacher provided this striking example: each student was presented with what was described as a page from a book on which a blot of ink had dropped accidentally. Anything could be made from this inkblot – they were to use their imaginations! Third-graders (who had not yet been through standardized testing) “went to town, taking up the whole page, with colors, markers, pencils, colored pencils,” needing very little outside help. Fourth- and fifth- graders, on the other hand, have been through the testing, and they were “utterly LOST.” They asked, “what is it, what do I do with it…?” “Most of them could not or would not even make a mark outside of the perimeter of the ‘inkblot,’ I’m sure it would have got better if I had more time with them, but now I don’t get to see them for 6 more days. It will be almost like the first day of school each time they come. So I have a new goal…bring the smarts back to the kids. Let them explore.”
GOAL: To gain a greater role for the arts in elementary, middle, and high school curricula in Lampasas schools.
WHY: To build an audience for the arts in Lampasas and, most importantly, to contribute to the development of productive, enlightened, creative citizens. According to studies, the arts develop higher order (critical and creative) thinking skills, including (1) the ability to deal with complexity and ambiguity; (2) the capacity for sound judgment;(3) attention to purpose (exploring alternative goals) as much as results; and (4) the ability to consider differing viewpoints and defer judgment. When the arts are taught in connection with other disciplines (such as history, English, or science, for example), studies show that the classroom becomes an exciting place to be, where creativity enhances learning, and high academic achievement results.
STRATEGY: meet with LISD superintendent, business manager, and assistant principal in charge of curricula to present the importance of art in education and to discuss ways in which arts education might be enhanced in Lampasas schools and how we might partner with schools to achieve that goal.