Success of the Imagination: Funding art in schools

Adapted from a letter I emailed to our new secretary of education.
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The US Government's lack of preparation against the Sept. 11 attacked was made possible by what the Commission called "a failure of the imagination." A lack of access to creativity in our younger generation will lead to negative consequences: social disconnection, low graduation rates, underemployment, and a myriad of unknown roads left untraveled, brilliant ideas unrealized, beautiful realities left fallow. Failure of the imagination on a massive scale. I propose you take this moment to foster the success of the imagination.

I am an actively volunteeering elementary-school parent in Alameda, CA. Our budget has been cut repeatedly, like that of other districts. Alameda is one of the districts suffering doubly because, when our military based closed, we lost Federal funding. This funding has never been made up by the State of California. Add the un-funded testing pressure and draconian mandates of the ridiculous of No Child Left Behind... and most of our children ARE being left behind in an essential way: exposure to and practice of creativity. Although my concerns lie primarily with my home district, I realize this is a statewide problem; we teach the rote and expect a problem-solver. We teach to the test and expect a thinker. As first graders struggle under the thumb of pre-algebra, and fourth-graders are impaled nightly on the shiny pin of 5-page sociology reports, we neglect the very thing that makes school bearable: avenues to explore creativity, expression, and new ideas. Having presented the problem, I'd love to be part of offering a solution: an urgent request that you make a priority to fund arts education in all schools.

My daughter's school, Otis Elementary, has a very active PTA. One of our best efforts is the Art Docent program, where parents come into the classroom and impart lessons to the children about art history and world culture. Children are guided into their own interpretation of the medium, and make their own message. In my 5 years as a docent, I've had many children light up when they see me, clamoring: "are we doing art today?". I've had kids who are not allowed to "make a mess" at home show true joy and enthusiasm and pride in their amazing creations. I've seen kids shine who are frequently seen as trouble-makers or struggle with poor academic achievement. Since different kids have different learning styles, these small successes can help turn things around.

My PTA is not the norm. A number of schools in our district have no art docent program; no art at all aside from "cut out the blue square, paste near the red triangle". Supplies are limited; there is no exposure to different art forms and cultures; there is minimal creativity, there is not much of anything that would make a kid want to show up to school every day. And it's primarily an issue of funding: poor parents, no PTA funding, underserved students. I'm sure that, outside of our district, the same line of demarcation falls: kids of the working poor get the short end of the stick (or the dry end of the paintbrush). Their parents have no time to volunteer and may have language and educational barriers to helping out. Their parents may not have much understanding of art, and they may not value the creative thinking and problem-solving that art brings to the intellectual table. Their parents may even fear (like my Irish immigrant parents did) that studying art, music, theater, or dance means setting yourself up for a life of poverty. But in a culture that values the arts, a lucrative career is possible - at times in the animation industry, I've made more money per year than my father - an insurance sales executive. Ever single item you see around you was created, sold, and packaged by someone. Every movie you watch, every note you listen to, every book you read... artistic products. The arts fuel our economy; yet we give our children little training in artistic expression. We have no idea what these kids could do, because they barely have access to the concepts, let alone the materials.

I think that these under-served, frustrated kids deserve better. In these economic times I know it's hard to get funding for the arts, but with creative thinking, unexpected avenues open: teaching artists will often work for a reasonable stipend, materials can be donated, parents can be mentored to help not only their own children but those who share their classrooms and neighborhoods; teachers can access tools and support to easily integrate arts education with relevant curriculum.

If you fund the arts in schools, everyone wins. If you don't, everyone loses. Please use your own mind creatively, and give arts funding a high priority in the educational budget.