Well, I didn’t get any submissions for the June Essay; I was sort of expecting that. Arts and Education is a tough topic but I do have a few words to say about it.

I’ve often heard it said that the Arts can never be taught, they can only be taught about. This, in my opinion, is not entirely true, technique is very much a part of the Arts and that certainly can be taught. But I do think that when it comes down to the actual creative expression with that technique, we are pretty much on our own.

I have a theory that just about everyone starts out an Artist and is perfectly capable of creating wonderful and interesting things. Sometimes a parent will not encourage creativity; some will even actively discourage it. Unfortunately even those of us who have had parents who tried to foster a creative sense sooner or later encounter some teacher who wants their students to conform to some strict rule or style and it may end up alienating the student. If you have ever heard Harry Chapin’s song “Flowers Are Red” you’ll know what I mean. “Flowers are red, and green leaves are green/ There’s no need to see flowers any other way than the way they always have been seen” vs. “There are so many colors in the rainbow/ so many colors in the morning sun/ so many colors in the flowers/ and I see every one.”

There are millions of dollars made every year by people who swear that they are going to teach people to be an Artist. Many of you may have seen the offers to “take this easy test to see if you can be an Artist” where they basically have you trace something and send it with your money. They may or may not teach you to draw but they will most certainly teach you about the business aspects of the Art world, i.e. “don’t swim where there are sharks.”

Dance helps Music, I’ve experienced it myself. Especially when I played in bands, when people are dancing, the Musicians play better. I like to move around when I’m playing an instrument; it helps me “feel” the music. And I’ve heard that Mathematics and other thinking skills are helped by Music, and that drawing and painting help us not only organize spatial relationships, but emotional ones as well. Often, when one teaches about a form of Art, it must be related to other forms, if only for a historical context.

In the broad areas of the Arts as related to Education, taken as a whole, I think that we all need to remember that we are simultaneously passing on our cultural heritage and adding to it, while observing the present and preparing for the future. I don’t think that one can truly overestimate the importance of this. Although our “culture” would carry on if we didn’t have the Arts taught in schools, I think it would be a great loss, measured in the decline in appreciation the Arts, Artists and our heritage. I acknowledge that there are some aspects of the Arts which may be overrated or need a good airing-out. But let’s not throw the baby out with the bath.

I don’t want to say that the Arts are more important than most other aspects of Education (even if I really feel that it may be true), but I will venture to say that they are at least as important. When budget cuts force schools to cut back on their Arts curriculum they are losing something that is, in my opinion, equally as important as reading, writing and arithmetic, and the loss to the students is huge and leaves a large gap in their cultural armor.

Well, that’s it. I ask you all to support the Arts in schools, we will all be better for it.