Arts education nonprofits to the rescue?
Mike Paulus, photos by Andrea Paulseth |
The Eau Claire School District is not alone in its struggle to find the necessary funds to operate at its full educational capacity, and it’s definitely not alone in its tendency to look towards art/music programs when budgets need to be cut. As we deal with the hard decisions of how best to spend available money, other school districts in other cities don’t even have the luxury of such decisions, as their arts ed. programs are all but gone already. In Los Angeles for example, elementary school art programs may soon disappear altogether.
Some communities are trying to fill this gap with nonprofit arts education organizations – hoping to offer the benefits of arts, music, and drama classes to those with no other options. GOOD recently described a 23-year-old arts education nonprofit organization in Los Angeles that’s been doing just that:
... But in the Skid Row neighborhood just east of downtown Los Angeles, one organization has been working to bring art back for the past 23 years. Inner-City Arts, a nonprofit known as one of the most effective arts education entities in the nation, offers an immersive artistic experience to every Los Angeles public school student, regardless of ability to pay.
The roster of mediums taught at Inner-City Arts covers visual arts, ceramics, digital photography, dance, drama, film production, graphic design, music, animation, and even stand-up comedy. In short, it looks amazing.
Now, I’m not trying to compare inner city Los Angeles to the City of Eau Claire. I’m just saying that this is a very interesting educational model – one born from the recognition that creativity needs to be practiced by our nation’s youth, and the opportunities to do so need to be protected. However, if a school district is lucky enough to have a successful arts ed. nonprofit within its boundaries, does it send the message that its schools no longer need to find funding for their own classes? I’m no expert, but I can totally see that reasoning taking hold. And it seems to me that creativity needs to be a required course.
As GOOD points out, more and more, creativity is identified as one of the most important skills America’s workforce will need in order to compete in almost every career field that currently exists. These arts classes aren’t just about painting pictures or acting in a play or nailing a wicked clarinet solo. They are about problem solving and teamwork and learning to take risks and using your brain in very, very important ways.
GOOD quotes Secretary of Education Arne Duncan who recently wrote that dance, music, theater, and visual arts "are essential to preparing our nation's young people for a global economy fueled by innovation and creativity."
