Strengthening Arts Curriculum in Reforming Education

An interesting and valuable letter to the editor from Texas Senator Eddie Lucio advocating arts education was published in The Brownsville Herald on April 5th, 2006.

Here are some snippets:

..."Chairwoman Victoria Hodge Lightman of the Texas Commission on the Arts says, “We continue to see evidence that students involved in arts education programming perform better academically, are more likely to graduate and have fewer discipline problems than students without access to arts education programs. Unfortunately, we also see continued reduction in access to arts education as budgetary cuts result in the elimination of quality arts programming from our schools...”

"..Stanford University and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching discovered in their study that the arts develop skills and habits of mind that are important for workers in the new “Economy of Ideas” (Alan Greenspan). Their findings link arts education with economic realities, asserting that young people who learn the rigors of planning and production in the arts will be valuable employees in the idea-driven workplace of the future..."

"...We need to fund public education fairly and equitably. We need to reduce the heavy burden of taxes on property owners. We need to give teachers pay raises. We need to expand facilities funding to build badly needed schools, gymnasiums, libraries and other edifices critical to a well-rounded education. We need to determine the best way to educate our children and reduce dropout rates. And somewhere in this heavy mix, we must do all we can to see that arts education remains or becomes a required segment of public education in Texas...”

TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE.

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Want to support arts curriculum in our public schools? Here is a way to start...attend any of the events listed on the BISD Fine Arts Spring Schedule.