Something that I hope has become pretty obvious by now is that I feel that “No Child Left Behind” seems to be the cause for the dwindling funding and fine arts in schools. The next article I read brought up a point that I definitely hadn’t thought about, let alone I don’t think that it was trying to focus on it. But, Jeffrey Galante is Director of Music and Visual Arts at Rush/Henrietta School tells 13WHAM,

“No Child Left Behind’ lists arts as a core subject. It’s just not a tested subject. At this point, the pressure is on tested subjects to raise scores.”

Galante works in New York. In New York two years of art is required for students to graduate. Most people are aware that “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) tests students on in subjects that are determined to be the most important. Students are required to be at a certain level for each subject and if not the school receives less funding. I was unaware that “NCLB” lists art as a core subject. Perhaps this is because it is not tested and schools are being forced to cut art programs because of the lack of funding.

It all comes back to subjects that are not tested do not matter. I hope that it does not come down to having to test art ability to get funding for it. If that sounds ridiculous, that’s because it is. How can we test expect students to be at certain level of artistic ability that is judged by a test? Some people have the ability to create great art and others don’t. I feel that this also applies to all other subjects. Yes, teachers can teach form and technique but that doesn’t mean that a student has required any insight to why art is important or what art has to say about society. This also applies to language arts. Just because a student has the ability to read a short selection and pick out the protagonist and antagonist or select the correct use of a metaphor; doesn’t mean that the student has learned how to make connections between what they have read and their own lives. I feel the same way about the teacher certification test. How can 100 multiple choice questions determine if I am going to be a good teacher or not, but that is another point all together.

The article goes on to explain how even students are recognizing the importance of art education and the two years of it that New York requires. They are able to make connections between the things that they learn in art classes and their science and math classes.

“According to a recent survey conducted by the National Education Association (NEA), 80 percent of registered voters believe the arts develop the imagination and critical skills needed to prosper in the future.” (Roberts).

This shows that art education is an extremely important part of building young individuals. I can’t understand why it is that 80% of the population can see this but our government can not.

Art, Music–Important to Education?

By Chalonda Roberts

29 January 2008

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