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The Value of the Arts to the Community and Education
The title of this article was given to me as an assignment for a speech. To enhance the credibility of my personal feelings and opinions regarding the importance of the arts in every community, my research for the speech provided a vehicle for great quotes regarding the arts. My hope is that you will be able to use these quotes to support the importance and significance of the work you daily accomplish in support of the arts in your communities and in the schools.
The goal of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is for all students in Washington State's 296 school districts to have access to: "A comprehensive and sequential K-12 arts program in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts." Our Arts Mission Statement supports that goal by stating: "The Arts -- Communicating and integrating life, literacy, and learning, through experience for all learners."
Dr. Terry Bergeson, our Superintendent of Public Instruction has given a statement in support of the arts in Washington State, in which she says:
The Arts are an essential part of public education. From dance and music to theatre and the visual arts, the arts give children a unique means of expression, capturing their passions and emotions, and allowing them to explore new ideas, subject matter, and cultures. They bring us joy in every aspect of our lives.
Arts education not only enhances students' understanding of the world around them, but it also broadens their perspective on traditional academics. The arts give us the creativity to express ourselves, while challenging our intellect. The arts integrate life and learning for all students and are integral in the development of the whole person.
The Arts communicate and speak to us in ways that teach literacy and enhance our lives. We must continue to find a place for arts programs and partnerships not only for what it teaches students about art, but for what it teaches us all about the world we live in.
--Dr. Terry Bergeson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Washington State, November 2001
National Arts and Humanities Month is in October 2002. The theme this year is arts education and the need for every child in America to have a comprehensive, high quality education in the arts. We are proud that Washington State has embraced that theme with our agency goal for a comprehensive and sequential K-12 Arts program available to all learners in our state. Our Arts Education Motto at OSPI is "The Arts -- CPR for Learning -- C = Creating; P = Performing; and R = Responding." These concepts are integral in all parts of our state arts standards and essential academic learning requirements.
President George W. Bush said, "The study and appreciation of the arts and humanities serve as both the unifying force in society and as a vehicle for individual expression." Robert L. Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts cited "In the month following September 11, 2001, the humanities and the literary, visual, and performing arts have been a major vehicle for expressing the inexpressible---even the unbearable. God Bless America became for a time our national anthem, sung at almost every public gathering." Robert's quote struck a personal note with me, as I've been teaching God Bless America for over 26 years, to all of my students, and in many seminars and staff development trainings. Since 1980, I've been teaching it in song and with body sign language. The impact on the students, their families, and our audiences has been a powerful and sometimes transforming emotional experience. It is the most requested performance piece of my career -- for my students and for my personal performances.
Former State Senator Lorraine Wojahn has been quoted as stating, "Arts are the glue that hold a community together." Julia Garnett, Director for the Cultural Council of Greater Tacoma commented on the title of this article. Her thoughts culminated in the statement "As the arts inspire creativity in each of us individually, they breathe life into our communities." Former President John F. Kennedy stated, "I see little of more importance to the future of our country and of civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist. If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his/her vision wherever it takes him/her." Beverly Sills is noted for her powerful quote "Art is the signature of civilization."
Webster's Dictionary helps to give greater meaning to these profound statements. Community is defined as - "Society at large". Value is defined as - "Something intrinsically valuable or desirable." Belief is defined as: "Something believed." Education comes from the Latin root "educare" to lead out or draw from. What we know to be true, throughout history, is that the ARTS -- all of them, are beliefs and values in all societies that lead out, or draw from each of us - the art from within. The ARTS define and celebrate all aspects of our lives. The ARTS are the universal language that communicates to all peoples. That is why the arts continue -- they are values and beliefs. Values and beliefs are the very essence of who we are, and how we behave. Values and beliefs are constant in a changing world and society. The arts capture our essence, our purpose, our world, through multi medium experiences that communicate and transcend to all cultures in all languages.
I would like to ask you to ponder the following approach when considering the value of the arts to the community. Just believe, "Your life is an artwork in progress." Your lives, and all aspects of it, are a part of your community. Therefore, who you are, what you do, and how you do it, have great potential and importance to the art of your community. The values and beliefs that you emulate to your students, your families, and your communities, are significant in shaping, molding, and celebrating the lives you touch. You truly are a "hero" to your students, and hopefully, to others in your world. We do have the potential to touch the future through who we are, the values and beliefs that we model, and the values and beliefs that the ARTS communicate, through experience, to those in our world. Author Eric Jensen supported these thoughts by stating "the most significant learning occurs when emotions are integrated with instruction because all body systems are united. The arts are strongly linked to emotions, enhancing the likelihood that students will remember something."
The mission statement of the ARTS, from OSPI, "The ARTs -- Communicating and integrating life, literacy, and learning, through experience, for all learners," recognizes the integral connection between what we teach to our students and how that transfers into their lives and into the lives of their families and communities. Art in the homes, neighborhoods, and communities of our students gives meaning and life-long purpose to what we teach, and hopefully, to what our students learn. Our dream is for our students to be the "music makers", actors and actresses, dancers, and visual artists of their communities, and to make a positive difference in the lives of those they encounter. In his book Teaching with the Brain in Mind, Eric Jensen discusses the power of movement as an element in learning: "Give a school daily dance, music, drama, and visual art instruction where there is considerable movement, and you might get a miracle." The Chinese proverb "I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand," supports the countless opportunities that the arts provide our students and our communities through the process of experience in our mind, body, hands, and soul. The very essence of who we are and what we are about responds to life and to ourselves as "artworks in progress."
Dance, music, theatre, and visual arts activities enhance our communities through museums, theatres, concert halls, and galleries. Private lessons and instruction, tutoring, and before and after school arts activities, celebrate the artistic interests, strengths, talents, and skills of eager learners. Arts advocacy groups and associations provide much needed grant funding, artist support, and materials to continuously enrich the environments of our communities. These activities and people help to shape the culture of our communities. Art teachers, teaching artists, arts enthusiasts, and volunteers, daily provide instructional and learning opportunities for all ages, all day, every day!
Educationally, the arts define our students and their creativity. "Every child is an artist. The challenge is to remain an artist after you grow up," Pablo Picasso shared. He also stated, "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." Plato declared, " I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for in the patterns of music and all the arts are the keys of learning." Henry James supported these thoughts by writing "It is art that makes life, makes interest, makes importance, and I know of no substitute whatever for the force and beauty of its process." Former Secretary of Education, Richard Riley stated, "I have long believed in the important role that music and the arts can play in helping students learn, achieve, and succeed. Education in theatre, dance and the visual arts is one of the most creative ways we have to find the gold that is buried just beneath the surface. They (children) have an enthusiasm for life, a spark of creativity and vivid imagination that need training…training that prepares them to become confident young men and women."
When thinking of the arts in our world, playwright Wendy Wasserstein stated "The arts reflect profoundly the most democratic credo, the belief in an individual vision or voice . . . The arts' belief in potential gives each of us -- both audience and creator -- pride in our society's ability to nurture individuals."
To recap -- The Value of the Arts to the Community and Education is a very personal statement. It means something different to each of us. The commonality the statement brings is the value and belief that the arts are important to us and to our lives. Robert Schumann proclaimed, "The artist's vocation is to send light into the human heart." That is what we do, for we are artists, and our vocation is to teach our art to the masses. Henry Miller stated, "Art teaches nothing, except the significance of life." Our communities are the essence of our lives. "Every great work of art has two faces, one toward his/her own time, and one toward eternity." --Daniel Barenboim
May we continue in this great work- as we touch the future through the Fine Art of teaching. Each day is a new painting, a new song, a new play, and a new dance. The classroom is our stage. The creating, performing, and responding learning opportunities, which we provide, offer transforming life experiences for our students. "I am an artist! I am here to live out loud!" proclaimed Emile Zola.
About the Author: AnnRene Joseph is the Program Supervisor for the Arts (dance, music, theatre and visual arts), Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). Her contact information follows.OSPI Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)
600 Washington St. SE, Room 244
PO Box 47200
Olympia, WA 98504-7200
360.725.6365
FAX 360.725.6017
annrene.joseph@k12.wa.us
www.k12.wa.us
Copyright © September 2002 New Horizons for Learning
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