Posted By: MacEwen Patterson
To: Members in Keep the Arts in Public Schools

Dated July 2010 - This Just In

Here are a couple of breaking news pieces happening in the States and abroad that can inform and inspire us some more. We are on the brink of seeing big change in this arena. Contributions can only push our cause forward more. All of your support is appreciated on all levels.

North Carolina: New Arts Education Task Force Legislation Passes Unanimously
Encore Online, 7/6/10

"On the last day of June, Gov. Beverly Perdue signed the 2010–2011 state budget into law. In the current economy, the expectation for arts funding would be ordinarily low. However, anyone following the recent advocacy for arts education would know that Gov. Perdue’s cabinet made creative growth a top priority for the state government. Karen Wells, executive director of advocacy group Arts North Carolina, says the intense lobbying for arts in schools would have been a hopeless effort were it not for their allies in the governor’s office. 'It just doesn’t get any better than to live in North Carolina,' Wells said. Arts North Carolina's project, Senate Bill 66, unanimously passed in the state senate. The bill will require a task force to create a plan for arts education in North Carolina public schools, starting in kindergarten and requiring arts classes for high school graduation. The task force will form this month and work toward a solid recommendation for the State Board of Education by December."

For more, please read:

http://bit.ly/aphbN7

Canada: High School Student Authors Editorial on Music Education
The Leader-Post, 7/5/10

Credence McFadzean, a Canadian high school student who occasionally writes pieces for the paper, offered the following in an editorial published in The Leader-Post last week: "The general importance of musical education is highly touted to the public. We are often told that learning to play an instrument makes one smarter and that this is especially beneficial in the development of young people. However, I feel that most people will hear and accept this information and will not think about it too much further of an extent. Even those who do play music and experience this 'enlightenment' first-hand probably do not consciously dwell on the encompassing effects this sort of education has on them; either they chose to learn an instrument on an interested whim, or they are extremely passionate about music and its position in their lives is obvious and natural. In any case, the unparalleled significance and emotional connotations that music holds in the world is clear, and so its appeal in elementary and secondary educations is certainly no mystery. If I were to analyze the specific ways in which a band program strengthens a student or 'makes them smarter,' I would say that it does so physically and mentally, morally, and socially. And if this is true, then there is no excuse imaginable for a school to fail in integrating a music program in some shape or form."

For more, please read:

http://bit.ly/a5Gtky

I really appreciate all of your responses to the last post. It is clear that there are a lot of people and regions in pain around education, budgets, and the vision of the future as it appears right now. I remain committed and unshakably firm that our fight is not complete. We suffer from a lack of focused and organized attention, from an incomplete set of tools, from a voice that is difficult to hear. And only we can make the changes necessary to be the clear answer.

It doesn't happen over night. We need to remain dedicated to a future that gives our children the space to be imaginative, intuitive, and eventually ingenious. Hold fast! We are closer than ever, despite appearances.

I appreciate you!

MacEwen
Admin