The Arts

I am hopeful that the arts will be seen as necessary to the education of the whole child and will be given higher status in what we perceive to be the ideal education for our children.  The arts help children integrate and personalize information, emotion, and reflection.  The present state of high stakes testing and accountability focuses on convergent thinking and little time is even allowed for the divergent, creative pursuits of art, music, and drama.  Teachers are actually told not to do those activities because we must focus on reading, writing, and math.  Many kindergarteners never hold a paintbrush or feel the pleasure of clay in their hands or go to the playhouse and act out the routines of life.  Old songs and folk dances, even the tunes of nursery rhymes are becoming extinct in the pursuit of high test scores.  Are we sacrificing the development of personal breadth for too narrow a focus.  We must maintain balanced goals of high academic achievement AND opportunities for the growth of creative expresion!