Author: Eddy, Junius

Publication Year: 1980

Media Type: Report

Summary:

The purpose of this monograph is simple: to give those who care about education and the arts some suggestions for checking on the health of the arts in your own school system - be it rural, county, suburban, or big city

Abstract:

The purpose of this monograph is simple: to give those who care about education and the arts some suggestions for checking on the health of the arts in your own school system - be it rural, county, suburban, or big city.

And so we have come full circle, back to the questions of educational policy with which we began.

We hope the questions and accompanying commentary have served to enlighten you about some of the characteristics you will want to look for as you probe the shape, size, and quality of your district's program in the arts. It is unlikely that you will find all of these elements at peak levels of strength in any one school system. More than likely, your district will have its individual weaknesses and strengths.

The main ingredients to look for, in the end, may be the trends and tendencies that characterize the educational climate as a whole:

• The hopes people express for better programs.
• The extent to which the faculty and supporting staff are accustomed to planning and teaming arrangements.
• The kinds of educational concerns you find parents expressing at board meetings or in neighborhood get-togethers.
• The sense of budgetary growth you find in the arts, relative to the size of the system as a whole.
• The amount of staff development throughout the district.
• The degree of commitment to the arts you find school board members and building principals espousing.
• The extent to which humanistic educational approaches pervade the school environment as a whole.

These are the kinds of things that could one day bring about the development in your district of a truly comprehensive program of quality arts education. (p. 7, 24)

CONTENTS
You care about the arts in your school district.
Is there a formal school board policy, or set of goals, concerning the arts?
How are the arts reflected in the school budget?
How strong is the arts program in the elementary schools?
How strong is the arts program at the secondary level?
Are there arts programs for students with special needs and interests?
How are the arts integrated into the regular academic program?
Does the district provide staff in-service programs in the arts?
Do school arts programs involve the community?
Does the district have a comprehensive program in the arts?
A final word.

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Arts Education