A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action, Please

A college friend of mine, Carl, is a second year teacher at a high school in Eastern Iowa.  Over the past couple years we've had several conversations about the state of arts and general education.  We have come to the conclusion the potential is there, but nothing is being done.  Carl recently wrote a blog entry about the continuous conversation about the need for education reform in the State of Iowa and how often the blame of poor performing students is placed upon the shoulders of the educators.  Carl goes on to outline the top four obstacles teachers face: quality professional development, the evolution of academic priority, parents and public misconceptions.  As a young, enthusiastic educator trying to make a difference in the lives of his students, Carl has shed a new light of these issues.

I wholeheartedly agree with Carl's assessment and can only  hope and pray my tax dollars are being spent effectively to positively reform Iowa's education system.  For too long people have been complaining about the current system and giving suggestions as to make it better.  However, that doesn't do anyone any good until we actually DO something about it.  What does knowing the test teach us?  Absolutely nothing beyond the fact that our students have the capability to be mindless drones that can regurgitate force-fed facts.  What happened to education being about the experience?  Why are good grades a given, something a student deserves, rather than an award?  The grade inflation rate is outrageous!  Shouldn't what a student learned be more important than the overall grade earned in a class.  In my personal academic career, spanning from high school to graduate school, I have taken many classes where I received an A for my final grade and felt like I didn't learn anything.  However, on the flip-side, I've taken classes where I worked very hard to earn a B. Those B's are so much more important to be because I was challenged and felt I actually learned something.

Why does the whole of the fault of poor academic performance of students have to be placed on the shoulders of teachers?  As Carl points out in his post, parents are a major influence on the performances of their children.  This extends far beyond the academic arena.  When parents are supportive and involved in the lives of their children, they perform better.  They become contributing members of society.  Why? Because their parents were a good example.  If parents took the time to be a part of the lives of their children and teach them positive social values and good work ethic, perhaps our educators will be more successful in their teaching.  It is not fair to expect our grossly overworked and underpaid educators to be parents by proxy AND teach our children algebraic equations.  This is a challenge to all parents out there:  ask your child what he or she learned in school today, ask if they helped anyone, ask if they met anyone new.  Engage with your child.  Please do not expect television to raise your children.  Trust me, the Kardashians are far from the best example your children need.  Please inspire your child to aspire to be more than a contestant on the Bachelor in 2020.  Try to keep your kids in school and positively reinforce their good behavior.  At the least tell them you love them.  Seriously, all these daddy issues are guaranteeing us an army of strippers for generations to come.

I realize there are plenty of teachers out there who are in the field because it's a safer bet - benefits are good, guaranteed retirement. But there are so many more teachers who actually care.  Why not install some sort of reward system based on student evaluations within middle and high schools.  If nothing else, it's another way to get students to write.  I understand these students can't vote yet, but they do have opinions.  Maybe this is idealist in me, but I think allowing students to actively shape their education would empower them to take ownership of it.  Sometimes all it takes is to ask a student what they think to get them involved.  Plus the evaluations may help teachers who aren't effectively reaching their students to adapt their methods.

I understand that education reform is going to take a lot more money, time and effort than we really want to put it.  However, we must remember the age old adage, "You reap what you sow."  We need to invest in our future today.  Start small.  Parents pay attention to your children; encourage them to do their best and learn something.  Please, teach your children manners and positive social behaviors.  Teachers, keep up the good work.  Administrators, pay communicate with your teachers and with the parents in your district.  State Legislators, don't aim for perfection, aim for what is realistic. Small, measurable and achievable goals are a good idea.  Don't set yourselves up for failure.  It doesn't make you look good.  Community members, please act like you're in a community; take an interest in the schools and the education of your future community leaders.  We want to cultivate a flourishing garden of educated global citizens, but that takes time, effort, and money.  Please invest.

Arts Funding IS Jobs Funding

About a month ago, an award winning lighting designer by the name of Jeffery Salzberg posted a facebook note entitled “Arts Are Jobs, Too.” Though I am not friends with Mr. Salzberg, nor do we have any facebook friends in common, and yes, I checked, this note was pretty hard to miss. The main point of the note was sparked from a dinner party Mr. Salzberg attended where a fellow artist made the following comment, “I care about arts funding, too, but jobs are more important.”

Yes, an artist actually said that. I’m going to pretend that the artist who would have the audacity to say something like that is not faring too well with his or her career and as a result doesn’t have an arts job, but instead is working retail at a Babies R Us. However, that is an issue for another blog. Mr. Salzberg went on to say how we artists “need to stop thinking of ourselves as charity cases.” He’s right. This would be a good place to insert a cliché about helping oneself, something about believing in oneself, or keeping the faith. You pick whichever one is pertinent to you and keep reading, please.

The final thought Mr. Salzberg left his readers with is “Arts funding is jobs funding.” Again, he’s right. Now, you neither need a degree in the arts nor in rocket science to know why he’s right, but in case you cannot logically put it together, I’ll help you. Also, it’s probably not your fault you don’t understand, it’s not on the standardized tests.

First, we’re going to look at some governmental things. I just did a quick search on U.S. Census Bureau’s North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) webpage. According to the 2007 NAICS report, there are 43 industries with the word “arts” in their title. When I searched the word “music” I came up with 104 industries. “Theater” produced 46 industries. “Dance” had 40 different industries. So by looking up arts, music, theater and dance, I found 235 arts related industries. Also, there is an entire industry sector devoted to “Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation.” NAICS has 61 defined industries under the sector of Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation. That means there are 174 industries in different sectors that are related to the arts. Out of the 19,720 total industries, 1.3% of them are arts related. That’s a pretty decent market share for such a specialized industry.

Second, I’m going bring up the timeless argument of how the arts support the economy. Dinner and show. Need I say more? Well, I’m going to. So you’re a single guy (or girl) and you have a date Friday night. You want to make a good impression on her (or him), so you think you’ll take him (or her) to a show. That makes you look deep and cultured and mature. Then you think to yourself, “Self, I can’t really get to know someone on a date if I’m just going sit in a dark theatre for two hours and not talk to him (or her). Dear Self, what should I do?” Then in a stroke of pure brilliance, you think, “I’ll take her (or him) to dinner first!” That way you and your date can actually have a discussion. Plus you can figure out if he’s (or she’s) attractive in fluorescent lighting. Now you’re on the right track. And, of course, after the show you’re going to go out for coffee or some other libation and talk about how awesome (or terrible) the show was – and a great date was had by all.

My third and final point is really a testament to your intelligence. Do you think arts productions and movies and concerts happen by magic? Do you think people put on shows just for kicks? If you answered yes to one or both of these questions, you just tested positive for ignorance. Arts organizations have to pay their employees just like private companies. We need marketers, accountants, CEOs, and IT people to run the offices. And we need carpenters, seamstresses, painters, electricians, and inventors (props people) to create our stages. Then the artists who have been practicing for months will put the finishing touches on our products. The final products you see in the concert halls and theatres do not just happen overnight and for nothing. People and money are behind them, just like the coffee you drink every morning.

Please remember, when you fund the arts you are funding people, businesses, and the economy. Money spent on the arts is not money wasted, but money invested in the advancement of our society.

--C