Art in Public Schools
...rth they are against all kinds of religious art (Carnell para 1). A student that attends a school in Syracuse, New York made a poster of a picture of Jesus that was supposed to be about the environment. The school was not happy about it and folded the poster so that they could display it without seeing Jesus (Carnell para 2). There are many organizations that are in favor of art in public schools like the National Art Education Association. It was founded in 1947 by the art department of the National Education Association which merged with the Western, Pacific, Southeastern, and Eastern Religion Art Associations (NAEA para 3). The National Art Education Association has an award program that encourages goodness in art education (NAEA para 1). There are also foundation grants that many people are able to get (NAEA para 1). The National Art Education Association is a very good program that many art lovers should get involved in to help the fight of getting the school budgets to fund art. There are only five schools in the Nation that are called a “Creative Ticket National School of Distinction” (Linders para 1). There is an award that is given annually to a school that makes art a very important part of education (Linders para 2, 3). Jason Fugere, the principal at Lindwood said : “Students, teachers, staff and parents deserve the credit for the awards” (Linders para 2). In Fairfax County a full curriculum of art and music is experienced from kindergarten all the way through high school (Pyle para 4). According to Dr. Domench: “The arts are among the oldest and most important of human activities, and everyone should have access to them” (Pyle para 5). Although the school budgets should fund art and music it would be hard to. The stock market is starting to see problems and there is a downfall of job growth across the state (Baggett para 1). The budgets have been cut by at least five percent by the state governments (Baggett para 1). Alternative budget reductions have also been prepared and must be approved by the Governor and General assembly (Baggett para 2). The Virginia Commission for the arts has to reduce its spending for the current year by at least fifteen percent, which is about $672,448 (Baggett para 24). Another cut was approved by the Governor and the General Assembly which reduces their budget seven percent more (Baggett para 25). Although they value the opportunity to meet with their peers, the Virginia Commission for the arts will not be able to sponsor the Art works for the Virginia conference (Baggett para 25). It would be unworkable to cut their spending without reducing grants that they have awarded (Baggett para 26). The commission has even gone further and suspended the Commission College Artist Residency Program (Baggett para 29). Other actions such as not filling all of the staff positions, reducing the travel of the staff and board, and canceling board meetings are going into effect to reduce the commission administrative costs (Baggett para 29). They are also canceling the commission booth at the Southern Arts exchange, holding all of their board meetings in Richmond, and eliminating funds for staff professional development (Baggett para 29). From 2002 to 2003 there will be no teacher incentive grants awarded, or individual artist fellowship awarded (Baggett para 27). They are being forced to reduce and completely cut off too much of their purpose. They need to fight to get more money so that art will not suffer. The first Virginia Award for leadership in Arts Instruction went to Superintendent Daniel A. Domehech (Pyle para 1). The Board President, Mr. Schroder, replied that “He is a model for educators looking to provide arts educational leadership in their schools” (Pyle para 3). The National Endowment for the Arts budget has decreased to less than $100 million a year, and they have no problem with it because there are only a select few that attend concerts and go to museums (Freeman para 2). “I once asked a U.S. senator how important public support for the arts was to his constituents. The senator, a Democrat, replied, ‘The future of the NEA is at the very bottom of my priorities list--we politicians view you and your friends as without a significant political constituency. You argue with each other on what we regard as irrelevant issues, thereby guaranteeing that, when push comes to shove, your cause will lose.’ This is a sad state of affairs, I think, for the world's only super power, at a time in our history when every other major industrial power spends 10 to 50 times per capita more th...