Art in k-12th grade

[heatherisadork]

I was just wondering what you guys think about schools trying to take art out of the curriculum? Do you think it'll impact society eventually? How does keeping art in the curriculum help society in general? Opinions?

[Seedling]

Various cultures have taken various approaches to teaching art. But regardless of how art is taught, *all* cultures have produced art. Therefore I am not worried about it.

There is plenty with the US educational system that I would like to see improved upon, but I’ll save my rant for elsewhere.

[Grief]

due to a certain US president's policy of 'no child left behind' school's became a lot more accountable for getting their students to pass nation-wide standards tests.

as a result there were rampant budget cuts to focus more on the 'important' subjects. Art was eliminated from my high school. it was either that or Music, and lord knows the football team needs a pep band, lest our two wins per season diminish.

Friday was eliminated from the days of the week we had to attend school.
goodbye 1/5th of my education.

i hated high school. there was a thread in the Lounge asking about why college didnt live up to high-school, and the idea seemed alien and awkward to me. i think a lot of my hatred for high school was the fact that my mind was forced to wander to subjects of only modest interest. being the yearbook editor let me deal with a lot of typography and client/designer work which fed my need to aspire to an artist though. so if they cut Art, try to get into a Publications or Journalism class.

i read an article somewhere (maybe i'll find it and scan it in) asking "Is Art Needed?" and it went on to explain how our culture is taught that art isn't a crucial aspect of society and how most people believe it contributes nothing to humanity. then it rips those notions to shreds and stresses how utterly fundamental artistic expression is in the progress of the human endeavor. it's a bit lofty, but an enjoyable read.

see you can tell my education sucks, look at all them' typos.

[heatherisadork]

I'd be really interested in that article if you get a chance to scanning it.

[kool-ka-lang]

^^^seconded.

That would be a great read, if you get it.

As for cutting art out altogether in schools, I think it wouldn't matter: people will continue to draw, make music, no matter what situation their school is in.

[Grief]

sorry about the size
http://www.wou.edu/~jsmith6/sketch/first.gif
http://www.wou.edu/~jsmith6/sketch/second.gif

[Kek]

Thats sad...

Honestly without the many art classes I had through grade school I would probubly be doing something very different right now.

Even though my art classes in highschool consisted of 70% special-ed students, it was my favorite class, and something I could look forward to each day. I loved the ability to go into the room, grab some paper and do whatever.

My high school had a nice art program, for just basic art classes and "advertising design." But of course, I live in South Carolina, home of the 2nd or 3rd worst test scores in the Nation.