Back to school season is upon all of us. It's fantastic if you're a mom and especially unfortunate for kids across the country. Of course kids dread going back to sitting in a class room for six to eights hours a day but, there is something happening behind the scenes in public schools across the country that parents should be well aware about. It's apparent in many communities that budgets are being cut in public schools and it's terribly sad where most of those budget cuts are being made. Cuts are not just being made by not giving teachers the wages they deserve. Public schools are cutting out budgets to public school art programs.
Budget cuts in art programs have grown to an almost scary amount. The National Endowment for the Arts program was funded by the government in 1992 with $176 million per year and is down to $146 million per year in 2016. The decline of funding for public school art programs first appeared in it's most drastic form after the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 which places a lot more emphasis on core subjects like math and reading, which are needed for students to progress to the next grade level. Thus, leaving art subjects in the dust in public schools. The introduction of Common Core education created an even greater decline because it focuses on subjects that have standardized test and this again, leaves art subjects like foreign language and music, behind to fend for themselves.
With No Child Left Behind plus the introduction of Common Core, a certain stigma has been created regarding subjects in the arts. Public grade schools not requiring these subjects creates a stigma that these subjects are not even needed. These subjects are regarded as essentially useless and nothing but a "stupid" elective requirement from the county. And if a person decides they want an arts major in college parents and relative screw their faces in slight confusion and kids are asked, "Are you sure really want to do that? Have you thought about majoring in something like business or accounting?"
As one voice, I cannot demand that public schools across the country erase the stigma surrounding art programs. I can't call the President and tell him to put more funding into the National Endowment for the Arts. But, as one voice I can bring awareness to parents that is happening across the country and in their local communities affecting their own kids.
In this economy, there is a huge emphasis on STEM education and technology. But let us remember: art is everywhere you look. Art is on the billboards you see on the highway. It is in the museums in our communities. It is in our favorite shows and movies where we know each scene and line by heart. It is in the songs that fill our souls with happiness and make us scream the words at the top of our lungs with our best friends. Art is everywhere and our kids and future kids should know how much of life is art.
