When the news broke about Donald Trump wanting to slash the National Endowment for the Arts I experienced two different feelings at once. The first was my heart completely sinking, and the second was fear for my future as a music teacher as well as those of my friends who also are pursuing careers in the arts. It also brings to mind fear for all of the public school students that find solace in participating in the arts. If he gets rid of the National Endowment for the Arts, who's to say that he won't also make decisions that negatively impact arts programs within the schools?
Before I get into anything, I need to preface it by saying that I am not under any circumstances trying to stomp all over anyone's political beliefs or opinions. I'm not trying to shove mine down anyone's throat and I'm not trying to make anyone feel small because of what they believe in. All I'm trying to do is shed light on a situation that has brought many worries to my mind in an effort to (hopefully) get enough people to come together and be proactive in making a difference.
For a lot of students across the country, participating in arts programs in their school is the only thing they enjoy about school. If it wasn't for my participation in the music program in my high school, those four years would have dragged on forever and I would have never gotten any enjoyment out of being in that building. Now for those students who are in similar situations now like I was back then, what does cutting the National Endowment for the Arts mean for them? Will it trickle into the education system and negatively impact their ability to participate in the one thing in their school that makes them happy? For them there's fear, because they don't know if their happiness will be ripped from under their feet.
And now what about the view of the arts on a national level? In recent years there has been so much progress made with how the arts are viewed in the schools. Now, in 2017, the arts are considered to be a more essential part of a well-rounded education. So many districts take pride in their arts programs and even as little as 20 years ago that wasn't the case. It's true we still have ways to go, but the progress we've made can't be denied. If the National Endowment for the Arts is axed, all the progress made over the last few decades will reverse itself after countless people worked so hard to gain respect for the arts. For them there's fear, because they put their heart and soul into something they believe in.
Let's not forget about the teachers, both in-service and pre-service. As a pre-service music teacher myself, I can't help but worry what this mean for my future. It's already hard to get a job as a teacher in the arts, but does this action now mean that it'll be harder? Will I be able to get a job after spending four years putting everything I have into becoming the best teacher I can be? I dream of he day when I get to have a classroom of my own, but these recent actions make me feel like that dream may get farther away instead of closer. And what does this mean for the in-service arts teachers? If society's view on the arts regresses, so many of them will find themselves unemployed, no matter how long they've had tenure. What will they tell their families? For the teachers there's fear, because they dedicated their life to the arts and passing their love and knowledge on to others and they don't want it to be taken away from them. And there's fear for the pre-service teachers, because they want to be able to have their dreams come true.
Regardless of your political views, I hope that there's a consensus among the general public that the arts are a crucial part of a child's educational experience. I hope we can all agree that cutting the National Endowment for the Arts would be a huge disaster for a large amount of people. That's why we need to continue to work together as a society to save the arts and make sure they're able to stay in the schools where they belong. So many children would be missing out on something that could possibly end up being their entire world. Why would anyone want to take that away from them?
