IEA Newsletter for Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Welcome to the Institute for Education and the Arts’ weekly newsletter for August 22, 2007. The newsletter is published each Wednesday to the IEA listserv and is archived on this blog.

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A WELL-ROUNDED EDUCATION IN A TIME OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
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NOT BY GEEKS ALONE
Chester E. Finn, Jr., and Diane Ravitch, Wall Street Journal, 8/8/07
Reprinted on the GayPASG Web site
“In a globalizing economy, America's competitive edge depends in large measure on how well our schools prepare tomorrow's workforce … [L]awmakers on both sides of the aisle are bent on devising new programs and boosting education spending. Consider the measure -- the America Competes Act -- that recently passed Congress and is on its way to the president's desk. The bill will substantially increase government funding for science, technology, engineering and math ("STEM" subjects) … Nearly all of the 2008 presidential candidates endorse its goals. And 38 state legislatures have also recently enacted STEM bills … Indeed, STEM has swiftly emerged as the hottest education topic since No Child Left Behind. They're related, too. NCLB puts a premium on reading and math skills and also pays some attention to science. Marry it with STEM and you get heavy emphasis on a particular suite of skills. But there is a problem here. Worthy though these skills are, they ignore at least half of what has long been regarded as a ‘well rounded’ education in Western civilization: literature, art, music, history, civics and geography. Indeed, a new study from the Center on Education Policy says that, since NCLB's enactment, nearly half of U.S. school districts have reduced the time their students spend on subjects such as art and music.”
Read more>>

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ARTS EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS
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ARTS ALIVE, WELL IN AREA SCHOOLS
Andrea Freygang, Rome News-Tribune, 8/12/07
“‘From music and dance to painting and sculpting, the arts allow us to explore new worlds and to view life from another perspective,’ once said President George Bush, and in Floyd County, the youth are granted a myriad of outside perspectives. Despite an increased focus nationwide on reading, writing and arithmetic through the federal No Child Left Behind Act, both public school systems have maintained a strong focus on arts education, whether it is in the form of music, visual arts, acting or dance.”
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ARTS EDUCATION: INTRINSIC? OR INSTRUMENTAL?
Nick Rabkin of Columbia College Chicago’s Center for Arts Policy, on the Americans for the Arts’ Arts Blog, 8/8/07
“For the last decade or more a debate has raged about the ‘intrinsic’ vs. the ‘instrumental’ value of arts education. Ellen Winner, one of the Studio Thinking researchers, played a very big role in that debate several years ago, when she and colleagues published a “meta-analysis” of arts education research in which she found no evidence that arts learning contributes to student academic achievement. Hence, she argued, it was scientifically irresponsible to make a case for the arts’ place in schools because they improve student performance in other subjects. Furthermore, she suspects that education policymakers will reason that if they want to improve math achievement, they will teach more math, not more arts. In the end, ‘the arts are important in their own right and should be justified in terms of the important and unique kinds of learning that arise from the study of the arts.’ Some researchers who believed that there was good evidence the arts did contribute to higher achievement across the curriculum criticized Winner’s meta-study, arguing that it excluded good research from its scan. As one of many places in the country where teaching artists were inventing new ways to improve schools by connecting the arts to other subjects, many folks here in Chicago felt Winner’s study simply ignored their work and contributions. Others, more committed to arts education traditions, thought Winner bolstered their argument against ‘arts integration’ and for ‘sequential and discipline-based instruction’ in the art forms.”
Read more from the blog posting>>

Read the New York Times article about this study>>

Learn more about the Studio Thinking book>>

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FUNDING FOR THE ARTS
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ARTS GROUPS AWAIT FUNDING IMPACT AS “EARMARKING” IS SCRUTINIZED
Laurence Arnold, Bloomberg News, 8/9/07
“When the Museum of the Moving Image embarked on a $50 million fund-raising campaign to expand its Queens, New York, building last year, it turned to one prospective donor for the first time: the U.S. Congress. Democratic Representative Carolyn Maloney, whose district includes the museum, responded by tucking a $150,000 grant into broader legislation -- the 2006 federal transportation spending bill. It's a time-honored practice known as ‘earmarking.’ President George W. Bush and some members of Congress argue that earmarks, which have been at the center of recent bribery scandals, should be eliminated. At a time when corporate support for the arts has been steadily shrinking, arts group are defending earmarks as an important, if a bit unseemly, way to get much-needed funding. Legislators steered more than $180 million to cultural organizations through earmarks in federal spending bills in 2005, according to Americans for the Arts, a Washington-based advocacy group.”
Read more>>

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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
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OREGON ARTS COMMISSION, SALEM, OREGON
Community Development Coordinator (Full-Time)
Application Deadline: 9/4/07
“The position provides lead staff support and assistance to Oregon’s community arts development efforts through partnerships with local and regional arts agencies. The position also facilitates communications between the arts community and other public and private agencies addressing issues of cultural tourism, local economic development and regional, rural, and community development. This position is the Arts Commission’s lead staff responsible for developing partnerships and funding relationships with other public and private entities interested in arts and community development, which will lead to increased funds and other resources to advance the Arts Commission’s work. This position will be a key implementer of the Arts Commission’s Creative Oregon initiative designed to build the capacity of arts groups and artists through technical assistance and training. Competitive salary, excellent benefits.”
Learn more>>

THREE POSITIONS AVAILABLE AT THE WOMEN’S MUSEUM, DALLAS, TEXAS

Registrar (Part-Time)
Create, update, and file all paperwork for Museum loans; renew loans and ensure each borrowed object has a current paperwork on file; verify insurance is adequate and prepare Certificates of Insurance for lenders; make arrangements for the renewal or return of expiring loan items; update exhibits by requesting and securing new loan items; maintain the computer database of museum objects and prepare an annual inventory; request loan items from other institutions/individuals and prepare loan request paperwork; ensure objects in permanent exhibits are properly and safely displayed.

Exhibitions Manager (Full-Time)
Maintain rotating exhibit schedule for the Museum’s temporary gallery; contribute to planning of programming and events that coincide with temporary exhibits; evaluate exhibit proposals and seek out new exhibits that are appropriate for the Museum; handle contracts, shipping arrangements, and insurance for temporary exhibits and traveling exhibits; prepare budgets for each exhibit and keep track of costs; serve as liaison with the organizing institution/curator of rotating exhibits; assist with exhibit layout and installation; answer research questions about the collections/exhibits; involvement in permanent exhibit updates and large-scale building renovation.

Marketing Assistant (Part-Time)
Implement marketing plan for the Museum’s traveling exhibits including audience research, production of press kits, follow-up calls, and large mailings; manage “Guest Pass” Certificate Distribution to outside organizations; distribution of marketing collateral for Museum, including exhibits, programming and events; assist Marketing Manager with special projects.

To learn more about these positions, contact Lyn Scott, The Women’s Museum, 3800 Parry Avenue, Dallas, TX, 75226. lyn.scott@thewomensmuseum.org. Fax 214-421-8324.

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GRANTS, FUNDING, CONTESTS, AND AWARDS
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BE A LEAD AGENCY FOR GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY
Youth Service America
Deadline: 9/17/07
Youth Service America seeks lead agencies for Global Youth Service Day “Lead Agencies are organizations across the United States that increase the scope, visibility, and sustainability of Global Youth Service Day by leading city, regional, or statewide service projects. Past Lead Agencies have been successful in garnering national media attention, developing new partnerships, and engaging elected and public officials in their service and service-learning projects. Lead Agencies receive a $2,000 planning grant sponsored by the State Farm Companies Foundation and direct assistance and support from Youth Service America to ensure a successful Global Youth Service Day.”
Learn more>>

BOOK DONATIONS PROGRAM
Pathways Within’s Roads to Reading Initiative
Deadline: 10/15/07
The program donates books to programs with “a strong focus on remedial reading or a tutoring component. The organizational budget limit to be eligible is currently set at $95,000 annually. The community where the organization is located must be an underserved community. It is not enough to have a certain number of families within a community that are underserved to qualify. The population where the organization is located must be under 50,000. Book Bag programs, gifts and give-a-ways, events or book club requests will not be granted through this program. AlsoSchool Districts, Lead Agencies or umbrella agencies may not apply for donations. Each site within group agencies or districts must apply for the donations separately. The books that are available through this program are appropriate for ages 0 to young adult. The books have hard and soft covers. Currently all the books in this program are available in English only.”
Learn more>>

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