To imporve our schools... we will cut the arts!


So goes the logic of the New York State Regents

Yep... you got to love it. In an era of accountability, no child left behind, testing mandates and "research based education reform" the New York State regents have decided that middle school reform would be best served by eliminating "exploratory" programs in music and art (I thought they were a core subject) to spend more time on... CORE SUBJECTS.

Hello??? Did anyone up there actually read No Child Left Behind? The bill that makes the arts a core subject? I guess not.

To make matters worse, We have seen a truck load of research that speaks to the role music and arts education plays in thee overall improvement of a school (performance, attendance, standardized test scores, volunteerism). We have yet to see flimsiest piece of data that will show that eliminating music and/or arts instruction leads to IMPROVED school performance.

A poorly put together plan if there ever was one!

Posted: Wed - February 16, 2005 at 01:41 PM       Email Feedback

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