|
|
|
|
|
| Our
Vision for Creative Minds |
| The Massachusetts Cultural Council and Education |
Creativity is essential to student achievement and success. Extensive research demonstrates that students who are highly engaged in the arts, humanities, and sciences do better in school and are more involved in their communities. The arts are especially effective in reaching young people at risk of failure by giving them tools to explore and interpret their experiences in ways no other subjects can.
Moreover, many economists, business leaders, and policymakers recognize that an education grounded in creativity provides students with workforce skills critical for survival in the 21st century economy. Students' abilities to solve problems, generate and convey new ideas, and work effectively in teams, are greatly enhanced by engagement with arts and cultural experiences. Today, workers trained in arts and culture drive the success of many leading Massachusetts industries, including design, architecture, and new media.
The public understands this. Ninety-three percent of
respondents (93%) to a 2005 Harris Poll agreed that
the arts are vital to providing a well-rounded education
for children. A more recent survey by the Arts Education
Partnership revealed similar results.
Yet many school districts do not invest the resources and time necessary to provide an adequate K-12 education in the arts. A recent study by the Center on Education Policy indicates that the federal No Child Left Behind law, with its focus on standardized-test scores in math and reading, has led to a 16 percent decline in the time devoted to art and music instruction in public schools over the last six years. In some Massachusetts school districts a student can graduate from high school with no exposure to the arts. The demands of standardized testing and budget pressures have squeezed instruction time in the humanities and sciences in some communities as well.
The Massachusetts
Cultural Council (MCC) seeks to ensure that all
children in our state's schools have access to high-quality,
creative learning experiences. Our long-term goals include
the following:
- The arts should be considered a core component of any recommended curriculum at the primary, elementary, and secondary levels in Massachusetts.
- At least one hour of high quality, sequential arts instruction should be provided weekly for each K-8 student.
- Every high school student should be proficient in at least one art form in order to graduate.
- Institutions of high education should require proficiency in at least one art form for admission.
- After-school opportunities for sustained, sequential learning in the arts, humanities, and sciences should be available to every student.
- The transformative power of the arts and creative learning should be used to reclaim some of our state's most vulnerable young people.
- All Massachusetts teachers should have access to high quality professional development in the arts.
The
MCC pursues these goals through a combination of grants,
services, and advocacy.
|
|
|
