In somewhat depressing news, the state teachers’ union approved a proposal which will require them to take 17 furlough days a year as part of a plan to make up a projected state deficit. This will translate into schools being closed two or three Fridays every month. Teachers are even more concerned about being able to meet required instructional standards than before. I can’t imagine this will be any good for what remains of arts education instruction in schools.
At the moment, a school outreach we have scheduled on a Friday won’t be pre-empted by a furlough day. Hopefully the school won’t decide they won’t have time to have our program when the time rolls around. The one thing about this situation that chafes a bit is that sports events are not canceled on the furlough days but plays, concerts and dances (not to mention instruction) will be.
At the moment, things look pretty good for us. We have been giving a lot of building tours to high school teachers and counselors the past few weeks and many of them are interested in our shows and outreach possibilities. We have also been asked to speak about arts related professions at two career days this Fall which is a good sign. One of the invitations came at the recommendation of a donor and the other as a result of a tour we gave last week.
I was listening to the first podcast of Inside the Arts comrade, Ron Spigelman’s Audience Connections class and he suggested that conversations about the arts in needed to happen in grocery stores and other public places. You expect these discussions in performing arts centers, when they happen spontaneously in public places the influence spreads beyond the choir (as in “preaching to”).
He uses the example of shopping and having people compliment him on a concert they recently heard so this isn’t the case of people breaking into song for no reason whatsoever. (I love Schubert! Joseph Schubert! Actor Heinz Schubert! And that Schubert named Franz!)
I will admit that having a captive audience of students at a career day lacks a little spontaneity, but now more than ever it seems to be important to have conversations about the arts in alternative venues.
Teachers furloughed- and the students are still going to get their state-mandated number of instructional hours? Wow. Sounds like a difficult situation for parents who don’t have a flexible work schedule.
Here in the east valley of Phoenix, our city Parks & Rec offers day programs during the three two-week vacations that happen during the school year, to accommodate working parents.
How about performance in alternative venues? I’ve thought about standing outside the supermarket and playing-with a box of percussion instruments nearby so passersby can jam with me. Seems to me in the US we have this idea that art is an thing unto itself and is not intertwined with the rest of life. If that’s true, I don’t know what’s with tiny tots making up their own songs or grabbing crayons and drawing on anything handy.
@Katie Shields, actually the problem is that they aren’t getting their federally mandated number of instructional hours. MSNBC’s website had a story pointing out that while President Obama is calling for more time in school, the elementary school he attended now has the lowest number of school days in the nation.