Harmony of Hope

The children of the Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences (DAAS) choir exemplify the reasons that we need arts in schools. Too often, when budgets need to be cut, the arts are the first to go. There's no comparison between the funding levels of arts and sciences. Federal funding of the arts is $250 million per year, while the National Science Foundation receives around $5 Billion.

Arts education has been slipping for more than three decades, the result of tight budgets, an ever-growing list of state mandates that have crammed the classroom curriculum, and a public sense that the arts are lovely but not essential.

Not essential? Actually, children who are "at risk" of not learning and not graduating benefit enormously from arts and music classes. Those involved are 4 times more likely to to be recognized for their academic achievement and 3 times more likely to have good school attendance.

Part of the lack of emphasis on arts and music education has to do with the fact that over the past 3 decades of No Child Left Behind, many parents haven't had arts and music in their own educations. They literally don't know what they've missed.

The fact that children exposed to arts and music do better in school has lead to innovative ways to infuse the learning environment with arts and music.

Comprehensive, innovative arts initiatives are taking root in a growing number of school districts. Many of these models are based on new findings in brain research and cognitive development, and they embrace a variety of approaches: using the arts as a learning tool (for example, musical notes to teach fractions); incorporating arts into other core classes (writing and performing a play about, say, slavery); creating a school environment rich in arts and culture (Mozart in the hallways every day) and hands-on arts instruction. Although most of these initiatives are in the early stages, some are beginning to rack up impressive results. This trend may send a message to schools focused maniacally, and perhaps counterproductively, on reading and math.

"Teaching to the test" is burdensome for both teachers and students, but involvement in the arts and music frees childrens' spirits and challenges them with the Harmony of Hope.