Demoralized by disappearing dollars and omission of the arts from national education goals, the arts education community has formed a consortium of professional organizations to write standards and address related issues, such as balance among the arts and multicultural and technological concerns. To anchor the arts firmly in the curriculum, they…

Through great works of art students can gain pivotal insights into their common political and cultural heritage and their own personal struggles. (Author/MD)

Ohio schools have developed a Balanced Comprehensive Art Curriculum (BCAC) that includes art history, art criticism, and art in society as well as traditional art production. Students in kindergarten through 12th grade receive equitable instruction in all four curriculum areas. Includes a resource list and table. (MD)

Describes a program in Richmond (Virginia) that combines art, music, and physical education to foster exposure to and creativity in the arts and humanities. (JM)

The Arts Partners program in New York City enriches the quality of education for public school children by bringing local artists into their classrooms. Gifted and special education classes are brought together in mixed groups, led by artists, to work on puppetry and participatory dramatics. (TE)

In an era where students design web sites and integrate video, graphics, and animation into their presentations, art is becoming the new literacy. Art education promotes self-expression, cognitive and attitudinal improvement, multicultural awareness, and personal growth. Teachers should re-name art "business communication" and get…

Outlines the importance and the relationship between the teaching of cultural literacy and the teaching of basic skills (such as reading) to students in the early grades. Points out that educators need to reexamine the slogans that undermine the teaching of traditional knowledge to young children. Includes references. (MD)

During the past decade, arts programs in many American schools have been systematically dismantled. One-third of the seniors in the class of 1982 had no high school instruction in the arts. By denying children the arts, we starve our civilization and produce graduates suited more to an age of barbarism than an era of high technology. Includes…

Since the arts humanize the curriculum while affirming the interconnectedness of all things, they are a powerful means to improve general education. Schools that overlook the arts are creating a less civilized generation. The arts provide a more comprehensive, insightful education because they invite students to explore the emotional, intuitive,…

Humanitas is part of Collaboratives for Humanities and Arts Teaching (CHART), a nationwide network funded primarily by the Rockefeller Foundation. In 11 large school districts and numerous rural districts, high school teachers, academics, artists, and business and community leaders are cooperating to promote teaching of the arts and humanities.…

Policymakers sometimes view arts education and experiential learning as distractions from the goal of enabling all students to master rigorous content standards. The three school programs described in this article, however, demonstrate that content standards can be integrated into engaging, motivating curriculums based on the arts and authentic…

Describes the Arts in Education Program developed in rural Pennsylvania schools. It is made up of educational leaders, artists, community members, university faculty, teachers, students, board members, and an Arts in Education staff. The team works to improve the quality of life and education for students through the arts. (MD)

Outlines the discipline-based art education curriculum developed by the Getty Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts in the Los Angeles County elementary schools. (Author/MD)

A recent study suggests that the broad idealistic educational objectives voiced by states and districts are a far cry from what is really being taught in classrooms. The question that now must be faced is what we want schools to teach. (JM)

From fine-tuning muscular systems to integrating emotion and logic, the arts have important biological value. Motion and emotion are central to the arts and life itself. It is counterproductive to promote high performance standards while displacing skill development with computer technologies and reducing arts programs that move students from…