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Defining the Arts in Education
The Texas Coalition for Quality Arts Education (TCQAE) believes that the fine arts, as described in Senate Bill 1: Texas Education Code and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, should be defined to include only music, art, theatre, and dance. The terms "arts" and "visual and performing arts" are defined in the same manner. Other courses, including some that may include the word "arts" in their titles, serve different educational purposes and should not be permitted to satisfy requirements in the fine arts. Creative writing and speech are important parts of the language arts essential knowledge and skills, and media, photography, and architecture are a part of the content of several of the fine arts disciplines.
Basic Education and the Arts
The TCQAE believes that the fine arts should be an integral part of basic education and we support responsible efforts to improve the quality of education in Texas at all levels and in every aspect of the curriculum. In so doing, we assume that such efforts must include the fine arts as an integral part of the state mandated "required curriculum."
The TCQAE believes that the fine arts constitute one of the fundamental components of basic education, along with language, mathematics, the natural sciences, social sciences, and the other "academic core components" as described in Chapter 74, Subchapter B Graduation Requirements. These fields of study should be a part of the "core" of the education of every student.
Access to Arts Education
The TCQAE believes that all students at every level, early childhood through high school, should be provided with a balanced, comprehensive, sequential, and rigorous program of instruction in each of the fine arts in their schools, and these programs must be taught by qualified music, art, theatre, and dance teachers, trained as specialists certified in music, art, theatre, and dance.
The TCQAE believes that the finest possible education in the fine arts should be available to all students and that every student should have an equal opportunity to study the fine arts. We also believe that the quality and quantity of fine arts instruction received by a student should not be a result of geographic location, racial or ethnic status, urban/suburban/rural status, socio-economic status, or parental or community wealth.
The TCQAE calls upon all who share a commitment to quality in education to join together to build upon the significant achievements of Texas fine arts educators and the many outstanding programs in the fine arts that exist throughout the state. Because of the role of the fine arts in civilization and because of their unique ability to exalt the human spirit, it is more important in today’s world than ever before that every Texas student receive a balanced, comprehensive, sequential, and rigorous program of instruction in the fine arts.
Academic Credit for the Arts
The TCQAE believes that academic credit should be awarded for study in the fine arts on the same basis as for other courses in the secondary school. Grades earned in music, art, theatre, or dance courses should be considered in determining the grade-point averages and class rankings of students on the same basis as grades in other courses.
The TCQAE believes that colleges and universities should include arts credits that have been earned in secondary schools when calculating the GPA’s of applicants for admission.
Academic Eligibility Requirements
The TCQAE believes that academic eligibility requirements are not ap-propriate when applied to students enrolled in scheduled, credit-bearing classes in the fine arts. Out-of-school activities, such as non-competitive performances and art exhibits, serve as extensions of the classroom to demonstrate what has been learned in school, and academic eligibility requirements which would limit the opportunity of students to participate in such activities should not be applied under such circumstances.
Objectives of Arts Education
The TCQAE believes that fine arts education programs should be designed to produce individuals who:
- Have a background in all of the fine arts and advanced knowledge and skill in at least one fine arts discipline;
- Are able to exercise their creative abilities through the fine arts;
- Are able to use the vocabulary of the fine arts;
- Are able to respond to the fine arts aesthetically, intellectually, and emotionally;
- Are acquainted with a wide variety of art forms, including diverse styles and genres;
- Understand the role the fine arts have played and continue to play in the lives of human beings;
- Are able to make aesthetic judgments based on critical perception and analysis;
- Have developed a commitment to the fine arts;
- Support the artistic life of the community and encourage others to do so; and,
- Are able to continue their learning in the fine arts independently.
Curricular Issues in Arts Education
The TCQAE believes that no less than fifteen percent of the instructional program of every student in every elementary school should be devoted to the study of music, art, theatre, and dance.
The TCQAE believes that at least fifteen percent of the instructional program of every student in every middle school, junior high school, and high school should be devoted to the study of the fine arts.
The TCQAE believes that every high school should require at least one credit in music, art, theatre, or dance for graduation and should provide and encourage additional study in the fine arts.
The TCQAE believes that strong programs in the fine arts are important in every school in order to:
- Provide aesthetic and creative experiences of breadth and depth for all students;
- Identify and develop the artistic talents possessed by the students;
- Enhance the students’ sense of personal worth and self- esteem;
- Provide an opportunity for success for students who routinely face disappointment and failure in school; and,
- Bring joy and beauty into the lives of students and teachers and thereby make the schools more enjoyable and stimulating places in which to learn.
- Be suited to the needs of the individual students;
- Reflect the multicultural nature of our pluralistic American society;
- Be responsive to the requirements of the diverse special populations present in our schools, including the artistically talented;
- Provide sufficient course offerings for students who lack the time, talent, or commitment to participate in select performing groups and similar activities; and,
- Incorporate the forms, media, and technology of the fine arts in contemporary American life.
The TCQAE believes that students at every level should be given ample opportunities to develop their abilities to analyze the fine arts with discrimination, to understand the historical and cultural backgrounds of the art forms they encounter, to make relevant critical judgments about the fine arts, and to deal with aesthetic issues relevant to the fine arts.
The TCQAE believes that art forms included in the school curriculum should represent diverse periods, styles, forms, and cultures.
The TCQAE believes that all secondary school students should be enrolled in courses involving formal study of the fine arts each year. Such courses in the fine arts should be an integral part of the total curriculum in a manner that is comparable to other academic disciplines.
The TCQAE believes that the selection of instructional materials is solely the responsibility of teachers, and it cannot properly be delegated to any other persons, including students, school administrators, school board members or others in the community.
Special Education and the Arts
The TCQAE recognizes that increased staff and resources are necessary to meet the artistic requirements of students with special needs.
The TCQAE believes that, if possible, students with disabilities should have the opportunity to participate in the fine arts on the same basis as other students.
The TCQAE believes that when students with disabilities are main-streamed into regular classes in the fine arts:
- Arts educators should be involved in the placement decisions;
- Placement should not result in classes exceeding the standard class size
- Placement should not result in a disproportionate number of handicapped students in any class; and,
- Arts educators working with special education students should have access to staff development education in special education.
Magnet/Arts-Centered Schools
The TCQAE believes that Gifted and Talented programs in our schools should include the fine arts, and that extraordinary opportunities should be provided for students who are gifted in music, art, theatre, or dancewhich will allow them to develop their talents to the highest possible degree. We support the National Alliance of State Associations for the Gifted and the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented definition of "gifted and talented individuals" as "those who excel or have the potential to excel in any of the following areas: general intellectual ability, specific academic aptitude, creative or productive thinking, leadership and visual or performing arts."
The TCQAE supports the establishment of magnet schools in the fine arts provided that they do not result in a reduction in the quantity or quality of fine arts instruction in other schools. The TCQAE opposes the establishment of magnet schools in the fine arts when the net effect is a reduction in access to a balanced program of instruction in any or all of the fine arts for the remaining students.
The TCQAE strongly supports arts-centered schools where the fine arts are an integral part of the core curriculum and they are used to teach other subject areas.
Scheduling School Arts Programs
The TCQAE believes that music, art, theatre, and dance should be taught during the school day as integral parts of the total school program rather than as after school extracurricular activities. There should be sufficient flexibility within the total curriculum and within the school day to provide for quality programs in the fine arts. The length of the school day should be sufficient to ensure that all students have the opportunity to elect courses in the fine arts.
The TCQAE believes that the school day in every middle school, junior high school, and high school should consist of at least seven to eight periods so that students may elect a well-balanced program of the required foundation and enrichment courses.
The TCQAE believes that every elementary school student should receive instruction in the fine arts daily.
The TCQAE believes that non-studio and non-performance fine arts classes in the middle school, junior high school, and high school should meet for a minimum of 90 class periods per year. Although mini-courses devoted to specific specialized topics within the fine arts may sometimes be appropriate, six to ten week "exploratory" courses in which comprehensive learning is the goal are not suitable because they provide insufficient time for serious learning in the fine arts. The TCQAE believes that such mini-courses are especially inappropriate in middle schools and in junior high schools which are often the first (and sometimes the last) opportunity that students may have to study with fully qualified teachers of the fine arts.
The TCQAE believes that teachers who are responsible for general classroom instruction in the fine arts in the middle school or junior high school should teach no more than 250 minutes per day of pupil contact time and that no teacher should have more than five different preparations per day.
Supplies, Equipment, Facilities for the Fine Arts
The TCQAE believes that teachers of music, art, theatre, and dance should be provided with sufficient teaching materials, textbooks, resources and the appropriate classroom equipment with which to teach. These materials should be current and in good condition, and the equipment should be of high quality and in good repair.
The TCQAE believes that every music, art, theatre, and dance teacher should be allowed the greatest possible discretionary authority to use his or her professional judgement in selecting the most appropriate instructional materials for use with specific courses or students.
The TCQAE believes that every music, art, theatre, and dance teacher should be provided with adequate facilities in which to teach. All facilities should be large enough to safely and comfortably accommodate the largest group taught and, when appropriate, should provide unobstructed space for physical movement. All facilities should be suitable with respect to temperature, humidity, lighting, acoustical properties, and ventilation. Secured and appropriate storage space for instructional materials, work in progress, and equipment should be provided, as should environmentally sound waste-disposal facilities.
Copyright Laws and the Fine Arts
The TCQAE supports the copyright laws of the United States and declare that any improper or unauthorized use of materials protected under those laws should be prohibited.
The TCQAE calls upon all fine arts educators to acquaint themselves with the provisions of the copyright law and to guard against the production, use, and storage of any materials produced in violation of the law.
The TCQAE urges fine arts educators to exercise discretion with respect to the lyrics of music, the dramatic themes of theatre or dance, and the visual content of art works that are studied in their classrooms.
Early Childhood Education and the Fine Arts
The TCQAE believes that quality fine arts education programs are very important in the education of young child and that every early childhood program should include developmentally appropriate experiences in the fine arts.
The TCQAE believes that every center for early childhood education should have areas where children have easy access to materials that are developmentally appropriate and specific to each of the fine arts disciplines.
The TCQAE believes that at least one staff member in every center for early childhood education should have received formal training in one or more of the fine arts and that specialists in music, art, theatre, and dance should be retained as consultants.
Health and Safety and the Fine Arts
The TCQAE believes that teachers of the fine arts must be provided with supplies, equipment, and facilities which do not put their health and safety or that of their students at risk. The TCQAE calls upon all teachers of the fine arts to be scrupulously aware of such risks and to exercise extreme caution in instructional activities which may involve potential health or safety hazards.
Technology and the Fine Arts
The TCQAE recognizes the importance of technology in our world and the usefulness of instructional technology in achieving the objectives of education in the fine arts. We believe that:
- Every student should have access to the technology that can help to develop artistic skills and knowledge.
- Every teacher of the fine arts should have access to the appropriate educational technology and the opportunity to explore its potential;
- Teachers should be involved in all aspects of technology utilization in the fine arts, including planning, implementation, and evaluation; and,
- Technology should be used not for its own sake, but in order to enhance the objectives of teaching and learning in the fine arts.
The TCQAE believes that class sizes in the fine arts should not exceed that of any other course considered to be individualized or laboratory classes, except in the case of some performance groups such as choir, band, orchestra, and other similar groups
The TCQAE believes that the daily schedule of every teacher of music, art, theatre, and dance should allow at least forty-five minutes for preparation and evaluation.
The TCQAE believes that sufficient travel time should be computed in the teaching load of teachers of the fine arts who must travel from school to school or room to room.
Financial Support for Fine Arts Education
The TCQAE believes that in order to achieve our state and national commitment of equal educational opportunity for all, every school and school system, public or private, should provide adequate financial resources to support the fine arts programs as described in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills and state framework. This support should be included as an integral part of the operating budget of every school system.
The TCQAE believes that every elementary and secondary school should implement the specific recommendations of the professional arts education associations with respect to curriculum, staff, scheduling, physical facilities, and materials and equipment.
The TCQAE believes that if and when fiscal pressures require cut-backs in school programs, such savings should be sought first by reducing or eliminating auxiliary and non-instructional services. If further savings are required, cutbacks should be made equitably across subject-matter fields. The TCQAE is in favor of maintaining a well-balanced curriculum at all grade levels and are opposed to any categorical cuts that would curtail or eliminate important learning experiences for students.
Elementary Teachers of the Fine Arts
The TCQAE believes that the fine arts in the elementary school should be taught by qualified music, art, theatre, and dance teachers, trained as specialists certified in music, art, theatre, and dance. Their efforts should be complemented by the work of classroom teachers between visits by the specialists in music, art, theatre, and dance.
Professional Opportunities for Fine Arts Teachers
The TCQAE believes that every teacher of the fine arts should be able to participate fully in the work of professional associations and that schools should provide release time without loss of pay to allow fine arts educators to attend the professional meetings and to fulfill leadership responsibilities on behalf of their respective state and national organizations.
The TCQAE believes that all teachers of the fine arts should be permitted at least two days each year of paid professional leave and financial support for expenses to attend staff development opportunities in the fine arts, designed to meet the needs of the teacher.
The TCQAE believes in peer support by mentoring programs to develop and enhance professional expertise during, but not limited to, the first years of teaching.
Administration and Supervision in the Fine Arts
The TCQAE believes that every school district should appoint qualified administrators or supervisors to provide curricular leadership for each fine arts discipline. These persons should be employed full-time when the district includes fifteen or more fine arts teachers.
The TCQAE believes that the professional staff of the state department of education should include a supervisor in each of the fine arts, or a director of fine arts with subordinate personnel specializing in the various fine arts disciplines.
Administrator Certification and the Fine Arts
The TCQAE believes that state standards for the certification of school counselors, elementary and secondary principals, and other educational administrators should require study in the theory and practice of fine arts education.
Assessment and Evaluation of Fine Arts Instruction
The TCQAE believes that every school district should use reliable, valid, and appropriate instruments and techniques for assessing student learning, teacher competence, and program effectiveness in the fine arts. The TCQAE recognizes the legitimate interest of school districts in ensuring that the teachers in their schools are knowledgeable, qualified, and competent. At the same time, the TCQAE also believes that no valid assessment of the competence of teachers in specialized fields, such as the fine arts, is possible without knowledge and skill in the subject matter itself on the part of those conducting the assessment. For this reason, it is the position of the TCQAE that qualified educators in each of the fine arts disciplines should be actively involved in any program which seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of fine arts educators or to assess their competence. Specifically, the TCQAE believes that:
- Fine arts educators should be effectively represented on the committees that establish the criteria, materials, and procedures by which teachers of music, art, theatre, and dance are evaluated;
- Districtwide or statewide programs of teacher evaluation should be modified when necessary to make them reliable, valid, and fair for use with teachers of the fine arts;
- Special instruments, items, or techniques may be required to evaluate the special competencies needed by music, art, theatre, or dance teachers; and,
- The evaluators of teachers of the fine arts should be knowledgeable in the fine arts disciplines.
Integration/Correlation of Fine Arts with Other Subjects
The TCQAE believes that, when appropriate, instruction in the fine arts should be used to facilitate and enrich the teaching of other subject matter. In addition, the fine arts must maintain their integrity in the curriculum and be taught for their own sake as well, rather than serving exclusively as aides to instruction in other disciplines. The use of the fine arts as an instrument for the teaching of non-artistic content should in no way diminish the time or effort devoted to the teaching of each of the fine arts as distinct academic disciplines in their own right.
The TCQAE embraces the importance of literacy in every child's education. Each of the fine arts disciplines inherently includes literacy components which should be directly addressed in fine arts classrooms. The fine arts are also critical to teaching learning strategies which develop students' reading, writing, and mathematical skills. We want our children to be both academically and culturally literate.
Educating the Citizens About Fine Arts Education
The TCQAE recognizes our responsibility to serve as a common voice for the advancement of fine arts education and to educate the citizens of Texas as to the importance of quality fine arts education in our schools and the conditions necessary for fine arts education to succeed.
Lifelong Learning/Artists, Community Resources
and Programs, and Fine Arts Education
The TCQAE believes that fine arts education should be a lifelong process and that it should embrace all age groups. Incorporating the resources of a community's cultural institutions into a school's fine arts program opens the doors to those lifelong learning opportunities for students, their families and teachers and provides valuable community support for a school's fine arts programs. Every student should have opportunities to visit museums, work with artists and attend performances.
The TCQAE believes that education in the fine arts can benefit from utilizing the full range of cultural institutions in the local community and visiting artists to enhance and strengthen a school's fine arts curriculum and the lives of those in the community. The TCQAE encourages schools to initiate collaborations with cultural organizations and artists when those collaborations support balanced, comprehensive, sequential and rigorous fine arts programs
The TCQAE believes that music, art, theatre, and dance educators should seek opportunities to advance their professions by utilizing local resources and by building partnerships and working cooperatively with other individuals and groups who have demonstrated their commitment to fine arts education.
College Preparation and Teacher Education in the Fine Arts
The TCQAE believes that every college and university should require at least one year of study in music, art, theatre, or dance for admission and should encourage additional study of the fine arts.
The TCQAE believes that every college and university should require study in music, art, theatre, or dance for graduation and that it should provide opportunities for additional study in the fine arts.
The TCQAE believes that the music, art, theatre, and dance teachers of the future should be drawn from those candidates who have exhibited exceptional skills, talent, and interest in the fine arts and who are the most gifted in working with young people. Every effort should be made in secondary schools and in higher education to acquaint prospective teachers with the personal rewards of fine arts education as a profession and to urge them to consider teaching as a career. We urge fine arts educators to recruit your finest students, especially minority students, to join the fine arts teaching profession.
The TCQAE believes that standards for entrance into the teaching professions in the fine arts should be rigorous but, at the same time, be based upon multiple considerations, including personal, intellectual, artistic, and instructional qualifications. In the final analysis, admission to a teacher education program should be based on those factors which assure the potential to the effective teachers in their fine arts discipline.
The TCQAE believes that preservice and staff development programs should be designed to help fine arts educators plan and teach programs that are based on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills and standards which each state and national arts education association has established for its own discipline.
The TCQAE believes that every college or university should require that every prospective elementary classroom teacher complete at least six to twelve semester hours of credit in methods and materials for teaching the fine arts, and on the secondary, every teacher should be required at least six hours of theory and practice in the fine arts. We also believe that these requirements should apply to all state certification standards for classroom teachers.
Research and Scholarship in Fine Arts Education
The TCQAE recognizes the importance of research and scholarship in all aspects of teaching and learning in the fine arts, and we encourage fine arts teachers to take advantage of all findings that can make their instruction more effective. Instruction in the fine arts should be infused with the best and most current knowledge available about the nature of the respective fine arts disciplines and about the teaching and learning of the fine arts.
Religion and the Fine Arts
The TCQAE recognizes that religion and the fine arts are closely linked in many cultures. The study of aesthetic qualities of such art forms is, therefore, important and appropriate for the development of broad artistic literacy.
National and State Roles in Fine Arts Education
The TCQAE believes that national and state programs or legislation which provide benefits or recognition for students or teachers irrespective of their subject-matter specializations should also apply to teachers and students of the fine arts. This inclusion should apply in all programs concerning research and development; scholarships and loans; loan forgiveness; teacher education; evaluation and assessment; the development or acquisition of instructional materials; teacher, student, or school recognition; and other programs.
TCQAE supports the National Endowment for the Arts, the Americans for the Arts, the Kennedy Center National Arts Education Network, the Getty Education Institute for the Arts, the Goals 2000: Arts Education Partnership, the Consortium of National Arts Education Association (MENC, NAEA, NDA, AATE), the National Assembly of State Art Agencies, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and other state and national organizations in their efforts to enhance the status of the fine arts in American society and to make the fine arts a more important part of the lives of all Americans. We also believe that these organizations should utilize the research, the literature and the professional standards that have been established by the national and state fine arts education associations to guide and direct its programs which support the fine arts in Texas' schools.
The TCQAE supports the National Standards for Education in the Arts, the National Opportunity to Learn Standards, and the inclusion of the fine arts as a "core" subject in Goals 2000: Educate America Act.
The TCQAE believes that representatives from fine arts education should be appointed to national, state and local boards, committees and panels of arts organizations whose actions bear upon fine arts education in the schools.