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Fine Arts Curriculum Development
The state and federal government now consider the fine arts as a core academic subject, along with math, science, reading, and social studies. This new level of importance for the arts can be seen in Education, Yes!, the new Michigan legislation, as well as in the new Bush education plan, No Child Left Behind.
Education, Yes! is the new accountability system for Michigan schools. Each school will continue to be accountable for their MEAP scores, but schools are also asked to report annually to the state on the qualifications of their teachers, the quality of their staff development, the appropriateness of their facilities, and the quality and continuity of their fine arts programs. Tom Watkins, the state superintendent, reported last February that
A highlight of the changes recommended in Education, Yes! is the new indicator for arts education to emphasize the connection of arts to thinking skills and to focus on arts opportunities for all students.
Likewise, the federal government states similar language in the new Bush legislation, No Child left Behind. Under Title V, Subpart 15 it states:
The purposes of this subpart are the following:
1. To support systemic education reform by strengthening arts education as an integral part of the elementary school and secondary school curriculum
2. To help ensure that all students meet challenging State academic content standards and challenging State student academic achievement standard in the arts.
To support the national effort to enable all students to demonstrate competence in the arts.
With this new focus on the quality of arts education for all students, it is imperative that schools develop fine arts curricula based on the state standards and benchmarks. These standards and benchmarks, as stated in the Michigan Curriculum Framework (MCF), lay the foundation for all fine arts instruction in every elementary, middle and high school.
Secondary music teachers traditionally have difficulty meeting all of the standards and benchmarks in their classrooms. Performance has been the primary goal in middle schools and high schools from the inception of school music programs in our country. The MCF, however, requires educators to develop compositional and improvisational skills in all students in the K-12 system. Because composition and improvisation is not commonly taught in university teacher preparataion programs, most teachers do not have the required expertise to teach these skills to their students. If we expect music educators to embrace the MCF, we must be willing to support them with substantial retraining to meet these standards.
Another issue for schools is the fact that only 10-20% of secondary students participate in fine arts programs. Superintendent Watkins makes it clear that the state expects all students to be provided with an education in the arts. He writes:
Accordingly, our system of public education will provide all students the following:
· A broad cultural exposure, including comprehension of the humanities, visual and performing arts and the classics:\
So, how does your district begin?
Fine arts curricula development continues in many Michigan school districts. The most successful development projects have been initiated by the assistant superintendent for curriculum and are a part of their district's academic curriculum development cycle. Successful districts have committed to long-term development (3-5 years), and include a review process, the development of new curriculum, and the implementation of the curriculum with the appropriate staff development.
Year
1: Review literature, standards, best
practice and write mission
Year
2: Write course descriptions, program
sequence and benchmarks
Year
3: Write assessments, review materials,
bring to board
Year
4: Implementation and staff development
Year
5: Implementation and staff development,
Evaluate success
Our consultants are available to facilitate the curriculum process throughout the United States. If your district is interested, contact The Center for Creative Learning and Teaching at mgielniak@creativeteaching.org or call (586) 264-1996.
Michigan Department of Education
www.michigan.gov/mde
K-12 Curriculum and Standards
(Includes links to Education, Yes!, MI Climb, and the Michigan
Curriculum Framework)
www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-6525_6530_6568-19381-,00.html
Your State's Department of Education
www.yourstate's
name.gov
No Child Left Behind
www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/esea/index.html
