In 2011, the California Teachers’ Association said that, to date, school districts have issued
nearly 19,000 layoff notices to teachers amidst uncertainty over the state budget.
Two movies came out nationwide, “Waiting for Super Man,” and “Race to Nowhere,”highlighting
the crisis in our schools throughout the country. If we can’t afford to pay for classroom teachers, we
certainly can’t afford to pay for art teachers, who are often the first to go.
(CNN) – Budget cuts are forcing districts to scale back on teachers and staff, resulting in larger class sizes and fewer school days, according to a White House report released Saturday.
More than 300,000 education jobs have been lost since the end of the recession in June 2009, said the report, which was prepared by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Domestic Policy Council and National Economic Council.
“Think about what that means for our country. At a time when the rest of the world is racing to out-educate America, these cuts force our kids into crowded classrooms, cancel programs for preschoolers and kindergarteners, and shorten the school week and the school year. That’s the opposite of what we should be doing as a country,” the report quotes President Barack Obama from an address in June.
Why does Art matter?
Art helps student’s development of critical thinking and creativity which impacts so many other areas;
math and group cooperation to mention two. The history of the world can and is told through art.
Children need to know artists; not only Picasso, da Vinci and Van Gogh but also Clementine Hunter, a
black woman living in the south who wasn’t allowed to see her own art hanging in the museum where
she was represented.
Finally, art gives people a chance to open their minds to a creative space, positive therapy in a hectic
schedule. In every critical aspect art is necessary for children to have a balanced education.
With budget cuts, teacher layoffs, and schools closing, we cannot let art cease to be part of the
curriculum!
“just do art” is written for the elementary classroom teacher as a guide to teach art, incorporating
California and National Standards for visual art into each project. I created this book in the hope that
art will never disappear from the classroom even if art teachers do.
