I recently came across
an article on Twitter celebrating the passage of the Every Child Achieves Act by a Senate vote of 81-17. This is important because "by naming music and arts as core subjects in the Every Child Achieves Act, the Senate has acknowledged and begun to address the national problem of the narrowing of the curriculum that has taken place under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) for more than a decade now."
I think that this is a really fantastic development in education. I actually wasn't aware that this was even in the works, but reading it really resonated with me and made me feel inspired because it's another step in a positive direction as we move away from NCLB's often narrow minded view of education. I've been a teacher for 16 years, and in that time I've personally seen an experienced the loss of PE, art, band, and music programs from schools. I think it's sad and an injustice to our students to eliminate these "enrichment" activities in favor of the core academic subjects. The passage of this act by the Senate is a victory and makes me optimistic that we can move back toward a view of education that values the arts as an integral part of human development. As the article states, "The Senate’s action today is an important step forward in ensuring that all students—regardless of their socioeconomic status—experience the demonstrable positive impact that music education has on learning and life."
The complete article can be found at:
http://www.nafme.org/senate-passes-every-child-achieves-act-with-music-and-arts-as-core-subjects-in-tact/
