Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Congratulations New Docent Art Trainees! Bringing the word about our great art collection to all of Stockton. I'm proud of the work you put in during our studies and the insights you shared with your classmates; now the public will have the benefit of your enthusiasm. Looking at, enjoying and getting meaning from art is an activity for everyone - just bring your eyes and an open mind.
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Permission to come aboard? Thanks for the welcome and all the encouragement for Art Training Graduates. I am looking forward to posting occasional interesting things for you and will study Janet's examples of how to do this successfully. Talk to you soon. Jim
ReplyDeleteArt Education Development.
ReplyDeleteIn 2008 a National Music and Visual Arts Exam was given to 7900 Eighth Graders. Here are a few pertinent excerpts from an AP story:
"AP, June 15, 2009 · Can you identify the musical instrument at the beginning of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue?
"Half the country's eighth-graders could, correctly answering "clarinet" on national tests given last year to 7,900 eighth-grade students from 260 public and private schools. Half were assessed in music, the other half in visual arts."
It says, for example, that music and art are more available to students than the last time the assessments were given, in 1997, but it doesn't say how many students are taking music and art classes. It doesn't say how kids are doing in dance and theater, because there wasn't enough money to test on those subjects and because a small number of schools offer them.
"If it's not assessed, it may not be valued. If it's not valued, it may not be taught," said Eileen Weiser, a classical pianist and a member of the board that oversees the tests.
The assessments may also be used in the debate over the 2002 No Child Left Behind law. NAEP scores often are interpreted by critics and supporters alike as supporting their positions.
Critics insist the 2002 law has pushed music and art out of the classroom because of the high-stakes reading and math tests required under the law. Supporters point out a recent study by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, that shows teachers spent roughly the same amount of time on the arts before and after the law was passed." For the complete article you can search: National arts test scores offer clouded picture