E M I LY S H A L L M A N
Reaching for the Arts: Unequal Access in Contemporary Arts Education and indispensable academic subject. Additionally, this project engages a comparative analysis of three San Francisco public elementary schools, each in a different state of affluence. The case studies and my findings evaluate children’s access to the quality and quantity of arts education in urban areas based on socioeconomic factors and situate this information in dialogue with current arts and education theory.
View from the Outside – 2012 – From left to right: The exteriors of Sherman Elementary School, Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, and Mission Education Center Photographed by Emily Shallman
The future of arts education—whether visual art, music, dance, or drama—is on unstable ground in the current public educational system in America. The recent economic crisis, educational reforms, increased student populations, and varying educational policies have all contributed to the disintegration of arts education. Though arts education has been repeatedly shown to be vital to a child’s development, it is still not an integral part of public schools. Children’s access to arts education is unequal as schools vary in funding, curriculum, parental support, and values. This project addresses the current state of the arts in the broader educational system by introducing a brief history of arts education in American public schools. This history highlights the continuous struggle the arts have had to be integrated into the daily curriculum as well as prove their value as a unique
120
born Seattle, Washington, 1987
The market is currently demanding individuals capable not just of performing basic skills, but of synthesizing information, generating innovative solutions to global issues, and creatively approaching business strategies and products to sustain and engage consumers. The arts are at the heart of this solution. The market is demanding the skills, knowledge, and persistence that is unique to arts learning. The market is demanding the arts, and American schools must heed the call. In order for arts education to be successful, the public school system needs to shift to incorporate the arts as the backbone of its curriculum. Instead of inserting arts education into a system that has neither the time nor the money for it, the system must change to meet the demands of the market. It is time for the arts to have a significant place in the daily curriculum of public schools.
education BA in Elementary Art Education, Western Washington University, 2009 MA, San Francisco Art Institute, 2012