University Of Arkansas Professor Says Saving The Arts May Also Save Students

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Past decades have produced countless advances in science, innovations in technology and opportunities in business. So isn’t it natural that American schools turn their attention away from the arts and humanities?

On the contrary - schools that neglect the arts do so at their own peril, says a University of Arkansas professor.

Dr. Claire Detels, professor of music, blames the marginalization of arts programs for contributing to the social turbulence that eddied through American schools in the 1990s. She suggests that everything from student apathy to school shootings indicates a lack of fundamental values within the educational system.

If America hopes to avoid the tragedies that plagued the last decade, it must make a greater effort to teach young people an appreciation for life and living. Detels believes that the arts and humanities are uniquely suited to such a purpose. Because these subjects emphasize sensation, interpretation, creativity and expression, learning about them inspires students to think more deeply about themselves and the world around them, said Detels.

However, the value of arts education continues to be eclipsed. In a new book published by Bergin & Garvey, Detels examines the educational structure that has allowed the arts to be neglected and outlines a new vision for arts curricula that may change the way teachers and schools approach education as a whole.

Soft Boundaries: Re-Visioning the Arts and Aesthetics in American Education argues that the rigid framework of the educational system has fractured the arts into disconnected disciplines that make it difficult for students to understand the whole context and meaning of artistic expression. In addition, this framework has isolated the arts from general education, underplaying their relevance to a variety of other subjects.

"I’ve challenged the long-standing paradigm in American education that specialization is best in all disciplines," said Detels. "The book shows how the hard boundaries between disciplines have harmed our coverage of the arts, and it proposes an integrative approach that reinstates arts and aesthetics into general education."

According to Detels, the hard boundaries that separate each discipline encourage educators to become so specialized in their chosen subject that they can no longer discuss how that subject relates to other disciplines. As a result, students receive an exceedingly narrow understanding of each subject.

Furthermore, despite the fact that the arts play a role in a wide variety of subjects - from history and politics to philosophy and psychology - teachers within these disciplines often know little about art. This means that the arts are usually the first to be excluded from any curriculum.

This phenomenon was underscored with the release of the Goals 2000 National Standards for Arts Education. These guidelines recommended that arts education be integrated with other studies.

Though such a change in the educational system seemed like a step in the right direction, the Goals 2000 standards proved ineffectual. Educators largely ignored the guidelines because they felt they were not qualified to teach about art.

"We have to give teachers the skills to address all aspects of what they teach. If they feel like they don’t know anything about art, they won’t talk about art," Detels said. "The result of all this specialization is that subjects like history and philosophy end up devoid of the things that make them most interesting."

To Detels, this represented the fundamental problem. Her book argues that before the educational system can be altered, there must be a fundamental change in the way teachers are trained. The hard-boundaried system must be replaced with soft boundaries that allow educators to focus on a given subject while also learning about influences and interconnections with other disciplines - particularly art.

"Everyone needs to study the sensory, experiential realm and the impact that it makes on our physical, emotional and intellectual lives," said Detels. "That’s what makes the arts relevant."

However, relevance has been another elusive concept for arts educators. The rigid framework of the educational system has split the arts into disparate disciplines - music, visual arts, dance and theater. In addition, the system has separated the performing arts from art history and aesthetic philosophy. This fragmentation prevents students from understanding the arts within their complete context.

"If you rob the arts of their full context, the whole aesthetic experience is truncated," said Detels. "Then students don’t get the whole picture of how the arts influence and enrich their lives."

This perceived lack of relevance has encouraged many schools to cut their arts and humanities programs. But Detels asserts that a seeming lack of relevance should act as a warning signal that sends schools scrambling to support the arts.

Rather than designing and education system that neglects concepts like creativity, beauty and expression, school officials should be striving to create an environment where students learn to experience the world and appreciate their lives.

"Arts education doesn’t teach a particular set of values or support a particular creed, but it encourages students to think about what’s important to them and to respect that there is never just one interpretation," said Detels. "In fact, there are myriad vibrant and exciting ways of living and thinking about the world."

For this reason, Detels asserts that it is increasingly important to improve arts education and to make it available in every school. Her book not only offers educators a new approach but also a new incentive to do so.