Education Budget Cuts in Nebraska--Music and Arts

What makes our world so creative? Art and music. Not only do these subjects make our society a creative place, but they are also beneficial to students in school. According to a study done by the "Champions of Change," 82.6% of 8th graders earned mostly As and Bs who were involved heavily in fine arts versus 67.2% earning As and Bs who were not. Another finding was that 30.07% of the respondents who participate in fine arts perform in community service where only 6.28% of the respondents who do not participate in fine arts perform community service.

The fine arts don't just teach children how to play an instrument or draw a picture but they "help stimulate the creative part of the child's mind, teach discipline, instill a sense of pride, accomplishment, and self-worth."

So why is Nebraska making the budget cuts in this area? It's because they aren't government tested like reading, math and writing. According to Martin Rayala, art, media and design consultant for the Department of Public Instruction, "studies show that schools that cut arts programs end up within the next three years spending more money on education, and their test scores in other areas actually go down."

This has been a problem in our state of Nebraska. The NCME (Nebraska Coalition for Music Education) has been trying to get a hold on this problem. There motto is "We believe that music programs should be part of the academic core of essential skills and available to all students, not just those who are gifted or privileged. And that music study promotes cultural awareness, enhances the quality of our lives, and is essential to the survival of any civilization. Besides the obvious pleasure music adds to our lives, recent research shows participation in music study uniquely enhances abstract reasoning and problem solving skills. Music education aids development of reading and language skills as it promotes higher self-esteem and improves psychomotor skills and athletic ability."

If our state doesn't get a hand on this issue, music and art education will be eliminated from our school systems, and with music and art only available to the priviledged our society will become impoverished. If you want to check out the NCEM website feel free too! http://www.unl.edu/NMEA/ncme.html#imaginelife