MUSIC ADVOCACY: Caring Enough to Put the Student First
February 1, 2010
Advocacy for Arts Education Begins at Home
Every day the headlines quote governors and federal education officials who demand more required math, science, language arts and economics classes to prepare students to live in a “global environment.” These mandates put pressure on students at all levels to restrict their choice of classes in the arts just because there is little time for another offering in the school day.
Advocacy at the local school level is a critical key to keeping musicians, artists, dancers and actors in our classrooms. Organizations such as the SupportMusic Coalition work hard to demonstrate to federal and state officials the value of the arts in the lives of children. However, the rubber really meets the road at home, at the local level: that’s where one student and one parent at time make the critical decision to enroll in, or drop out of, band, chorus, art, dance or theatre.
I repeat: advocacy at the local school level is a critical key to keeping students in our arts classrooms. The initial responsibility for student recruitment and retention, and program retention, starts with the local teacher. The tasks required to keep arts education programs strong are not spelled out in any contract, but the necessity for them faces teachers daily.
Every arts teacher in every district must also act as an Arts Advocacy Coordinator with five audiences to address at least bi-monthly in ways that are similar to the marketing campaigns that all businesses construct. These crucial five audiences are:
StudentsTeachersBuilding and District AdministratorsParentsSchool Board members
How the members of each of these audiences respond to messages is directly tied to enrollment and program retention. Here’s how to begin to create distinct messages crafted to their specific life and job needs.
Collect information from many sources and file according to audience. State, regional and national associations’ web sites as well as www.supportmusic.com and others focused on advocacy and other arts disciplines are good places to begin the search.
Share collected data, articles, research and other information with all arts teachers in the building and district wide.
Religiously develop clear, concise advocacy messages for each of the five groups and disseminate them in e-mail or print. Be careful not to hammer too hard as the objective is to inform and shape opinion, not beat people over the head.
As appropriate, suggest action steps and offer talking points to help each audience to spread the word.
Inspiring Action & Support, One Audience At A Time
Following are audience-specific examples of actions that must be undertaken regularly.
Students need to know how band will help them in their future no matter what field they choose to study in college or vocational endeavor. Middle school students need to see how being in band in high school will work into their schedule and must learn to talk to guidance counselors about their desire to be in band or chorus. All students want to know how their band experience is connected to other areas of their current and future lives. Students need to learn what the arts teach in addition to playing an instrument and drawing or acting. Answer questions students have yet to think up.
Parents want to know how arts classes help children to experience living in a global community. They need knowledge about how the arts impact learning in other disciplines and they need research data that supports those connections. Encourage them to share this information with friends and school board members.
Teachers of all disciplines need to know how arts instruction and involvement positively impacts students in their classes. When the music or arts teacher begins a discussion of skills and knowledge taught and accumulated in their program, integration can be introduced throughout all curriculum-based programs. All teachers can become front line advocates for the arts with their students and in the community.
Administrators must see that arts teachers are pro-active about advocacy. Few other teachers are doing advocacy. All administrators need data to demonstrate the relationship of the arts to all other learning disciplines. They need to understand the connections arts knowledge lends to global learning and living. Outreach should include all curriculum directors, athletic coordinators, food service and custodial administrators as well as those working in district offices. A friend of the arts must sit in “the office” of every school system. Knowledge, communicated clearly, brings respect and support.
School board members need a constant flow of advocacy information. They must know the relationship between what is learned in arts classes and the rest of the curriculum, and they must understand the arts’ importance in the extended lives of every student in their district. Data must relate to their individual mindset: know the vocational and personal background of each board member and focus messages to the issues affecting their thinking.
The Art of Targeted Advocacy Messages
The work of advocacy is ongoing and never ending, yet it is never a science. New information and research must be incorporated to substantiate talking points. As is true in the business world, marketing must also be a constant ingredient in the world of arts education: we cannot deny or forget the power of properly positioning our messages in front of each target audience, and we must constantly recognize that message delivery is an ever-changing science.
The actions of the five audiences will determine the future of each arts program at the local level. The consequences of decisions made by students, parents, teachers, administrators and school board members affect arts programs in every building and community. Past policy is no indication of future policy. Just as people who are friends of the arts won’t be in leadership chairs forever, adversaries won’t hold their positions forever either. Friend development must be constant in your advocacy program.
A plan for arts advocacy must be created in each school building and action steps must be established to implement that plan. Finding time for advocacy work is a must in today’s educational world – and, even more importantly, it’s a vital necessity to strengthen and sustain future arts programs.
It is tragic that arts advocacy is seldom taught in college classrooms. Driving without insurance is too risky as the cost is too great if an accident occurs. The same is true for any arts teacher who is operating without an advocacy plan.
-- Larry Brandstetter, a retired theatre teacher, is a Past President of the Iowa Alliance for Arts Education, former Board Chair of the Iowa Arts Council, past board member of NASAA, and an ardent arts education advocate.
