Study of arts education does not paint a pretty picture

Half of American eighth-graders can tell that a clarinet is playing the solo when they listen to the opening passage of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

That’s one finding of “The Nation’s Report Card: Arts 2008″ – the first snapshot since 1997 of students’ performance in music and visual arts.

The report shows little change in arts participation and achievement. For instance, 57 percent of the students attended schools with music instruction at least three or four times a week in 2008, and 47 percent had access to visual arts instruction that often. These figures show no statistically significant difference from those in 1997.

But on a national test, there were continued gaps in scores among socioeconomic and racial groups, as well as low scores on some test items. Those findings leave arts advocates concerned about the quantity and quality of instruction.

The report card “invites some hard questions … that can help raise the bar for arts education,” said Patrice Walker Powell, acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, during the event releasing the report. “Why are we seeing lackluster levels of student achievement in some fundamental areas of music and visual-arts learning? Are we providing [arts specialists in schools] with enough training and support to reach all students?”

As states and school boards struggle with competing demands amid the economic downturn, she added, “We must be vigilant about the availability and application of [arts] resources across all demographic groups, including disadvantaged communities.”

One particular concern: Fewer students reported visiting an art museum or exhibit with their class at least once during the year – 16 percent in 2008 versus 22 percent in 1997.

In a statement, U. S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan noted the value of arts in the learning process. The report card, he said, is a reminder that “the arts are … important to American students gaining the 21st-century skills they will need to succeed in higher education and the global marketplace – skills that increasingly demand creativity, perseverance, and problem solving combined with performing well as part of a team.”

NAS argues math education can start in preschool

Early childhood education is often associated with activities like taking naps, playing with toys, and eating paste. However, recent studies have shown that children are quite capable of learning academically, especially when it comes to quantitative skills. The National Research Council (a branch of the National Academies of Science) has released a report that recommends that children’s preschool years be used to begin an introduction to math, with the intent of improving overall academic performance, particularly among low-income students.

In early childhood education, math is secondary to other subjects and is often embedded in other lessons, rather than taught as a separate discipline. The lack of distinct math education is due to the historic belief that trying to engage toddlers with numbers is futile at best, and can wait for the start of formal schooling. However, recent studies have indicated that an early understanding of math can contribute to learning in both math and reading. One study has found that children can grasp mathematical concepts earlier than previously thought: by 10 months of age, babies can distinguish a set of two items from a set of three.

The report recommends that early education in math be split into two sections: numbers and operations, and geometry and measurement. In both areas, the focus should remain on problem solving using mathematical reasoning; for example, measuring objects and discussing the value of units of measure and working through addition and subtraction. The report also emphasizes the necessity of “teaching-learning paths,” or sequencing concepts so that each lays the foundation for the next.

Creative Problem Solving Enhanced By REM Sleep

The story goes that in the 1790s, Samuel Coleridge fell asleep one evening at his desk, and when he woke he had the poem “Kubla Khan” in his head. More recently, Paul McCartney went to sleep and dreamed the tune to his hit song, “Yesterday.” What is it about dreaming that spurs creativity? Some researchers from the University of California at San Diego are looking for clues.

Fathers Are More Involved

Good news from the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and the National Center for Fathering. A new survey shows fathers are more involved in their child’s education than they were a decade ago. Among the areas in which dads have made strides are walking/driving their child to school (up 16 percent),

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