This site has an impressive list by Elliot Eisner that supports the importance of the Arts in education. Share it with your fellow colleagues and students.
Benjamin Zander's book and video got me to thinking about what I am teaching to my students everyday. I began asking questions of myself. Things that I haven't had time to think about the last few months. Why do we require 1 full credit of Fine Art to graduate from high school in Montana? What made the legislators in 1992 decide that this should be a requirement? And above all, how does this knowledge inform my teaching and the learning of my students. The site above links to many wonderful pages that provide answers to these questions.
While researching answers to these questions, I came across the following video of Jim Yong Kim's inaugural address at Dartmouth. This quote spoke to my questions, and reminded me of a few reasons that I hold a liberal arts education so closely to my heart and soul.
“There’s nothing more practical than the philosophical work of learning to be clear and coherent about our deepest values; nothing more practical than the artistic work of bringing shared values to compelling expression. They deepen our understanding of what has been and open our imagination to what yet could be. They provide the experiences of beauty and shared meaning which are central to building a more just world. Understanding what ennobles human life, and intensifying our capacity to experience it is the very purpose of…education. “
