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January 28, 2007
A Music and Arts Education Advocate Runs for President
This morning, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee announced his plans to run for President of the United States. You will know from reading this blog that Governor Huckabee has been an unwavering supporter of music and arts education and has used his position of power and influence to help educate others on the critical role music and arts education plays in the development of our children.
He has pledged to continue to keep this issue in the public eye and bring it into the campaign debate - just as he did today on Meet the Press:
GOV. HUCKABEE: This is from Memphis, by the way, yeah.
MR. RUSSERT: Now, I believe that song is “Born To Be Wild.” Is that your inner self?
GOV. HUCKABEE: It probably would be born to be mild would be a better one for me. I love music. One of the things that I’m very passionate about is music and art and education because it was life-changing for me. I think in a creative economy we’ve got to have a whole group of kids coming up and a generation whose left and right brains are stimulated. It’s something I pushed for as a governor in Arkansas where we are one of the few states that required both music and art education. I’m a musician, I’m passionate about it, but I think this, this country has made a huge mistake in cutting music and art out of school budgets. And it’s something we’ve got to address because the future economy is dependent upon a creative generation.
MR. RUSSERT: Governor Mike Huckabee, he’s announced for president. Thank you for sharing your views, and we’ll be following your campaign.
MTP Transcript for Jan. 28, 2007 -
Meet the Press, online at MSNBC - MSNBC.com
Regardless of ones politics... whether as an individual you support him or not... the arts education community will be well served by having such a candidate in the fray to bring our powerful message to the national spotlight.
From today's announcement!
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee announced Sunday on NBC's 'Meet the Press' morning show with host Tim Russert that he will explore a presidential bid for 2008.Huckabee, who left office Jan. 9, said,"People want an authentic conservative who has a proven record of results.”
“I’m taking the next step in becoming a candidate for President of United States,“ Huckabee, a Republican, said. “By filing papers with the Federal Election Commission, I will establish my official exploratory committee.”
The formation of an exploratory committee allows Huckabee to raise and spend money for a presidential run.
“I've concluded that I should take this necessary and vital step to bring a new kind of optimistic leadership to the public square,” Huckabee said, noting that he has received "strong, prayerful support" from his family, close friends and supporters in many states.
Last year, Huckabee campaigned in nearly 30 states on behalf of Republican candidates, state parties and conservative groups.
Huckabee became Arkansas' 44th governor in July 1996 when his predecessor resigned. He was one of the youngest governors in the country at the time. Huckabee first was elected lieutenant governor in a 1993 special election and was elected to a full four-year term in 1994. He was only the fourth Republican to be elected to statewide office since Reconstruction.
Huckabee was elected to a full four-year term as governor in 1998, attracting the largest percentage of the vote ever received by a Republican gubernatorial nominee in Arkansas, and was re-elected to another four-year term in November 2002. He was the third longest serving governor in the history of Arkansas, having served ten and a half years.
Huckabee is nationally recognized for his leadership capabilities and many accomplishments as governor. 'Governing' magazine named him as one of its Public Officials of the Year in 2005, Time magazine honored him as one of the 'Five Best Governors' in America, and he received the distinguished Impact Award from the American Association of Retired Persons.
Huckabee served as chairman of the National Governors Association and chairman of the Education Commission of the States. During his tenure as governor, Huckabee made great strides in improving education, increasing access to health care, updating technology in state government and revamping the state’s roadways.
Huckabee, a fiscal conservative, pushed through the Arkansas Legislature the first major, broad-based tax cuts in state history. He led efforts to establish a Property Taxpayers' Bill of Rights and created a welfare reform program that reduced welfare rolls in the state by almost 50 percent.
The governor is a noted speaker and author. He has given speeches on politics and public policy to groups across the country and around the world.
Born and raised in Hope, AR, Huckabee, 51, and his wife, Janet, live in North Little Rock. They have three grown children, John Mark, David and Sarah.
Official announcement activities are scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Jan. 30, with a two-day tour in Iowa. (This will be the Governor's ninth trip to the Hawkeye State.)
Posted by musicforall at 8:25 PM
January 11, 2007
From Hope to Higher Ground
No advocate has had a greater impact on advancing music and arts education over the past decade than Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. No one. He has used his leadership posts as Governor, his chairmanship of both the Education Commission of the States and the National Governors Association as his own “bully pulpit” to promote the value and importance of music and arts for our children. He has used his pen to craft education legislation to provide the force of law to protect our programs. He walks the walk and talks the talk. His efforts have really brought our cause from hope to higher ground.
Governor Huckabee has finished his term as Governor of Arkansas and is turning the page on a new chapter in his life as an author, public speaker, and who knows what else.
Now he has written a book! FROM HOPE TO HIGHER GROUND: 12 STOPs to Restoring America’s Greatness.
He has been kind enough to share with all of us an excerpt from his book that focuses on his passion for our cause and the deep personal meaning music has in his life.
I think you will enjoy it!
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Stop Cheating Our Children: Move the Potential
Ninety percent of CEOs surveyed said that attracting and retaining talented people is their top priority and their greatest challenge. Job seekers need to have more than an education—they need critical thinking and the ability to come up with creative solutions. The development of such skills is connected to a glaring error being committed by many practitioners of public policy in education.
We will never move the potential of our students to its full capacity if we cheat them out of a complete education, which includes art and music. The economy of the future is likely to be based on different models than past ones like physical strength and a strong back. It won’t even be based on mere intellectual capacity. The key is creative capacity. Richard Florida’s landmark book The Rise of the Creative Class creates a portrait of the American workforce as one in which creativity rules not only the marketplace of jobs but also has a dramatic impact on where people choose to live.
Unlike my baby boomer generation, the Gen X generation is not driven as much by money and materialism and individuals often make career decisions based on opportunities for personal lifestyle choices such as availability of local theater, art, music, or recreation. People choose careers and communities with a focus on quality of life as much as quantity of salary.
From an educational standpoint, numerous studies have shown a direct correlation between music education and math scores. This makes perfect sense in that the study of music helps develop both the left and right sides of the brain and improves spatial reasoning and the capacity to think in the abstract. In other words, the basic fundamental values one employs to learn music can be applied to learning any other discipline.
A person learns how to learn, and that skill is transferable in learning foreign languages, algebra, or history. The younger the age at which one is exposed to and learns music, the more impact the study of music will have on his or her academic capacity and achievement.
Music is a part of who we are from our very creation. It is in our God-given nature to be musically inclined. The first rhythm we are exposed to is the heartbeat in our mother’s womb. From almost the moment we are born and throughout infancy we are exposed to parents and caregivers who instinctively sing to us and communicate their affection and information such as the alphabet through music. Children are soothed by music, and the familiar refrains of a lullaby are as comforting to a child as food.
Sadly, as the child grows older, decisions are made for him or her by school budget officers who often determine that a music program is too expensive. I argue that it is too expensive to the future of the child to not have music! Although there are clear academic benefits, we need to be cautious in assuming that the purpose of music and arts curriculum is as some associated or secondary value in other academic disciplines. There is value in music and the arts on their own merits, and not everything we study has to have a finite result of some type of productivity to have intrinsic value and worth.
One of the pieces of legislation of which I am most proud requires every student in Arkansas schools to receive established time in both music and the arts taught by a certified teacher. I still remember the battle not only over the subject matter but the necessity of having music and art taught by competent teachers who are actually trained and fully certified in their fields. I was stunned when a legislator arguing against the need for certified teachers in these fields said, “Anybody can teach music; all you have to do is play a recording.” I replied, “That attitude is exactly why we need the certified teachers!”
Because of tight budgeting, some school districts make the tragic mistake of believing that music and arts programs are simply too expensive. I would argue that music and art are not expendable, they are not extracurricular, and they are not extraneous. They are essential!
Despite the determination of some to exclude a music and arts curriculum on the basis of it not being a vital part of a student’s preparation, some 1.7 million people called themselves artists in 1990 as opposed to 400,000 in 1950. The growing number of people who consider them- selves artists is an affirmation that even when some supposed educational experts put it on the chopping block, there is still a yearning deep within the hearts and souls of human beings to express themselves and to carry the message of a culture from one generation to the next through the vital, necessary, and treasured forms of art and music.
I would contend that the attempt to cut the arts in a school system is about the dumbest move a school board or superintendent could make. Political officials might be interested to know that nine of ten parents oppose cuts in an arts program. Not only is it right — but it is politically smart to insist on continuing, if not expanding, music and arts programs for every student in America!
We must ensure that “no child is left behind.” But many children will be left behind if the only talents we touch are those of the mathematicians or the athletes. The talents of the actor, the musician, the singer, the painter, or the dancer are as important as the talent of the young aspiring scientist. Beyond the intrinsic value of music and art is the tremendous inspiration and motivation they provide to many students.
The arts have value in teaching patience, perseverance, and the power of practice toward personal performance. One learns that for every minute on stage, there are hours and hours behind the scenes in rehearsal. The power of cooperation and teamwork also is a benefit to music and the arts, and students learn that without the set designers, stagehands, sound and lighting technicians, and makeup artists, the actors would have a dark, empty, lifeless stage and the curtain would never open. Both direct and indirect benefits make the arts a necessity for a total education.
In 1966 an eleven-year-old kid begged his parents for an electric guitar for Christmas. The eleven-year-old was absorbed in the music of the era — the Beatles and other rock bands — and wanted to play the electric guitar. He promised to faithfully practice and learn to play if he were to get the guitar for Christmas. The cost of an electric guitar, even one purchased through the J. C. Penney catalog, was well beyond the budget of a family struggling to make the rent payment by the first of each month. Somehow those parents made sacrifices and arrangements to make monthly payments over a year for the guitar and a small amplifier, which cost a total of $99.
The boy practiced for hours on end, often playing until his fingers were near bleeding. Like many other kids of his generation, he formed a rock band while still in junior high school and continued to play throughout his student days in various venues ranging from high school dances to small shows in school auditoriums.
As you read this you probably think that this is the story of a young, aspiring guitarist who would go on to a lucrative career as a famous musician and entertainer, but it didn’t work out quite that way. He never made it as a professional rock and roll musician, but while turning to other endeavors he never quite got music out of his system either. He is now past the age of fifty, but he claims to enjoy it more than ever. He plays in a rock band made up of people who all have other day jobs but now play for the fun of it. His band opened for Willie Nelson in a soldout nine-thousand-seat arena, as well as the Charlie Daniels Band, Grand Funk Railroad, Dionne Warwick, 38 Special, and Percy Sledge. He has played in venues ranging from presidential inauguration parties to the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver, and a concert at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.
By the way, that eleven-year-old kid who begged for the guitar is the author of this book who still loves music and whose band Capitol Offense has helped keep him sane through many challenges of raising a family and swimming in political waters!
Every student should have the opportunity to explore their creative abilities, whether it’s by joining a band, acting in a play, or singing in a church choir. While most people cannot play tackle football at my age, there is never an age in which we will outgrow the ability to appreciate as well as to participate in music and the arts. They are truly endeavors that can be enjoyed for a lifetime.
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My special thanks to Governor Huckabee for sharing this with us. Terri Hardy and the Governor’s staff for helping pull this together, and the fine folks at Hachette Book Group for being so responsive.
From the book FROM HOPE TO HIGHER GROUND: 12 STOPs to Restoring America’s Greatness by Mike Huckabee. Copyright © 2007 by Mike Huckabee. Reprinted by permission of Warner Books, Inc, New York, NY. All rights reserved.
Posted by musicforall at 4:27 PM | Comments (0)
January 10, 2007
How Bush education law has changed our schools
USA Today published this excellent review of the impact of No Child Left Behind on the 5th anniversary of the enactment of the law:
How Bush education law has changed our schoolsBy Greg Toppo, USA TODAY
The walls are speaking these days at Stanton Elementary School in Philadelphia, and they're talking about test scores.
Post-It notes with children's names tell the story of how, in just five years, a federal law with a funny name has changed school for everyone. "We spend most of our days talking about or looking at data," principal Barbara Adderley says.
Test scores run her week.
She meets with kindergarten teachers on Monday, first-grade teachers on Tuesday and so on. The meetings begin with a look at each teacher's "assessment wall," filled with color-coded Post-Its representing each pupil and whether he or she is making steady progress in basic skills. Once students master a skill, the Post-Its move up the wall.
"If they don't move, then we have to talk about what's happening," Adderley says.
What's driving the talk? President Bush's landmark education law, dubbed No Child Left Behind.
How Bush education law has changed our schools - USATODAY.com
Posted by musicforall at 8:00 AM
January 6, 2007
College Marching Bands Take Center Stage... Again
Great story today in the New York Times about college marching bands in general and Florida and Ohio State specifically. The nice thing about this coverage is that it is showing the trend toward showcasing these bands again... something that has been waning in college athletics for the past 2 decades. Nice to see a paper like the New York Times give the topic such extensive and prominent coverage!
GAINESVILLE, Fla., Jan. 5 — On the sideline of a scruffy practice field late this week, the leader of the Florida Gators gathered his players after a long workout in the heat and the humidity to remind them that they would face more celebrated Ohio State opponents Monday.A Gators pep band played during a men’s basketball national title run last spring and again recently when the women’s volleyball team made a postseason run.
“And you’re every bit as good as they are,” the band director, Jay Watkins, said as 300 students listened, nodded and drank from water bottles before putting away their trumpets, piccolos, saxophones, batons, flags and drums for the first of two meal breaks in their 12-hour workday.While the football players of the Gators and the Buckeyes prepared to meet in the Bowl Championship Series title game in Glendale, Ariz., the university bands practiced almost as hard.
Marching Their Way Before Title Game’s Cameras - New York Times
On a related note... who knew that the legendary owner of the New York Yankees was such a fan of marching bands that he donated funds to build the band halls at both Ohio State and Florida?
Posted by musicforall at 10:47 AM
January 3, 2007
And in this corner...
Happy New Year Everyone!
Well to start us off on the proper footing we have two news stories that are certain to spark the debate over the "best" music to use for "teaching" music.
In the corner to our left we have no lesser a fellow than famed cellist Julian Lloyd Webber. According to an article in the Guardian, Webber is preparing to take on the UK's "Music Manifesto" crowd regarding how music should be taught in the schools as the UK works to restore music education programs. A major meeting and debate are set for later this month. Should be interesting stuff. Out with classroom rap, in with Mozart
In the other corner we have the Berklee College of Music and their plans to expand the "City Music Program" to several communities using an online network. (Students Learn Music From Gnarls Barkley, Not Bach) and (New Score for City Musicians) The program uses contemporary music as the pathway to engage inner city youth with music.
What I find interesting in these two very different approaches is there is little recognition of the value of the other. Popular music as a way of teaching music in our schools is not a new idea. Nor can we say that studying the great works off the ages is no longer a relevant way to educate young people in music.
The fallacy here is that there is no wrong answer. It is the diversity of music that makes it such a powerful force in our world. Not everyone likes or responds to the same kind of music. So it is no surprise to see diverse approaches in the styles used to teach music.
But there is a potential danger. Where the danger may be is the perception these programs will somehow “save” music education. They won’t. Don’t’ get me wrong… I think City Music does a great job and will be a wonderful program that will impact lots of young people. But, their stated purpose is to create more musicians. This is not why we teach music in our schools. We teach music to create better PEOPLE. Programs like City Music cannot and should not be viewed as a way to replace the process in which music education is provided to our children. This is done in our schools. Programs like City Music can be a great supplement to existing programs and also serve as a great model to educate uniformed administrators about the tremendous educational benefits of music and then get them to embrace their responsibility to provide these benefits to every child.
That would be a wonderful contribution to the field.
Posted by musicforall at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)