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Let's explore the two core areas with the influence of militarism in mind - Music and Visual Arts.

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Should fine arts be expanded as part of education reform?

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When the forces of militarism, stubbornness, and technology combine, fine arts must stand to evolve constantly to counteract and adapt to their influences. If not, fine arts will be inadvertently drowned by their tides.

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It seems that school arts projects has been faltering, whether it be because of technology, understaffing, or a simple stubbornness against the changing tides of tomorrow. Changes must be applied to correctly tune the levels of individual engagement found in the arts classroom, both on an intellectual and creative level, for the teacher and the student alike.

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Music education in particular has oscillated between music literacy and music education for the better part of a century. However, it's increasingly clear that music for music's sake AND music for the sake of literacy, both in music theory and other subjects, is recommended for more effective learning. However politically motivated the oscillations of the music education curriculum be, the core idea that music is integral to a well-balanced education should remain.

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Militarism is worth pushing back against -- even over 100 years ago, it's been acknowledged and warned that militarism is a bane on the prosperity of fine arts and individual creativity. The benefits of a focus on technical prowess does not outweigh the implications and motivations behind that development; and repeated attempts at censoring other points of view in art, whether that be from other cultures or political ideologiesm is only detrimental in this current era of mass media manipulation.

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The empirically derived principles of 9 are reflected in the suggestions of 10 -- while ongoing music training does fortify mental capacity, it must be done in a way that expands a student's (ahem) horizons and defines his or her place in the community instead of focusing on an overly rigid, nationalistic perspective.

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All of the sources agree with the intrinsic need for music for personal development despite the repeated waves of progress (?) towards standardization and music. 2 brings up a slew of guidelines for strengthening the weak hold of fine arts as it is currently, 5 recommends that a shift towards appreciation be executed, while 4 recommends that a shift towards the creation of art as a permanently useful outlet for human creativity.

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Both sources agree that art should not be concrete, but a constantly shifting medium for expressing contemporary ideas in context of history, to reframe current events and to ask difficult questions in a way that no words can ever express.

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Both sources agree that militarism in a learning environment is detrimental, as it detracts from critical thinking and creativity in improvisation or composition, etc. Curiously, these sources are over 100 years apart.

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If less than 1% of young adults find practical use for music literacy, then certainly the issue is with the rigidity of music education as wrought upon by militarism as 10 points out. If people can find creative outlets for their music literacy, they will naturally explore it.

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With the logistics problems discussed by 2 resolved, avenues in M+MI education can be explored

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All 3 discuss the challenges wrought upon by the NCLB act, which slashed fine arts funding severely -- 2 focuses on the challenges for music educators, 12 focuses on the administrative challenges of a fine arts department, while 6 focuses on the technological and pedagogical challenges of teaching fine arts with reduced funding in a tech-driven society.

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It seems that the universal appreciation focus brought up by 5 and some others is gated by the sheer academic stress at certain schools, quoted by 12 -- it's not feasible or beneficial from a purely academic standpoint for certain students to take classes. That being said, taking music classes could actually have highly beneficial effects if done successfully, as entailed by 9.

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6 discusses many of the changes in fine arts pedagogy and learning technology that 7 advocates for -- moving towards expression, technology, and composition instead of assignment work and forced themes.

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3 claims that fine arts is generally unlucrative and infeasible as a career, which, combined with the post-Sputnik sentiments of 1 + 4, creates an environment for decline.

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Both emphasize the role of recent national education reform reports on the contemporary developments of fine arts education curricula towards strict, measurable forms of progress.

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Art Education: A Brief Statistical Survey Made By The American Federation Of Arts

At the time of the report, it was found that few people enroll in fine arts schools, and even fewer pursue careers related to fine arts afterwards. Nevertheless, the increase of fine arts instruction during the time seems to have brought about an increase in arts appreciation. Furthermore, it was found that very few students take advantage of fine arts facilities and resources at higher education institutions, and that the industrial arts (engineering, architecture, materials working, etc) have much higher salaries and job availabilities.

"...about 1 per cent of those who receive [fine arts] training become professional artists and the remaining 99 per cent either drift without special training into the industrial and commercial arts, or entirely abandon the pursuit of the profession," (AFA 1)

"A general improvement in taste and increased interest in art manifested by a demand for exhibitions, books on art and lectures, and the increased establishment of art museums throughout the country, is thought to be in part attributable to the training given in the public schools," (AFA 1)

"...At least 75 per cent have found lucrative employment along the lines of the instruction given [in industrial arts]... this is in strong contrast to the 1 per cent reported by the professional schools," (AFA 2)

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The Role of the Fine Arts in Education

In this short 1968 report, the Educational Policies Commission sums up the most exigent reasons for the inclusion and expansion of various arts in the public curriculum, including that of historical unison, aesthetic pleasure and therapy, expression and creativity, and nonsubjectivity. With nonsubjectivity in particular, the commission notes that the sentiment in the sciences is to reduce subjectivity as to not affect data analysis and operations despite its necessity in making qualified rational decisions. The commission also discusses the arts as a final frontier in the postmodern era, during which all useful work has been automated and all humans can live in excess. The EPC recommends that individuals in schools actually do art instead of appreciating it,  and that attention to the quality of a student's performance is harmful. Art is intrinsticly subjective and should be used to nurture a person's creativity and self-confidence instead.

"An education which does not teach art is deficient because it does not teach the culture," (EPC 1)

"One of the bases of the belief that art is a universal phenomenon is the view that all people everywhere through all of time have found joy in it," (EPC 1)

"There is some evidence that... therapeutic gains can come to persons who are disadvantaged, who might drop out of school otherwise, and who are retrievable, from a school's point of view, only by maximizing the school's attentions to their artistic interests," (EPC 1)

"In a future without work or usefulness... what does become important? In such circumstances, art would be vitally important, for it would be the kind of thing which people would be doing, for themselves and for each other. In a sense, it is through this kind of psychological, emotional, creative, epxressive, and intellectual exchange that "usefulness" in such a future society will be felt," (EPC 4)

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What the Current Education Reform Reports Have to Say about Arts and Humanities Education

Published in 1990, this evaluation looks at the sentiments and effects of various education reform reports like A Nation At Risk (1983) and Academic Preparation for College (1983). Although fine arts are briefly mentioned as essential for a balanced education etc, the general trend of fine arts trends downwards, with it being phased out in favor of STEM and standardized testing to counter the Soviet technological competition post-Sputnik.

"In a number of reports there are mentions of such general educational values as 'lifelong learning', which give the appearance of a shift away from a narrow academic vocationalism..." (Wieder 3)

"The foci of the thurst of the various reports tend to center either on instructional outcomes such as SAT scores or on the conditions of schooling affecting instruction primarily in math, science, and those other subjects thought to impact upon industrial economic prowess," (Wieder 4)

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Political/Historical: Should fine arts policies be updated to reflect contemporary practices and beliefs?

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Militarizing Our High Schools

This concerns the push for militarization of high schools through two California senate bills during the First World War. Rather, it’s an assault on the idea of militarizing high schools. The benefit of increased physical fitness is countered with the sentiment that gymnastics is a more well-rounded supplement and is generally more well-liked. The author also argues that direct militarization of young boys -- to kill fellow humans -- is psychologically scarring and damaging to faith (because that was indeed important). Furthermore, it detracts from mental talent by occupying the soldier with the sole task of obedience, diminishing critical thinking. Any argument that military training increases moral erectness is not incorrect, but that sort of discipline necessarily comes from upbringing and not military intervention alone. And elsewhere, in industry and the arts, for instance, the author argues that the reduction of mental talent is highly detrimental to the practice (for reasons I need not explain). Peace and freedom seem to be the genuine source of progress. Military eadership opportunities are aplenty, but only a few ever reach those levels; militarism distracts from more “meaningful” position, and so on. The author then quotes several high-standing figures of society, including President Eliot of Harvard and Andrew Carnegie, on their anti-militaristic viewpoints, and closes with a short rhetoric on the fundamentally anti-democratic stance of militarism.

"He refers to the "mental stimulus" of military manoeuvers... on the contrary, it has been general considered that its effect has been to dwarf the mental processes and to make a man a mental and physical machine, largely dependent on the thinking and initiative of his superior," (Allen 2)

"[Militaristic ideals] threaten in many respects to neutralize the splendid efforts of our teachers to develop the higher thought of the young... do not let our high schools become nurseries of those evils of the past," (Allen 3)

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Music Plus Music Integration: A model for music education policy reform that reflects the evolution and success of arts integration practices in 21st century American public schools.

Three case studies are mentioned in regards to a Music Integration education model, in which music is used as a device to accelerate learning in core curricula like english and math. Whereas many music educators reject the integration of music into academics, perhaps out of a fear of responsibility regarding academic performance, the growing pile of evidence that suggests a positive correlation between music education and classroom performance says otherwise. At CLC, MILE, and CAPE, three separate Music Plus Music Integration (M+MI) programs, a statistically significant academic advantage was seen in groups of children taught with the M+MI method when looking at standardized scores; and music education length was found to strongly correlate with academic performance.

"While music education remains the most prevalent form of arts education in American school and remains the primary focus of research on the impact of arts learning on brain capacity and cognitive development, music specialists in public schools are limited by not having enough time or resources..." (Scripps 2)

"Strong evidence exists that early and ongoing music training significantly and permanently impacts all children’s brain development. Researchers argue that virtually every moment of productive musical experience and practice will incrementally change the way the brain grows and functions," (Scripps 6)

"...music educators have been reluctant to recognize the importance, adapt the dispositions, or incorporate the practices of integrative teaching and learning into music education policy. Though many music educators still cling to the notion that music can or should be taught for its own sake, the six links in the chain of evidence support the need for a new comprehensive policy of music education," (Scripps 15)

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How to: A High School Fine Arts Graduation Requirement

This is a case study of the Cheyenne Mountain School District, a high-performing middle and high school system in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The author, Johnson, became the arts instructor in the 1990s and attempted to reform the fine arts curriculum there following certain realizations that the school’s otherwise stellar fine arts programs were being ignored in favor of overprioritizing academic performance. Progress was made through slow but persistent advocacy in the public and administrative spheres within the community. At the district, although a super-hyper-ultra-mega-metamajority of parents agree that the arts is important for fostering self-esteem and personal development, over 50% of high school seniors at the district do not and have not taken an arts course due to GPA and academic pressures despite the class wanting a greater course selection in the arts (drama, speech, etc). This is also despite many seniors having adequate room in their schedule for additional classes. For this district in particular, it seems to be because of underfunding of the fine arts district -- only one teacher was in the entire department apparently (jesus) before Johnson came, and through his efforts, a slew of staff was hired to alleviate pressure. Then came a bunch of bureaucratic negotiations that I won’t mention here for brevity. Interestingly, one proposal was to make fine arts classes not count towards GPA weighting for accessibility’s sake; a one-year fine arts requirement was also pushed through due to the retirement of a PE teacher; the PE requirement was dropped from two years to one year.

"In fact, until recently, school administrators openly claimed that a stronger electives program would "distract students from their academic classes"," (Johnson 1)

"...a little research showed that over 50 percent of our students, often obsessed with grade point averages and their demanding academic workloads, took no fine arts course at the high school," (Johnson 2)

"The high school vocal music/drama teacher is at present responsible for 5 class preparations (1 at the Jr. High), 2 vocal music contests, an evening of one-act plays, 4 or more vocal music performances, 2 vocal music contests, and drama club. The demands of the position precludes the development of strong programs," (Johnson 2)

"Our school's "bumping" of Advanced Placement course grades actually discouraged students from taking regular "4 pt. A" elective classes," (Johnson 3)

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Notes for a Dialogue on Art Education in Critical Times

Is art political or apolitical? The author Desai seems to lean towards the former. Despite the best efforts of censorship and etc, art clearly is not apolitical and can have deep, if subliminal, effects on the psyche. However, the rigid structure of art education essentially locks it to being largely apolitical -- thanks, curriculum -- but even that resignation is inherently sociopolitical in nature. Art education 135 years ago -- that of drawing -- started largely as a form of structural discipline and comformity, not of expression, and that sentiment largely carries to today. Two alterations to the art education curriculum must be made, according to Desai: one to understand all art as inherently political, both in creation and diffusion, and two that aesthetics is always relational or dialogic. Images have been used to diffuse powerful messages, of war, terror, and despair; as the government uses photos as propaganda, so must the student learn to, or at least learn to understand the new forms of largely digital and visual messages that they encounter. Students must learn to understand the products that they produce in class -- in context of current politics, previous history, and the origins of the art form, etc. Proficiency is not required, but a sharp, critical mind, capable of cultural understanding and evoking cultural change.

"The censorship of art indicates that art is not neutral, despite the systemic representation of art as apolitical in art education... despite the image of the artist as a nonconformist, art programs reinforce confirmity as much as any other curriculum area," (Desai 2)

"The strategic use of images by the state, various organizations with different political agendas, ...media moguls, and pop stars requires us to pay attention to the politics of image making in art education," (Desai 3)

"We have a responsibility in art education to teach our students the tools to read images such as those from Abu Ghraib [one site of the Iraqi War], and also to produce alternative images that force us to ask different kinds of questions," (Desai 4)

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Creativity in Digital Art Education Teaching Practices

According to the No Child Left Behind Act, many fine arts departments have found their funding slashed and their allotted classroom time decreased. Many other reports have substantiated this downward trend with their own negatives, stating various stressors relating to time, software in discord with newer technologies, teaching loads, and the like. It is suggested that technology mentors be employed in art classroom settings to help integrate both the students and teachers in digital art learning environments. The time-disjunct gap between the generation of teachers and students with respect to technology is a caustic one, and many who ignore updates in digital technology are forsaking their students’ potential. In some groups, digital art is seen as taboo and overly mechanical despite the high amounts of creativity and brainpower required to both use and harness applications to their fullest extents.

"Not embracing technologies within our classrooms can create schisms between our schools and the lived experiences of our youth [and can] also create schisms between art educators, who have been slow to embrace technology, and the art world that has been quick to promote, integrate, and exhibit current artists' digital works," (Black 2)

"The problem is that there is no concrete instruction... for this reason, visual art educators have to be drivers for new technologies in their schools to make it happen," (Black 3)

"Arts specialists not only need continued training in basic computer skills, they need professional development in specific hardware and software related to improving the learning experience in each of the arts disciplines," (Black 3)

"Art educators not only thrived when they focused on creative art ideas and not technology driving the curricula, but they also flourished when given freedom to shape creative digital arts programs," (Black 6)

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Another Perspective: Militarism and Music Education

Militarism--excessive focus on the military--is correlated with the shrinking of creativity in favor of patriotism, and it has been on the rise since 9/11. While the US military budget remains sky-high, fine arts programs elsewhere are being slashed due to a focus on English and math in recent education policies. Many music educations are unwilling to accept or are unaware of the aforementioned phenomenon, yet excessive nationalism results in the promotion of one set of musical ideologies over another. Music philosopher Cath Benedict claims that militaristic activities like marching bands decrease engagement and creativity in music education and detract from activities like composition, improvisation, and digital exploration. A slew of books released since 9/11 have claimed that the US is progressing towards further militarism. Music has had a prominent role in advancing militaristic measures, despite the caution and disapproval of some music educators -- it is that role that music must stray away from, according to Scott Goble and other music educators, through song choice and elsewhere. It’s interesting to note that the United states has one of the highest involvements between music education and the military, with countless partnership projects for recruitment and pro-military propaganda through CDs, concerts, conferences, sports game appearances (super bowl, etc), and so on. Militarism is damaging as it promotes toxic individualism and herd conformity over empathetic reflection and critical thinking (oh dear). Using music as an example, that means assigning an unreasonable weight to programmable skillsets (like scales, memorizing repertoire, etc) rather than creativity, etc. he author advocates for a focus towards global engagement and peaceful diplomacy through music instead of defensive patriotism as seen in the National Anthem Project, with intercultural studies and professional development being some of the goals mentioned. However, it is important to mention that militaristic music has an incredible destressing effect on soldiers; furthermore, many soldiers become talented leaders and musicians through military band programs.  Nevertheless, militarism has no place in music education -- it deeply impacts those impressionable enough to be influenced into the military and siphons resources away from liberal and creative education (shucks). Although a strong military is necessary, its overarching influence on other facets of civilian life must not go unignored, and it must be countered with civil conscience.

"Music's effectiveness in imparting ideology is precisely why it has for centuries been used in political and religious rituals around the world. Music's ideological power extends to instrumental music and performance practices, far beyond the actual meanings of the song lyrics," (Hebert 2)

"The expectations of human interaction in military and civilian organizations are fundamentally different, and in some cases it may be advisable for music educators to more carefully reflect on what features make the musical experience in their classroom contrast with that encountered in a military school or military organization, whether this concerns the repertoire, genre, leadership style, or other factors," (Hebert 4)

"Whenever music education is disconnected with the empowerment of students towards creative growth and lifelong musical participation, it fails to transcend the characteristics of mere "training"," (Hebert 4)

"A world in which militarism is minimalized naturally seems very attractive to many educators, but ensuring that outcome is a serious challenge that calls for a more critical understanding of patriotism, the complex ideology most often invoked in support of militaristic practices," (Hebert 6)

"The need for maintenance of an effective national defense cannot be denied, but pursuit of unnecessary and endless wars requires a serious response from the music education profession, rather than increasing acceptance of militaristic practices and cheerleading for more patriotism in school music programs," (Hebert 6)

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Music Education, Recent History, and Ideas

According to various surveys, incl. a 1978 Gallup poll, a large majority of people enjoy music and can play or wish to learn an instrument. Instruction wise, there seem to be two emerging ideas -- one that music should be taught as a medium of aesthetic expression primarily, and another that music is a vehicle for literacy and personal development -- due to post-Sputnik sentiments, music has been trending more towards the utilitarian side of things again. This is despite the post-WWII era sentiments that creative music appreciation is better, and the post-Revolutionary War period sentiments that, again, music literacy is better (that being due to Calvinist individualism). It stretches all the way back to ~1000 AD with Guido d'Arezzo being the first to establish a known music theory curriculum. The author advocates that music education should be available to everyone, and that the main focus should be appreciation, with performance left to the select few talents. This sentiment seems to be shared among school administrators, that fine arts should be available to all, due to the beliefs that music is inherently therapeutic and recreational.

"Music expression has always provided its own special and unique gifts to the total life experience... it is little wonder that in 1982 the AASA adopted a resolution stating that a well rounded, well-balanced curriculum is essential in the education of chilren and that music and the other arts are "fundamental academic skills in the school curriculum", "(Miller 2)

"In view of the fading strength of music in the 1980s, and the call for massive budget cuts which frequently eliminate fine arts programs, Philips suggests that we again return to emphasizing the utilitarian values in our pleas for continuance," (Miller 4)

"Once [the back-to-basics] movement gained a foothold, the music teaching profession... sought to identify explicitly some form of viable academic content for music: ... a revitalized emphasis on music literacy through the development of reading, writing, and ear training skills," (Miller 5)

"...it was pointed out, 'less than one percent of American youngsters will ever find any use for notational skill after graduation," (Miller 8)

"What we need... is to return to the premise that all students, regardless of their vocational or academic inclinations, need instruction in music and the other fine arts if they are to be truly educated. The nature of this instruction must be primarily appreciational for most, and as a profession we must regain our enthusiasm for meeting this assignment. For the others, it must be primarily performance-oriented," (Miller 12)

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New School Art Styles: The Project of Art Education

Relatively recently, it has been examined that school art projects have stayed surprisingly stagnant in terms of content and breadth even as the art curriculum has advanced over the years. Because public education doesn't adequately allow for individual instruction, it becomes ever more paramount that students are taught to explore art mediums and techniques by themselves -- for example, with strokes, students are taught that jagged lines are angry, wavy lines are calm, and bold lines are energetic and loud. However, this doesn’t actually make the students think on a visceral/emotional level; they instead create facsimiles of the intended effect. Being able to freely explore a medium, such as monochromatic or abstract art, in context is highly critical in developing individual aesthetics and interest and understanding the history and motives behind each art form. That freedom can be effectively provided by art teachers, who must reevaluate the effectiveness of their current project offerings, often decades outdated, in light of the aforementioned criteria, instead of countering in recoil and defense. If art education is to be reformed, more contemporary styles must be considered, and the sense of absolute originality must be relinquished in favor of accepting the history behind design decisions.

"We must be willing to let go of some of the old familiar projects (and their myriad variations) in order to make room for other sorts of projects and other kinds of art experiences," (Gude 1)

"Good art projects are not assignments to illustrate or symbolize a theme, even an important theme," (Gude 2)

"The goal for an art teacher should always be to reflect as closely as possible the actual methodologies used by artists in making work," (Black 3)

"Quality art projects ought to enable students to reframe experiences, thus supporting students in individually and collaboratively finding out something new about a subject," (Black 6)

"If we are to evolve art education curricular practices that have relevance to the lives of students and their communities, we must imagine an art education that is grounded in the realities of contemporary cultural life as wellas in the realities of current school settings," (Black 9)

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A Music Educator’s First-Hand Account Of The Struggle To Reform American Education

Lehman expresses concerns regarding the post-Sputnik education reforms during the "back-to-basics" movements of post-Sputnik-era America that sought to alleviate the lack of national standards. This included many goals for fine arts, as evidenced in the 1994 education reform report Prisoners of Time. However, those goals were deemed essentially too liberal and were scrapped consequently. Lehman also lambasts the No Child Left Behind act for reinforcing the principles of standardization and divesting fine arts funding elsewhere. He finishes by advocating for the expansion of music to promote both global culture and quality of life and for teachers to be offered opportunities for professional development to motivate students to learn, along with a slew of recommentations for good schools and teachers.

"This period has been dominated by the struggle to reform education, and that struggle began with the launch of the first artificial earth satellite, Sputnik 1," (Lehman 3)

"This time, however, the reform movement that began with A Nation At Risk didn't go away. It's still with us, 35 years later...there's nothing more important than an educated workforce in building a healthy business climate and creating jobs, and that's the key to economic growth and prosperity for the nation," (Lehman 6)

"Prisoners of Time was both thorough and thoughtful... but it failed utterly to excite interest... and its recommendations had no perceptible interest whatsoever," (Lehman 8)

"NCLB was based on the [false] remise that teachers and schools could reform education if they would only try harder. But trying harder is not enough. It takes more than effort," (Lehman 9)

"Across the US, on average, we spent $11,392 per pupil... in our highest-spending state the figure was $21,206 while in our lowest-spending state it was only $6,575. At the same time, nationally, we spent $33,274 per person to keep people in prison," (Lehman 11)

"The reason I'm optimistic about the future of music education is simply that music exalts the human spirit... Music is vitamin M. It's a chocolate chip in the cookie of life. There's a magic about music.. Music educators have something to give to the young people of America... it's the joy and beauty of music," (Lehman 13)

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Theme 3 - Local Detriments to Fine Arts Education

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Theme 3 - Local Detriments to Fine Arts Education

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How can drawing simple pictures invoke critical thinking? Can school arts projects help? Why are these not working?

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Theme 2 - Music's Role in Creativity vs. Literacy

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Theme 2 - Music's Role in Creativity vs. Literacy

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Is music more for appreciation, or should music be used as a device for learning? Is creativity favorable over technical skill and training? More at 7.

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The prominence of the fine arts in education seems to ebb and flow throughout history -- whether it be in music or visual arts, it seems to be dictated by a sort of political movement one way or another -- wars and conflicts cause fine arts to become deprioritized, and post-war movements see its resurgence.

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Theme 1 - Militarism's Overarching Influence

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Theme 1 - Militarism's Overarching Influence

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Militarism has been a part of American society since World War 1 or even before, acting as a force that pushes for conformity and obedience. Should fine arts push back against it?