Speaking Up for the Arts

A number of years ago I had the opportunity to go to China for several weeks to teach elementary school children and to meet Chinese art teachers and administrators. As part of our visit in Beijing, we were prepared to give an overview of art education in America for Chinese national art education officials but discovered at the last minute that they also wanted us to teach a demonstration lesson. With Chinese students and an interpreter! That very day!

Fortunately, the presentation was to be in the school in which we were working. We cleared the front of the auditorium of chairs and brought in tables, art supplies, and students and I taught the lesson just the way I had in the art studio, teaching and explaining through our translator.

The lesson was one that we had specially developed for this trip, making a mixed media, bird’s eye view map of the neighborhood around the school. (We also shared the Forbidden City on Google Earth, possibly our hosts’ first viewing.) But the kids were great, the lesson worked, and we all carried on.

So what’s the point of this story? Never turn down a chance to be an advocate for the arts and your art program. You can’t be bashful about blowing your own horn - remember that you are really doing it for your students and your art program. And you can’t wait until someone else does it for you – that is not likely to happen.

I still remember the exact moment in my first teaching position when my naïve belief that my principal (who did whole-heartedly support our arts program) would take care of advocacy was challenged by reality. Of course, I soon realized that she just didn’t have time to do that. But as a result of that incident, I learned how to write press releases and became acquainted with the local newspaper education reporter. Nowadays, the Internet has made it so much easier to reach a wider audience and share events, ideas, honors, collaborations, and images.

To offer you assistance, this month SchoolArts details a number of approaches to advocacy such as making videos (The Power of the Narrative, Our Substitute is an Artist), sending digital newsletters (Speaking Up for Art), participation in community art shows (A Circle of Friends), a traveling art teacher (Van Go), and more. You can also find our art advocacy articles in the left hand menu on the SchoolArts website so that they are convenient for you to email or print and distribute.

Advocacy opportunities may pop up at any moment, but you can’t be shy or hesitant about taking advantage of them. Just keep calm and carry on!

Photos: Nancy in Bejing, China, at the Symposium on School Art Education and Innovation in the United States.