Almost a century ago, Robert Hutchins, then president of the University of Chicago, lamented that the doctrine of adjustment - the idea that schools ought to prepare students for society - was wrong, because society and the economy changed with such rapidity that the student would be educated for the past.
Just as information workers have surpassed physical laborers in economic importance, best-selling author Daniel Pink - who recently delivered the convocation address at the University of Oregon - claims that the workplace terrain is changing yet again, and power will inevitably shift to people who possess strong right brain qualities. Pink details the six "senses" crucial to success in the new economy: Design, story, symphony, empathy, play and meaning. This travel guide may help your adjustment to expanding your right brain if you plan to survive and prosper in the dawning "Conceptual Age."
Are Educators and Executives Aligned on the Creative Readiness of the U.S. Workforce?
According to a national poll released in November 2007 by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a majority of survey respondents indicated that schools need to do a better job of keeping up with changing educational needs. This mirrors earlier findings released by the Conference Board in 2006 citing that nearly three-fourths of business leaders surveyed ranked “creativity/innovation as among the top five applied skills projected to increase in importance for future graduates...”
And yet, a March nationwide conference board survey found that 85 percent of employers concerned with hiring creative people say they can't find the applicants they seek.
Why?
According to a Wallace Foundation report from June of this year, arts education in the nation's public schools has been declining for a generation, undermined by factors ranging from the state budget crises of the late 1970s to current school reforms that focus solely on traditional models to teach reading and math. In a number of urban areas in recent years, arts learning advocates have sought to counter this trend by forming coordinated networks of schools, cultural organizations, funders, local government and other groups to work in common to revive arts education.
These efforts are fragile and vary widely from city to city, but when well planned and executed, they show promise toward achieving the goal of more arts education for more children.
Programs like the one I direct pilot opportunities to infuse early childhood agencies and classrooms with experiences rich in meaningful physical activity and artistic rigor.
Physically, dance gets our blood pumping, lungs breathing, it rids the body of stress hormones and floods us with endorphins that and make us feel better. Cognitively, it's good for our brains to try out some new moves, to learn a pattern, to navigate, to problem solve. Relating new experiences to a broader cultural context roots technical skill in something beyond just doing "steps". Emotionally/socially, it's essential for us to learn to work with new people, to relate.
But there is more at stake than just moving around: Studies have demonstrated that movement that is exploratory in nature, movement that creates novelty and challenge, actually increases behavioral flexibility and cooperation. Dance - like I do - builds neurological connections in the neocortex, limbic and brain stem that regulate executive function.
Who cares?
What does it cost society, when a child drops out of school?
What does it cost society, when a child is diagnosed with Type II diabetes, or heart disease?
And what does it cost society, when jobs are funneled elsewhere? Can we afford not to implement strategies to bring more meaningful physical activity and the arts to children in the schools?
Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that every young person "has the right to participate freely in cultural life and the arts."
Invest now, or pay later.
Every child, every day, in every school.
Thank you,
- Rachael Carnes, October 2008