Introduction and Annotated Bibliography for Inquiry Project on NCLB and Music Ed.

Introduction

Historically, budget cuts affect Art and Music Programs in schools before any other program. No Child Left Behind and continual budget cuts on education have been putting even more pressure on downsizing and, in some cases, eliminating Music and Art Programs from many schools’ curriculums. The current state of our economy and the ideals brought upon by No Child Left Behind has encouraged schools districts to put their spending toward their students getting better HSPA scores than focusing on imagination and creativity brought on by Music and Fine Arts courses.

Even though No Child Left Behind includes music in its ten core courses, it is really a movement back to the basics which most schools see the basics as being a focus on Math and English. At a conference at West Warwick HS in Rhode Island, a district art supervisor, Stephen Saunders said, “But art is not a luxury — it’s a necessity,” (Jordan, 2008). The two factors that are as extremely central to the global economy as knowledge and technique are creativity and imagination. Fine art and music are the major promoters of those two factors. In our present economy, who makes more: the scientist, the doctor, or the pop star, and why is that? At the same conference at Warwick HS, an art teacher, Susan Sward, said “On the one hand, we hear the arts are important, but on the other hand, whenever there are tight finances, the arts are looked at as something that is disposable,” (Jordan, 2008).

Annotated Bibliography

Abril, R. Carlos & Gault, M. Brent, (2006). The State of Music in the Elementary School: The Principal's Perspective. Retrieved November 30, 2008, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3653452.pdf.

The beginning of this article focuses on the opinions of principals in elementary schools about incorporating music into their curriculum Many other questions were asked in a survey that was filled out by 350 elementary school principals. Questions posed are essential in developing my topic of No Child Left Behind’s affect on Music Education.


Alcindor, H. (2008). Joel Klein Should Not Be Secretary of Education . The Nation. Retrieved, December 2, 2008, from http://www.thenation.com/blogs/question/383200/joel_klein_should_not_be_s ecretary_of_education


This article focuses on how many U.S. citizens are upset about Obama’s choice for Secretary of Education, Joel Klein, who was the chancellor in the NY Public Schools system.


Jordan, J. D. (2008). Arts education threatened by budget cuts, say teachers. The Providence Journal. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from http://www.projo.com/education/content/arts_education_11-02- 08_2MC4S53_v24.3592d12.html

This source focuses on how teachers feel about budget cuts in the arts, and how budget cuts have affected the arts. This also includes a meeting of administrators and teachers from a high school in Rhode Island.


MENC: The National Association for Music Education, (Sep., 1967). Research Projects in Music Education. Retrieved November 30, 2008, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3391128.pdf.

This source contains research projects in Music Education from 1967. This helps to show the differences of what was going on then and now in Music Education, and the different possibilities that they presented.


White, D. (2007). Bush 2006-07 Budget Cuts 4.3 Billion from Education, Ends 42 Programs. About.com. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from
http://usliberals.about.com/od/education/a/EdBudget07_2.htm

This article shows the budget cuts President Bush made in Education, and what specifically was affected by these budget cuts.


White, D. (2007). Barack Obama Speaks Out on Education, No Child Left Behind. About.com. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from http://usliberals.about.com/od/extraordinaryspeeches/a/ObamaNCLB.htm

This article shows what Barack Obama has planned to do in order to improve education in the United States. He focuses on more support for teachers, education being at the heart of the American dream, drop out rates, and funding in our educational system.