Parallels in arts education and CTE: Some guiding Reflections.

Parallels in arts education and CTE: Some guiding Reflections. MANY FORCES SHAPE THE CURRENT NATIONAL CONVERSATION regardingcareer and technical education (CTE). Perkins IV guides the discussionthrough concepts such as challenging academic and technical standards;high skill, high wage, or high demand occupations; and programs ofstudy. High school reform models abound; CTE plays a major role in manyof them--highlighting its capacity to bring relevance to abstractacademic concepts, to motivate all youths, especially those identifiedas at risk, and to raise the aspirations of all students as they empowerthemselves to achieve their life goals. Workforce development and training, the economic recession,unemployment rates, the Workforce Investment Act and Elementary andSecondary Education Act reauthorizations, and globalization andoutsourcing provide other strong undercurrents to the national CTEdiscourse. Amidst all of these currents, CTE struggles to find itsidentity. For decades, the visual and performing arts have fought a hugebattle to define themselves and reestablish a prominent place in theminds of educators, administrators, parents and government officials. Abrief understanding of this struggle may provide valuable discussionpoints for CTE. The Many Roles of the Arts in Education Throughout the history of Western culture, the performing andvisual arts have held many roles. Sometimes the arts have occupied arole at the center of education. For example, Plato spoke of music as adefiner of character wherein each class in society must listen todifferent types of music to prepare them for their roles; the ancientGreek culture established music as a vital part of the curriculumalongside geometry, astronomy and arithmetic, collectively called thequadrivium. In the modern era, the Cold War brought about a heyday inthe arts as Western culture associated classical music with the trumpingof capitalism over communism. In 1958, at the first Tchaikovskycompetition in Moscow, Van Cliburn, a Texan, won first prize with allSoviet judges; he was granted the only ticker tape parade in New YorkCity ever given for a musician. Holding a central role in the curriculum, all students were servedby the arts. Everyone had a foundational knowledge of the importance ofthe arts but it took time and cost money. During periods when both cameinto short supply, the arts were unable to maintain their central role. The arts were also at times included in the curriculum as a trade.The Renaissance guilds and their corresponding apprenticeships includedthose of musicians, painters and sculptors as well as brick masons,bankers and woodworkers. Seventeenth century musicians were trained fromchildhood to fulfill roles as court musicians; in the nineteenthcentury, Felix Mendelssohn established the first music conservatoryspecifically to train students for musical occupations. People served bythis model included only those of self-or family-identified occupationalchoice. On the positive side, this was specific, high quality trainingfor a select few and it raised the level of excellence in thediscipline. However a separatist mentality persisted and the arts wereseen as something for special populations only. The arts have also served as an elective. As part of a liberal artsphilosophy, the educational goal is well-rounded individuals and thatincludes the arts as a possible avenue of exploration. Liberal artscurricula always included courses in music history and arts appreciationas part of the optional menu. This role dominated the mid-20th centuryhigh school landscape where students were often identified as "bandkids," "thespians," "geeks," or"jocks." Those who found motivation or belonging in the artswere served well therein, but the vast majority of the entire studentpopulation lacked an understanding of the arts' importance to theirlives. As interdisciplinary "glue," the arts are used to developcohesion and connectedness between the parts of the curriculum. By theirvery nature, they connect with many other disciplines. In so doing,curricula have sprung up utilizing the arts as a common thematiclinchpin. For instance, in studying Rembrandt's Dr. Tulps AnatomyLesson, a student learns about religious perspectives on humandissection, on chemistry and the mixing of paint, on medical practicestoday and in the past, and on education methods through the centuries.Although students across the spectrum gain exposure to the arts, thearts disciplines may lose their unique identities--their excellence,watered down--by being subsumed into other disciplines. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Thus, the arts have found existence at various times in a centralrole in education, in occupational training, as an elective, and as athematic device for academic studies. The parallels to CTE are clear. Asa central role in education, old style industrial arts and homeeconomics were courses wherein all students interacted with the tradesbut in minimal capacity. As part of occupational training, thetraditional vocational education model was utilized to teach selectstudents, often those at-risk and those tracked as "low academicachievers." These students would often earn an industry-recognizedcredential and gain employment immediately after high school graduation.As an elective, the comprehensive high school model utilizes CTE coursesfor students wishing to explore a specific career area within thecontext of an academic high school program. As interdisciplinary"glue," the current high school reform model utilizing careeracademies, serve students who best learn by real-world, career-relevantapplication of academic learning. Each of these models has similarpitfalls as in the arts, but that discussion is beyond the scope of thisarticle. How the Arts Stayed Relevant in Challenging Times In today's climate, one of the main challenges to CTE and thearts is the narrowing of the curriculum. Emphasis on reading, writingand math, raising standardized test scores, and making Adequate YearlyProgress has undermined students' opportunities to engage inCTE--as it has in the arts. How have the arts attempted to maintaintheir existence in education within this climate? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Well-Roundedness: The arts in education have argued that theycontribute to a well-educated, well-rounded citizenry, that this isessential to a strong society. Workplace Skills: The arts have successfully proven their value inteaching workplace skills. Business and industry need workers who areindependent, self-reflective, creative and adaptable. Here the arts haveclaimed themselves powerful contributors of these qualities to theworkforce. Integration: The arts have integrated themselves into the academiccurriculum by making interdisciplinary studies a core component toeducation reform discussions. Pedagogy: The arts have developed a pedagogy based on multipleintelligence theory, that only through the incorporation of the artsinto the curriculum can true differentiated instruction based onlearning styles become a reality. Economic Impact: The arts have partially founded their existence ineducation on their economic impact. Researchers have conducted largescale studies that demonstrate positive job outlook and document asubstantial percentage of the gross national product attributable to thearts. Assessment/Accountability: The arts have blazed the trail regardingassessment of artistic product through intense efforts in commonnational standards and in reliable, valid assessments mainly throughrubric creation and norming. Thinking Skills: The arts have founded themselves as great teachersof thinking skills. Critical thinking, creativity, innovation,"thinking outside the box," synthesis and evaluation are allessential components to the arts' argument for their curricularprominence. The Parallels in CTE: Lessons that Can be Learned The arguments also ring familiar to CTE with varying degrees ofemphasis and success. Here they are paralleled to the above: Well-Roundedness: CTE's curriculum is based on occupations andsince virtually everyone needs a career, CTE is vital to everywell-educated individual. Workplace Skills: CTE teaches general workplace skills such asself-presentation, job interviewing, inter- and intrapersonal skills,and career advancement/decision making. Integration: CTE forms the linchpin of career academies, anextremely successful high school reform model. Pedagogy: CTE, by its very nature, is about problem- andscenario-based learning, an already developed and respected pedagogy. Economic Impact: CTE is aligning with economic growth priorities,and readjusting its curriculum to high skill, high wage and high demandor emerging occupations. Assessment/Accountability: CTE is continuing to link its programswith national industry- recognized certifications and assessments. Thinking Skills: CTE, by its very nature, is an expert method toteach problem solving, questioning and brainstorming. Challenges in Rural Areas Finally, concurrent with the narrowing of the curriculum, anotherfactor that affects the arts and CTE alike is the challenges they facein rural areas. The arts have need of specialized equipment such astubas, recording studios, and pianos; unique locations such as bandrooms and concert halls; and intensive individualized instruction onnumerous instruments often by specialized experts. These resources areoften scant or nonexistent in rural areas. In the same way, although thediversity of student needs in CTE remains the same as in an urbanenvironment (e.g. motivation, academic connections, hands-on learning,relevance to the real world, raising aspirations), the resources arescant. With limited resources, how does education in non-urban areasprovide a foundational cluster knowledge to some students, a focusedcareer training program for others, an exit point of immediate post-highschool employment with industry-recognized credentials for others? Withlimited resources, how can CTE serve all secondary students in non-urbanareas given 16 career clusters and 79 pathways? With limited resources,how can programs of study be specific enough to create exit points tocertain occupations and yet maintain the broadest possible options forthe future? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Moving Forward This article's intent is to shed light on CTE's place ineducation by examining several aspects of arts education and itsstruggle to find identity within the curriculum. Yet to be examined are1) the points of excellence with which the arts succeed in their work asapplicable to CTE, 2) methods by which CTE could raise their level ofsuccess in each of the above points based on the precedents set by artseducation, and 3) the pitfalls the arts have encountered which CTE woulddo well to avoid. An ongoing discussion of how CTE can more fullyestablish its unique character in education, and how it can thrive andenliven secondary and postsecondary education in urban as well asnon-urban areas, must be a priority in the coming months and years. ACTE Interested in exploring this topic further? Discuss it withyour colleagues on the ACTE forums at www.acteonline.org/forum.aspx. Brad Hull, ph.D., is the director of career and technical education at a regional CTEcenter in Vermont. He can be contacted at bradleyjhull@hotmail. com, orvisit his Web site www.brardleyjHull.com.