artists and as citizens, and that this model may, in some form, work for more students
then one might think, not only the "talented."
Consider, for example, that in cities such as Dallas and Washington the arts magnet high
schools, even those that do not require an audition for entrance, when compared to
other high schools in the district, have consistently high retention rates, low
absenteeism and among the greatest number of graduates going on to further training
after graduation. The reason for this is that these schools are able to engage students by
capitalizing the student's own passion and desire to learn. Students in these schools
want to go to school and to stay in school. They want to learn what the adults have to
teach. Without that motivation, that "wanting," engaging students in their own
education is difficult. The arts provide the motivation. The school builds on it to
educate.
Intensive arts training, far from being impractical and elitist, can prepare students for
life and work by developing in them the general skills and attitudes, the habits of heart
and mind they need to prevail in postmodern society no matter what career they chose.
Intensive arts training in high school increases, not decreases, options. If you want a
motivated, organized, hardworking, flexible, smart, creative worker, able to work well
alone or in groups, hire a young violinist.
Further, the philosophy and process of arts training, a far older system of education
then that of American schools, also mirrors the motion of many current educational
reform movements and addresses recent educational concerns such as: the need for
standards; the concepts of student as worker, teacher as coach of the Coalition of
Essential Schools movement; the development of character; coping with diverse
learning styles; meaningful assessment; and the importance of responding to
multiculturalism in schools.
Education through the Arts
How are students educated through the arts? How will arts training help develop in
them the skills and attitudes they need to flourish in the next millennia? Here are some
observations from the field.
Ownership of the work is a driving force in arts training. The student has chosen
this path and knows he will stand or fall based on his own effort. He challenges himself
to succeed at a task he has set. He takes his work seriously and knows that true
motivation comes from within. He understands that he must sustain himself when the
going gets rough. He understands that hard work and discipline are required if he is to
succeed. If it takes six hours of practice a day, that is what he does. He is the keeper of
his own vision.
Students in the arts develop the capacity to integrate many aspects of the self and
translate that integrated self into action. They learn by doing, truly active learning. It is
impossible for a student to learn to play the piano by watching her teacher. She learns to
play by playing and her "doing" involves her body, her mind, and her spirit. Further, she
has to put herself out in the world, to perform, in order to progress and that takes