Education

This summer I've been browsing the internet and getting certain ideas today's education and the job market. Sites like artsusa.org and artsjournal.com have blogs and articles that among other things express concern for the viability of the arts in our dismal economy.At the same time, congress extended long term unemployment benefits

"How can we persuade 'them' of the importance and benefits of the arts?" is a common cry on these sites. The underlying assumption appears to be that there is money to pay for the arts if only every person in power were fully persuaded of its value. I disagree. A better question would be, "Given high unemployment and lack of funding, how can we keep the arts alive?"

Let me see what jobs currently have good prospects, I thought to myself, since a commonly held belief is that arts in education helps prepare students for future careers. Ahh. Somehow I got enrolled in something called JobAlerts, which sends me 5 or 6 emails a day proclaiming thousands of jobs in "my area." When I pursued these promising leads, I discovered that JobAlerts was informing me of TRAINING opportunities at vocational or graduate schools, which then would presumably lead to thousands of jobs. For example, for me, the emails claimed that training in medical billing was a hot prospect.

I turned to Google Search to find today's top career options, I learned the most promising fields were financial management, engineering and marketing/communications. Hmm, marketing included designers; that's art. Most top careers required a B.A., or Masters, often in the exact, specific area of the job.

Exploring Craigslist, I was enlightened further. In the education field, the main jobs listed were SAT tutors-- mainly math -- and preschools. Nothing about teaching arts integration, poetry or drama, my "areas." By the way, there are no theater or arts categories on Craigslist, Under TV and media, I found listings for video editors, and top models. Being over 60 and overweight, I will not be applying for Top Model any time soon. In other categories there were ads for cooks and experienced retail sales people,

I started to wonder about the future of liberal arts education and the difficulty in second guessing what job openings there might happen to be at the time people are seeking work. The best advice for our students appeared to be get a college major in the fields most likely to have job openings, and quickly. Or else get any B.A. and then get specific vocational training. At the same time, I contrasted the time-honored advice from respected successful people that the best way to prepare for your future is to "follow your passion."

My head spinning, I came back to the arts and to my parents' advice many years ago. "The arts are something you do on the side while you work in a 'regular' job." I worked minimum wage for a while in my twenties to support my "music habit." If this is what it takes to keep the arts alive, so be it. But I continue to believe that arts in education indeed prepares our students for future careers and most importantly, for life.