the imagine nation
Arts Education Partnership Calls ODE
Committee for Arts and Innovative Thinking "Ground-Breaking"
A growing number of Americans believe that public education focuses too narrowly on the basics while neglecting imagination and innovation, according to a recent poll. Learning in and through the arts, said 88% of respondents, is "essential" in developing the capacities of imagination that lead to innovation in science, technology and business. A majority said the arts should be considered "part of the basics."
The "imagine nation" is what Lake Research Partners, the firm that conducted the poll, calls this substantial bloc of Americans. The firm estimates that 30% of likely voters share their view, and it predicts that this growing public awareness will have an impact on future education policies.
The Arts Education Partnership (AEP) and a coalition of national education leaders affirmed the findings. AEP Director Richard Deasy announced a plan to work closely with "groundbreaking" initiatives in Ohio, Oklahoma, and Dallas, Texas, to demonstrate "how an education in and through the arts can be a crucial force shaping the imagination and its application to produce the innovative and creative graduates we desperately need to retain America's leadership role in the world."
An emphasis on fostering imagination and innovation across all disciplines by connecting initiatives in the arts to Ohio's science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) initiatives is what makes Ohio's approach unique. Leading the effort is Ohio's Committee for the Arts and Innovative Thinking (CAIT), a statewide advisory group formed in 2007 by Ohio Department of Education (ODE) superintendent of public instruction, Susan Tave Zelman.
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Access more information about the imagine nation and Ohio's leadership in this important area.
Committee for the Arts and Innovative Thinking
Articles and presentations by Val Marmillion, an imagine nation sponsor
The 38 members, selected through open nominations, represent a range of constituencies and regions and over 30 education, community and cultural organizations. The Committee will promote the arts in Ohio schools by recommending strategic actions, communications and policies. According to Nancy Pistone, ODE arts consultant and committee coordinator, "Early policy recommendations include reinforcing integration in curriculum design through collaboration among arts and STEM teachers and increasing the alignment of arts education to State Board priorities, such as higher student achievement, educator quality and education for a global economy."
CAIT members are talking with their constituencies about the imagine nation data. They also participated in a presentation at the state's 2008 Economic-Education Summit.
This article was published in April 2008, Volume 4, No 2.
