Ben Merens talks with two guests in the four o'clock hour about the change of guard at the Pentagon, the new Democratic Congress, and how they should work with President Bush on the Iraq War.
Guests: 4:00 - Ronald Kessler, author of several books, including “A Matter of Character: Inside the White House of George W. Bush" and “The CIA At War: Inside the Secret Campaign Against Terror"
4:30 - Melvin Goodman, former CIA and State Department analyst, senior fellow, Center for International Policy. Professor of international security studies, National War College. Author, “Bush League Diplomacy: Putting the Nation At Risk
After five, Ben Merens talks with the lead researcher of a long-awaited report that says Wisconsin students can double academic achievement with an education budget increase of only six-point-eight percent.
Guest: Allan Odden (ODD-en), professor of education at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, and co-director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education www.wcer.wisc.edu/cpre
posted by At Issue with Ben Merens @ 10:04 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Any education plan that moves to reduce arts programs in favor of more time and/or money in the areas of reading, writing, and math is flawed. Yes, the three Rs are important, but arts programs are just as important and funding should be increased to keep them alive and help them grow. Music is particularly important in promoting higher levels of overall academic achievement.
What some people, particularly those that are either not experienced teachers, or not skilled in the arts fail to realize is that the arts education serves much more than helping in cultural awareness. Speaking about music specifically, studying, practicing, and playing music builds pathways in the brain that allow for increased thinking capacity in other subjects. Music involves not only a form of reading, but a complex form of mathematical reading that must be executed in real-time. In addition, creative choices must accompany this process helping to promote music as a diverse exercise for the brain.
The creative aspects of music such as how to interpret notation, improvise, and create music out of "nothing" also help brain development in problem solving and ideas. It is one thing to train a child to solve problems and answer questions, but children must also learn to create ideas—new ideas.
Therefore, cutting funding to music in any way, stating that the academic subjects are more important, or that we need to reduce music programs, at least a little bit to allow for more time and money in the "academic" subjects is a big mistake. Music literacy requirements should be increased, making it mandatory that all children learn the basics of music reading, playing an instrument at a proficient level, improvising, and composing music. When these standards are raised, and with more musical opportunities and requirements for all children, only then will the U.S. begin to really take the lead once more in scientific and technological development. This writer feels that one of the main reasons behind the U.S. falling as leader in technology and science (i.e., Toyota recently passed up Ford as the world's biggest auto maker, and Ford is in trouble, etc.) is because of funding cuts in the arts and music. Musical skills should be a must, just like being able to add, subtract, and read.
It is difficult for those who are non-musically literate to understand these concepts, since music, other than existing as a catchy tune on the radio, is completely foreign to most Americans. Lets increase public school funding for the arts: more and better music teachers, and make playing in band or orchestra a requirement for graduating high school, in addition to singing in choir (playing an instrument offers some different challenges vs. singing—a big topic for another log). We need more of this, not less. When this is accomplished, you will see a rise in children's grades, test scores, and overall academic achievement. Children will grow up, attend college, and enter the work force, bursting with more than just a knowledge of the three Rs, but be able to create new ideas, better serving and advancing our country in all areas.
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