The principal person who has done so much to diminish the arts in schools is Michael Gove.
His education reforms have their route in America, where Jeb Bush [former governor of Florida and second son of former US president George Bush] has a foundation called Excellence in Education.
Gove talks a lot about Excellence in Education and what he means is that in state schools children should only learn maths, English and science. Other subjects are add-ons and the arts are unnecessary.
This movement has led to the eradication of the arts from state education in the US. Of course, the arts are still taught, but mainly as an after-class activity.
This is criminal. The arts should be at the centre of the school experience. Sidelining innovation and creativity damages children’s expectations.You cannot have excellence in education without the arts. So Gove’s main ideas are not even his own invention.
This is all just free-market educational philosophy that forgets what the real challenge in education is, which, I would suggest, is to open children’s eyes, ignite their curiosity in the world and give them the tools to contribute and design the future.
The curious thing is every private school in Britain has a fantastic art room. This is because private schools understand that the arts distil confidence and are critical in promoting selfhood.
I recently decided to actively engage Gove so I am standing for election in his constituency in Surrey Heath. I am perplexed by the man. I don’t think he fully understands the implications for Britain, and British design, of classifying the arts as second class.
He is an incredible presence and a brilliant, if misguided, speaker. I am sure he barely registers disagreement. He is blind to diverse opinion. He is so sure of his own view that he was happy to be photographed holding my sign stating “All schools should be art schools” at a recent election husting.
He is affable but what he has done to art in schools is unforgivable. I find him a frightening presence. If politicians are so righteous and certain of the veracity of their prejudices, where does that leave debate?
In the next parliament what scares me is that, coupled with education reforms that one could hardly say were audience-building, local authority funding will not be protected.
Hard-pressed councils will put further pressure on museums to sell off the family silver. I suspect new campaigns will have to be fought to save collections in local museums.
It’s going to be a depressing time, but also a time of huge organisation if the treasury of amazing art and resources that Britain enjoys is to be defended.
The National Arts Education Archive at Yorkshire Sculpture Park is one of the great repositories of material relating to the development of the arts in the postwar era.
It is also a place of hope. To look through the material and understand the competing initiatives and investigations by artists and teachers in that period is to recharge one’s batteries.
This September, we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the archive’s foundation with an exhibition in the park’s Garden Gallery and ask: “What must we do now to reinvigorate art education at all levels and get kids excited about inventing the future?”
Bob and Roberta Smith will be a visiting artist at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park from 5 September until 3 January 2016.
His education reforms have their route in America, where Jeb Bush [former governor of Florida and second son of former US president George Bush] has a foundation called Excellence in Education.
Gove talks a lot about Excellence in Education and what he means is that in state schools children should only learn maths, English and science. Other subjects are add-ons and the arts are unnecessary.
This movement has led to the eradication of the arts from state education in the US. Of course, the arts are still taught, but mainly as an after-class activity.
This is criminal. The arts should be at the centre of the school experience. Sidelining innovation and creativity damages children’s expectations.You cannot have excellence in education without the arts. So Gove’s main ideas are not even his own invention.
This is all just free-market educational philosophy that forgets what the real challenge in education is, which, I would suggest, is to open children’s eyes, ignite their curiosity in the world and give them the tools to contribute and design the future.
The curious thing is every private school in Britain has a fantastic art room. This is because private schools understand that the arts distil confidence and are critical in promoting selfhood.
I recently decided to actively engage Gove so I am standing for election in his constituency in Surrey Heath. I am perplexed by the man. I don’t think he fully understands the implications for Britain, and British design, of classifying the arts as second class.
He is an incredible presence and a brilliant, if misguided, speaker. I am sure he barely registers disagreement. He is blind to diverse opinion. He is so sure of his own view that he was happy to be photographed holding my sign stating “All schools should be art schools” at a recent election husting.
He is affable but what he has done to art in schools is unforgivable. I find him a frightening presence. If politicians are so righteous and certain of the veracity of their prejudices, where does that leave debate?
In the next parliament what scares me is that, coupled with education reforms that one could hardly say were audience-building, local authority funding will not be protected.
Hard-pressed councils will put further pressure on museums to sell off the family silver. I suspect new campaigns will have to be fought to save collections in local museums.
It’s going to be a depressing time, but also a time of huge organisation if the treasury of amazing art and resources that Britain enjoys is to be defended.
The National Arts Education Archive at Yorkshire Sculpture Park is one of the great repositories of material relating to the development of the arts in the postwar era.
It is also a place of hope. To look through the material and understand the competing initiatives and investigations by artists and teachers in that period is to recharge one’s batteries.
This September, we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the archive’s foundation with an exhibition in the park’s Garden Gallery and ask: “What must we do now to reinvigorate art education at all levels and get kids excited about inventing the future?”
Bob and Roberta Smith will be a visiting artist at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park from 5 September until 3 January 2016.
