What about arts schools?

In this post, I wrote/ranted about whether students should get into the TDSB's specialized schools based on merit vs. a lottery system. I have one more important point to add to this rant - what about the arts schools?

The TDSB has several arts-focused high schools. Similar to the academic specialized programs, kids from marginalized and racialized backgrounds are underrepresented. To combat this, the school board has changed their admissions process from being audition/portfolio based to a random draw, invoking the ire of some parents, students, and school trustees.

One problem that the school board has is that most high schools do not offer high quality arts programs. As a result, teenagers who want to study the arts in a postsecondary program are limited to the specialized arts schools or have to pay for lessons outside of school. This is why I believe that the specialized arts schools should still require auditions and portfolios - this can reserve these schools as a place for students who are truly serious about studying their art form.

But what about the students who don't want to study the arts in college or university, who don't want to pursue a career in the arts? This is why every high school should offer an arts program that meets the needs of these students. A student shouldn't have to trek across the city or prepare for an audition in order to attend a school that allows them to take fairly standard classes in music, art, drama, or dance.

The specialized schools would then be available for the students who want to take specific courses; for example, an arts-focused school might offer credits in animation, photography, and mixed media because they attract enough students to offer these courses, but every high school should offer visual arts courses taught by trained teachers.

Ok, so if arts schools have a rigorous audition process, how is that fair? First of all, if every school offers high quality arts courses, there would be fewer students auditioning. Secondly, we need elementary and middle schools to also offer high quality arts programming. Since I have a background in music, I'm going to use music as my example here.

Very few public elementary schools have the type of music program that would give children the skills to get into a program like Claude Watson. Currently, the students who get into that program need to take private lessons in order to meet Claude Watson's high standards. However, if an elementary school has a trained music teacher who actually teaches the music curriculum properly, the graduates of that elementary school will have the skill set to succeed in an audition for an arts school without needing to pay for private lessons.

Seriously - if you take a look at the music curriculum in Ontario, the standards are pretty impressive. Children in grade six should be able to sight-sing proficiently, for example. But since most schools barely offer music classes, very few children actually get anything beyond a grade one level of music education. The same goes for visual art.

So what do we need?

• Strong arts programs at both the elementary and secondary levels in all public schools.

• Special sessions to prepare interested middle school students for admission to arts programs. These sessions should be fully funded by the school board (including transportation and any materials they need) and should include coaching by professional arts teachers so that every interested student gets an opportunity to prepare their art portfolio or prepare for their audition.

• Funding for musical instruments and art supplies for elementary and middle schools.

• Training for teacher candidates (people in teachers' college) and in-service teachers to properly teach the arts.

Yes, it's okay to have auditioned arts schools for the elite arts students - but a good arts education should be available to everybody.