Strong Arts Strong Schools

In this passionate, eloquent book, the late Charles Fowler argues that, far from a luxury, the arts are a vitally important part of our society and our schools. In 18 compelling essays, Fowler demonstrates the importance of the arts in our culture and the necessity of rescuing the arts for our future. He offers specific recommendations for reform--including how to pay the bill.

This book describes the practices of principals who develop and maintain purposeful learning communities. It applies and extends nine of the leadership responsibilities identified in research conducted by Marzano, Waters, and McNulty in School Leadership That Works.

Does music make kids smarter? At what age should a child begin music lessons? Where should you purchase an instrument? What should parents expect from a child's teachers and lessons? How can you get kids to practice? Raising Musical Kids answers these and many other questions as it guides parents through everything from assembling a listening library for kids, to matching a child's personality with an instrument's personality, to finding musical resources in your community. Knowing that children can—and often do—get most of their music education from their school, parent and educator Robert Cutietta explores the features and benefits of elementary and secondary school programs, and shows how parents can work with the schools to provide the best possible music program. Throughout the book, Cutietta emphasizes the joy of participating in music for its own sake. The first edition of Raising Musical Kids delighted and informed parents to equal degrees, and this fully-revised second edition is a book that parents everywhere will treasure as a complete road map for developing their child's musical abilities.

The Routledge Companion to Drama in Education is a comprehensive reference guide to this unique performance discipline, focusing on its process-oriented theatrical techniques, engagement of a broad spectrum of learners, its historical roots as a field of inquiry and its transdisciplinary pedagogical practices. The book approaches drama in education (DE) from a wide range of perspectives, from leading scholars to teaching artists and school educators who specialise in DE teaching. It presents the central disciplinary conversations around key issues, including best practice in DE, aesthetics and artistry in teaching, the histories of DE, ideologies in drama and education, and concerns around access, inclusivity and justice. Including reflections, lesson plans, programme designs, case studies and provocations from scholars, educators and community arts workers, this is the most robust and comprehensive resource for those interested in DE’s past, present and future.

In this follow-up to her bestselling book, Why Our Schools Need the Arts, Jessica Hoffmann Davis addresses the alarming dropout rate in our high schools and presents a thoughtful, evidence-based argument that increasing arts education in the high school curriculum will keep kids in school. Davis shares compelling voices of teachers and their adolescent learners to demonstrate how courses in the arts are relevant and valuable to students who have otherwise become disenfranchised from school. This important book points the way toward rescuing the American high school from the inside out by ensuring that all students benefit from the compelling and essential learning opportunities that the arts uniquely provide. In an engaging and accessible narrative, Why Our High Schools Need the Arts will inform the uninitiated, change the minds of doubters, and fuel the fight of those already committed to arts-related school reform. This timely resource: Takes key foundational principles presented in Why Our Schools Need the Arts and describes how they work in high schools. Presents research that indicates arts learning engages youth and provides them with a reason to stay in school and graduate. Provides real-life examples, with teacher and student voices, that school reformers need to hear.