Loss of Art

Cutting art programs amplifies other issues.

At a time when funds for education have been compromised, perhaps certain questions should be asked: What practical application do the arts and humanities have? Are these areas of education a luxury or a mere inessential element of the learning process? Apparently, the prevailing hope is that whoever answers these questions, ultimately deciding the fate of art programs in schools, has both the qualifications and freedom from ulterior interests to do so.

However, relying on government officials or the general public might be suspect when the subject in question tends to be esoteric and is only fully realized in terms of its broad cultural significance.

One person with the appropriate credentials is Carl Kokes, a music professor at Clinton Community College. The legitimacy of his opinions are qualified by his background, as well as his numerous contacts in the performing arts.

Kokes retired from full time teaching at Plattsburgh High School in 1995, after a long career that started in Chicago, and he continued teaching in a part time capacity as a college professor. He has witnessed the connection between the caliber of young artists and musicians and the gradual removal of programs that foster such talents. He feels most people don’t realize the magnitude or significance of the problem.

To elaborate, he offers an unflattering depiction of the new generation of art education.

“Nowadays, you have younger professors who haven’t received the proper background in their fields and their teaching methodology," he comments, disparagingly. “Worse still, older, more experienced teachers who are fed up with the whole situation, are either retiring or going into administration.”

Kokes reveals a bigger picture: The impact of educational cutbacks on art programs have consequences that are, among other things, irreversible. And if the quality of contemporary art education is in a state of decline, it stands to reason the effects could indeed be far-reaching. Kokes can see these consequences now. “Few of my students show a genuine interest in what is being taught. I feel as if I’m going through a song and dance just to entertain them. It’s difficult to teach students who won’t engage the material”.

Perhaps the best way to understand the effects of severing art programs is to first describe what makes them important. To this end, Kokes explains that the arts can give students a wide perspective based on historical past and a cultural understanding not possible in a more traditional course. Its absence undoubtedly leads to a reduced cultural sophistication among future generations. “With fewer art programs, we stand to lose a lot of fine artists and musicians. Also, many students will be denied the opportunity to receive the experience and exposure that develop these skills."

Cutting art programs amplifies other issues, which in effect augments an overall cultural decline. In other words, each of these respective components fuel the other, and one realizes, with deeper reflection, that all these problems are actually children of the same fire: Government cutbacks in education. If diminished opportunities in the humanities field actually warrant a concern for the overall integrity of our society, then why the apparent lack of action?

In hopes of supplementing an epilogue that might encourage optimism, Kokes discussed certain organizations and agencies that are quite rigorous in their defense of art programs: National Endowment for the Arts and National Education Association are formidable allies in this struggle against government-induced cultural deterioration, as is the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA). “It’s big. All the music educators basically have their own group. While they are under the aegis of the New York State Education Department, they are an autonomous group that are very active in preserving funding for the performing arts,” he explained.

However, under the current circumstances, Kokes foresees a constant uphill battle; a battle in which the cultural sophistication of American society is at stake. For his part, it seems Kokes has lived his life as sort of an educational idealist who has watched these ideals fade due to the reality of under-funding. When pressed for a summary of the long-term ramifications, one word apparently suffices for Kokes: “Unimaginable”.

Do you want to see more funding for the arts? Tell us why!