Did you know there are only 3 primary schools with a functioning music program in Baw Baw Shire?
Music, the silverware of the school that gets rolled out for important events and tucked away again with little maintenance for next time. So why don't I teach in a school then? I used to, but I refuse to sit in a system that is devaluing the Arts for our young people. (I also acknowledge I am privileged to do so and have a very supportive husband!!)
Funding for music has been shifted in many of our schools, especially in the last 5 years. They were all asked by the dept of education to ditch at least one specialist allotment or merge drama, dance and music into "Performing Arts". One teacher, one high pressure performance assessment to tick a big National curriculum box. Really it equals school musical, only a selection of children being nurtured and really exhausted staff and children.
The kicker is, funding is gained from NAPLAN results and teachers are under pressure to teach to the cohort not the child. My question to parents and schools is, are we ok with limited access to Arts programs for the children who would benefit it most? Access to music education should be for everyone.
But you see, we cannot easily quantify or measure creative subjects, and it has been seperated from the general classroom. Who remembers learning times tables with music? Did it stick...yes, it did and we were a part of the last wave of successful and integrated Arts education. Sadly our children are in a cycle of the education wheel where statistics are the measure of child engagement and success, ignoring the many areas of intelligence. So, no funding.
Fiddlesticks is more than just a kids business, it's a movement, I wish more would see it that way. In our small corner we are revolutionising Arts access for our children, growing with your kids, shaping a new culture and certainly not done yet! Our kids will bring the change, play the long game with us to help re-shape the Arts for our youth in Gippsland!
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