I want to read Michael Kaiser’s new book Curtains, which apparently lays it out about the future of non-profit arts organizations in this country.
One of the reasons things like ballet and classical music are fighting for their lives in the U.S. is the absence of music and art instruction in urban public schools. And the situation is not getting better as the teach-to-the-test mania takes over. As special education teacher Jia Lee testified earlier this year (as reported by Democracy Now!), “The great crime is that the focus on testing has taken valuable resources and time away from programming, social studies, arts and physical education, special education services and ELL programs. At my school, we no longer have a librarian, and our Parent Association works full-time to fund the needed arts and music programs that are not covered by our budget any longer.”