Why Our Schools Need the Arts [Paperback]

Jessica Hoffmann Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 14, 2007 | ISBN-10: 080774834X | ISBN-13: 978-0807748343 | Edition: illustrated edition

''This book is a must-read for anyone who cares about kids the ones who are naturally drawn to the arts over sciences, for whom cutting the arts is depriving them of their very nature, and those who badly need an introduction to the arts to balance their gifts in other subjects. We must be able to promise all of them that the arts will have a well-loved and revered place in the curriculum. This powerful book will help us to do so.'' -- Carly Simon, author and musician

''In this book, Jessica Davis equips educators and advocates alike with a rich vocabulary and clear examples of how to teach and how to make the case for the essential and unique place of the arts in the school curriculum.'' -- Richard J. Deasy, Director, Arts Education Partnership

This inspiring book leads the way to a new kind of advocacy one that stops justifying the arts as useful to learning other subjects, and argues instead for the powerful lessons that the arts, like no other subjects, teach our kids. Jessica Hoffmann Davis, a leading voice in the field of arts education, offers a set of principles and tools that will be invaluable to advocates already working hard to make the case and secure a strong place for the arts in education. She also reaches out to those who care deeply about education but have yet to consider what the arts uniquely provide. This book is for anyone willing to brave a new terrain in which the arts are finally embraced without apology!

Editorial Reviews

Review

''Why Our Schools Need the Arts is an inspiring book that leads the way to a new kind of advocacy - one that stops justifying the arts as useful to learning other subjects, and argues instead for the powerful lessons that the arts, like no other subject, teach our kids.'' --Arts & Learning Review, Winter 2008, Vol. 3, Issue 1

In this book, Jessica Davis equips educators and advocates alike with a rich vocabulary and clear examples of how to teach and how to make the case for the essential and unique place of the arts in the school curriculum. --Richard J. Deasy, Director, Arts Education Partnership

''Why Our Schools Need the Arts is an inspiring book that leads the way to a new kind of advocacy - one that stops justifying the arts as useful to learning other subjects, and argues instead for the powerful lessons that the arts, like no other subject, teach our kids.'' --Arts & Learning Review, Winter 2008, Vol. 3, Issue 1

In this book, Jessica Davis equips educators and advocates alike with a rich vocabulary and clear examples of how to teach and how to make the case for the essential and unique place of the arts in the school curriculum. --Richard J. Deasy, Director, Arts Education Partnership

In this book, Jessica Davis equips educators and advocates alike with a rich vocabulary and clear examples of how to teach and how to make the case for the essential and unique place of the arts in the school curriculum. --Richard J. Deasy, Director, Arts Education Partnership

''Why Our Schools Need the Arts is an inspiring book that leads the way to a new kind of advocacy - one that stops justifying the arts as useful to learning other subjects, and argues instead for the powerful lessons that the arts, like no other subject, teach our kids.'' --Arts & Learning Review, Winter 2008, Vol. 3, Issue 1<br /><br />In this book, Jessica Davis equips educators and advocates alike with a rich vocabulary and clear examples of how to teach and how to make the case for the essential and unique place of the arts in the school curriculum. --Richard J. Deasy, Director, Arts Education Partnership

About the Author

Jessica Hoffmann Davis is a cognitive developmental psychologist and founder of the Arts in Education Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is the author of Framing Education as Art: The Octopus Has a Good Day.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Teachers College Press; illustrated edition edition (December 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080774834X
• ISBN-13: 978-0807748343
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 0.4 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #270,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When it comes to education, I was "born in a trunk." My family lived in the attic of the progressive school that my mother directed in New York City. For us, life was school and school was life. That experience is described in my memoir, "Ordinary Gifted Children: The Power and Promise of Individual Attention." Arts were daily subjects at Hoffmann School and they provided unique opportunities for learning and development. In my more recent life as a teacher and researcher, I've observed that most of us lose touch with the arts somewhere in middle childhood. Do we move on to other modes of expression that we find or are told are more important? Do we miss the chance to make art because it isn't included in the school day? Why are the arts-the highest forms of human expression-puhed to the side or eliminated in schools today? I explore questions like these in my book, "Framing Education as Art: The Octopus has a Good Day" (there's a funny story behind the title). After years of advocating for the arts, I wrote a manifesto for arts advocacy called "Why Our Schools Need the Arts" and I have just completed a sequel that addresses one of our most pressing educational challenges--the alarming dropout rate in our high schools: "Why Our High Schools Need the Arts." I hope these resources are useful to parents, teachers, and anyone who wants to learn about or make better our children's lives at school. Please visit my author website: jessicahoffmanndavis.com and let me know what you think.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspring must-read for teachers, artists, administration and parents January 8, 2009

By Jenni Brant

Format:Paperback

As an arts administrator and artist, I found this thought-provoking book to be inspiring and insightful. It is a must-read for anyone trying to make the case for securing arts funding in public education or non-profit arts facilities. It intelligently answers the question, 'why fund the arts?'. Hoffmann-Davis writes in plain text, making a strong case for the importance of arts education in day-to-day learning. She goes beyond trying to quantify what the arts can do in the classroom to articulating the case for creative thinking's effect on our quality of life and it's ability to better society. Excellent, excellent book! Will be recommending this to all of my artist friends and the art instructors I work with!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Why Our Schools Need the Arts July 21, 2008

By S. Smetana

Format:Paperback

It is wonderful to have some current documentation of the importance of the arts in people's lives. During this
time of high pressure testing, it is comforting to be aware that there is a view to what has really made our country progressive. The creative minds of Edison, Ford, Kamen, Gates, Jobs, etc. could never be summed up with rote test scores. Here's a good test question, "What other country has been the home of as many creative
minds as the U.S.?"

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Why Arts? February 20, 2013

By MAK

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

There are so many things for kids to learn these days; it often feels as if the arts are just a frill. Jessica Hoffman Davis's concise yet thorough exploration of the role of the arts in education just might have you thinking that nothing is more important that the arts! "Why Our Schools Need the Arts" is well written, easy to understand, and absolutely convincing. Arts teachers should have a copy on hand to support their curriculum and help with creating lesson plans, and everyone else should read it to understand how the arts teach skills that no other discipline can. Not just "school" skills, but life skills. I even bought a copy for our Superintendent of Schools. Perhaps a better title could be "Why Our Country Needs Arts in the Schools."