The Merit of the Teaching Artist in Today's Economic Climate

Let's face it.  When the economy goes south, so do some of our choices.  While we've all been swept up by the "trimming our sails" mantra, the arts have ended up on the proverbial editing room floor.  In good times, everyone understands the efficacy of the arts, but when pressures come to bear, well....you've all read the papers.  Now, tough times often mean tough decisions, to be sure.   But I hope to make a claim that there is indeed merit and value, on every level, to having a teaching artist work with our children in today's 21st Century classrooms.

The teaching artist, with good training and support, is well-poised to serve a unique and powerful function in the educational stew.   Let's think about, for a moment, what makes a visual or performing artist unique.  When I reflect on the history of humans, I am interested to notice that many aspects of past culture are actually recorded, interpreted, and evidenced by... you got it, artists.  Artists have historically served an important function in our society, and telescoping from then to right now, it is evident that we are in a rapidly changing environment that requires the sensitivity, perception, and unique problem solving skills of artists.  As we made the transition from an agricultural to an industrial and then to an information society, we are now entering into yet a different age, one that requires an ability to solve problems and design solutions in entirely new ways.

Teaching artists, through this marriage of high level artistic and pedagogical skill, are on same page as classroom teachers as they support educational standards, student outcomes, and life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Through working the connective tissue between their art form and other subjects quite adeptly, teaching artists often focus on universal themes.   And through those themes and that creative process, students can truly learn, develop, and organically think in unique ways.   And this learning sticks.  Teaching artists inspire, question, enchant, create and grow critical thinkers.  And this is only the short list of amazing verbs that teaching artists bring to the classroom.

I conclude with a question to readers.  I grapple with this in my work and I'm curious to know what you think. Should the role of the teaching artist be more that of a teacher or that of an artist?  Is there an ideal ratio?

To see a Music Center teaching artist in action, visit the Music Center website at musiccenter.org/education/artisttraining.html.

Sandy Seufert is the Manager of Curriculum and Teaching Artist Development at the Music Center: Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County and also doubles as a professional cellist and folk fiddler. Prior to the Music Center, Sandy managed education programs for both LA Opera and The Da Camera Society. Sandy's experience in working in schools is partly based on working in special education for eleven years in Los Angeles Unified School District but was later honed as a teaching artist in middle school, teaching violin, viola, and cello.  At the Music Center, Sandy works directly with the training and development of roster artists and their curriculum and helps to manage several world-class teaching artist training programs and seminars that serve the arts community.