Mad Hatter Page 6

 

Fine & Liberal Arts in Education

At the B.C. Music Educator's Conference which Douglas College hosted last
spring, the keynote speaker was Dr. Gordon Cawelt, executive director of
the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development in Washington,
D.C. During his address on a balanced curriculum he referred to the
school situation in Japan and cited some illuminating facts and figures
from an article in@ASCD newsletter. Like most people in the audience

I was somewhat surprised to learn of the importance that the Japanese
placed on the position of the fine and liberal arts in the curriculum.
Certainly on a general, philosophical level I have always had some notion
of the importance of the arts in their society, and, more specifically,
have been very cognizant of specific contributions such as the Suzuki
violin method. But such considerations tend to become subsumed by
Japan's dominating technological profile. What I had not know previously
was that the general philosophical inclination is translated directly
into a significant number of instructional hours in the curriculum over
Many years. It offers a most telling example of the recognition of and
the support for the fine and liberal arts as an absolutely essential
component of education.

The attached article is from the March, 1984 edition, Volume 26, Number
3 of ASCD Update newsletter.

K. Barrington-Foote
Music Instructor

 

Arts and Humanities Education
Undergirds Japanese Success

apanese ascendancy in business and Often, though, the insertion of new

industry, often occurring’ at the course requirements has led to the

expense of critical U.S. industries, outright elimination of some arts and
along with an avalanche of alarming press humanities offerings, or to their de facto
reports on the achievement gap between elimination, because students don't have
U.S. and Japanese students, has frightened time for such courses 4n their busier
the American public into feverish attempts academic schedules By contrast, Japanese
to learn the secrets of Japanese success. students not only receive a superior
Widely publicized reports of Japanese technical and scientific education, but alse
students’ superior performance in a superior arts and humanities education.
nuithematics and science have prompted The central ministry of education requires
many school boards and legislatures to substantially more art, music, and literature
mandate more veurs Of study in those than most American schools and also
subjects in the belief that better academic requires all students to study handicrafts
preparation in those subjects will lead to and calligraphy.
improved U.S, industrial productivity.