SOFA

The Provincial Government recently restored $107 Million in funding  previously cut to public education in Alberta .   And although this represents a substantial amount of additional cash, did you know the Government is actually spending less than they did in 1994?

Dr. Mel McMillan is a well known Edmonton Economist and Professor of Economics at the University of Alberta.  In May of 2010, he co-published a report detailing the Government of Alberta’s spending in a wide variety of areas over the past 20+ years.  

When reading his report, it is particularly interesting to note how much has been spent on education for kindergarten to grade 12 students.  According to Table C7 (on page 94 of the report), the Government spent $1,351 on a per capita basis in 1994, compared to $1,259 per capita in 2008. 

In other words, they spent $64.00 per capita LESS in 2008 than they did in 1994.

If you are interested in reading the full report, please CLICK HERE.  Please make sure to read the “K to Grade 12 Education Expenditures” section found on page 94 of the report (or 96 of the PDF file). 

Are you concerned about the the lack of funding for public education in Alberta?  Concerned enough to do something about it?  We encourage you to write to your MLA and express your concerns.  CLICK HERE for a list of MLA email addresses and contact information.  If you don’t know what riding you are in and wish to contact your MLA, CLICK HERE

Fine arts education funding is always the first to get cut in our schools.  We can’t afford to have this continue. 

For the sake of our children…

Interested in an uplifting, energetic evening of great music?  If so, check out REV V 52′s ”Great Balls of Fire Concert.”  The dates are Friday, January 20th (8:00 pm) and Saturday (January 21st (either 2:00 pm or 8:00 pm) in Calgary at the Grace Presbyterian Church. 

Murray Ord (Executive Producer and one of our SOFA Executive Members) is producing the shows.  As a result, we’re sure they will be spectacular. 

For more information and tickets, please CLICK HERE.

Calgary / December 22^nd, 2011 – On Thursday, December 22, 2011 a group of 15 students and volunteers, ranging from the ages of 10 to 50, will be downtown, along Stephen Avenue and around Olympic Plaza, busking for Breast Cancer, and spreading some holiday cheer.

The Busking for Breast Cancer carolers will be starting outside Bankers Hall on Stephen Avenue at 11:00 am, (315 – 8th Ave SW). Continuing on, by 12:15 pm the carolers will be outside The Bay on Stephen Avenue for the next hour (200 – 8th Ave SW). At 1:30 pm the carolers will be spending the last hour fundraising at Olympic Plaza (on the corner of Macleod Trail and 8th Ave).

This event has taken two years to come to fruition, by two best friends, and university students who are passionate about the fine arts and singing. The pair just wants to make a small difference in the lives of those who are struggling or have struggled with this terrible disease during this joyous season. They will be joined by 13 friends and family performing pieces from Hal Leonard’s® “The Christmas Caroling Songbook – 50 Christmas Favorites for Church, School and Community”.

All funds raised will go to the Canadian Breast Cancer Society. So look for a group of pink and white scarf-wearing carolers this Thursday, support these volunteers and help spread a little Christmas cheer this holiday season!  Better yet, come and sing with them!

On behalf of the Save Our Fine Arts Executive Committee, congratulations to Alison for becoming Alberta’s next Premier.

We look forward to further dialogue with your government on public education especially as it relates to the fine arts.

Once again, congratulations!

On Monday, September 12, PC leadership candidate Alison Redford met with members of SOFA and other students, parents and members of the fine arts community to discuss her vision for education in Alberta. She began the meeting by talking about what a privilege it has been to travel the province over the past seven months and talk with Albertans about matters to them. Redford believes that we have a great province, and a wonderful quality of life as compared to the rest of the world, and that this is due to strong past leadership that looked to the future. However, she says that Albertans want to have confidence that our future will also be bright, but that lately there has been too much reacting rather than deliberate thinking and planning for the future. “It is time to decide how we want to be defined as a community.”

Redford briefly discussed the success of her Safe Communities initiative which was developed through consultation with various stakeholders and that focused on prevention rather than punishments. She believes that we need a province that supports each child to feel connected to their community as they discover their own unique path to becoming a successful adult. She has seen many examples, especially in her work in South Africa where the arts were used to change communities.

The idea of allowing students to choose an education path other than university preparation was often repeated. Redford stated that students are not being given enough information or resources to pursue what they’re interested in and that our schools are failing to support those that may excel in areas other than the traditional academic streams. She doesn’t think that the Inspiring Education report, while an excellent document, went far enough in providing for the inclusion of all students within our schools. She says that there is a lot of education policy that needs to be brought forward and actually implemented. She is tired of people talking and writing about change, but being incapable of implementing it. Redford is more concerned about taking action to ensure that our students are adequately supported than in pleasing others with platitudes.

The Importance of Fine Arts in Education

Alison Redford believes that we need to think differently about arts and culture as a province. She does not believe that simply because we have  Minister of Culture and Community Spirit that we value the arts, especially within our schools. More funding will not correct this as it requires that the arts become a core value in education in order to create lasting change. She fears that due to the underfunding of education, school boards will continue to cut the arts when budgets are tight because we as a province do not accord enough importance on the arts. She agrees that “integrating the arts” into other subjects, rather than having them taught by specialists, is a cop-out that does not serve our students well. She also agrees that the competencies that students need to be successful in the future can be developed through a strong foundation in the fine arts. This would be of benefit to all students, and is the reason why she is happy to publicly agree that the fine arts should be a subject equally as important as math or science.

This not only applies to our K-12 education system, but also to our post-secondary institutions where Redford used the example of a cellist that had to go to Ontario to pursue further studies because there was not a program at U of A. She doubts that musician will ever return to Alberta and that we must do more to prevent the loss of our artists to other provinces because we do not adequately support their education here.

With regards to students not having the time to devote to their pursuit of excellence in the fine arts outside of school hours due to excessive homework in academic subjects needed to graduate from high school, Redford admitted that it is a concern, but that she didn’t have the answer. However, knowing that a problem exists is the first step towards solving it.

The Courage to Lead

Alison Redford gave many examples of how she has been able to bring people of very different viewpoints together in order to come up with a plan that they can all agree on. She said that a variety of perspectives need to be brought to the table and that trust must be established. She was adamant that it is time for us as Albertans to come together and know that we deserve better, we can do better, and that we should not accept anything less. Redford stated that people have lost faith in political leadership and that she is prepared to rebuild that faith firmly believes that, “When we come together in trust, we can do anything.”

The passion that Alison Redford displayed during her meeting with SOFA cannot adequately be represented in a written report. SOFA encourages you to watch one of the leadership forums that can be found on the PC website, or even better, the one hosted by the ATA and listen to the candidates talk about their vision for education in our province.

PC leadership candidate Gary Mar was asked this question when he spoke at a SOFA meeting recently. Gary paused to consider. He had never thought of that question before and was unable to form an answer. He is not alone. I expect most of us, including curriculum planners, have never asked ourselves this question.

Thousands of people will scramble for tickets to fill the Saddledome, regardless of cost, to hear their favourite musical group. Some of the wealthiest people in the world are performers. Over 8,000 people dug deep into their jeans to attend the Andre Rieu concert in Calgary this week. What a magnificent treat! The incredible blend of instruments and voices created a rich banquet that fed my soul and transported my mind.

Music, in all its forms, brings joy, comfort, and healing to everyone and is a vital force in our lives from the cradle to the grave. Mathematics is important in creating the standard of living we enjoy and in understanding our world and universe. We need mathematicians. Both Music and Math serve valuable roles. It is argued that studying Math improves intelligence and there is research that suggests that studying music improves mathematic abilities.

I know one thing for sure. I don’t remember the advanced math concepts that I spent thousands of hours working on in school and university. Fortunately, this is unnecessary these days because computers quickly tell me what I need to know.

I would have appreciated a more balanced use of my school time so I could have become skilled in music, art, drama, storytelling; competencies that would improved my ability to cope with life in so many ways.

How can we change our current model of education to reflect the realities of life for the majority of our students? Can we put our creative minds together to consider how to transfer even a small amount of time and money from Mathematics to a Fine Arts curriculum that would empower all students and enrich their lives for a lifetime?

Respectfully submitted by
Vera Goodman,  B.Ed, M.A.

Vera is a Calgary based educator and best selling author.  She is also a SOFA executive member.  If you would like to connect with her, please do so via email at  vera@readingwings.com or website at www.readingwings.com

On the evening of Thursday, September 8, PC Leadership candidate Gary Mar spent an hour at a meeting hosted by SOFA to discuss his views on education and the role of fine arts. In his opening remarks, it was evident that he strongly believes that fine arts have not only an intrinsic value, but also an economic one, and that they are vital to our future prosperity. He talked about his various ministerial portfolios that he has held and how the arts tied into every single one of them. In the early nineties when he was the Arts and Culture minister and the provincial budget was being dramatically cut, he made sure that there were no funding cuts to the arts. He said that the “arts reflect who we are and what we aspire to be.” He also noted that more Albertans go to cultural events than sporting events and that there is a good return on investment in the arts. Throughout the evening, he repeated that while the question, “Are we spending too much?” is a valid question, equally valid is the question, “Are we spending enough?” In the case of fine arts, he believes that we need to spend more.

Fine arts and mental health

Gary Mar stated that arts can change the way we think and that it could be key in helping people deal with mental health issues. It is a way for people to express themselves and deal with issues in a personal way. He talked about the Calgary CHEERS project which teaches people with mental illness to speak about their personal experiences in a humorous way. A student in the audience later told his story about how he was often bullied and marginalized in school, which often led to depression. This student firmly believes that he would have become a terrible person if it was not for the fine arts.

The arts are key to global business success

Mar believes that the key to expanding global business is a firm understanding of the culture in which you wish to do business. He used the example of a property developer in Beijing, China who had never heard of Feng Shui and would have lost a lot of money on a project, had it not been for Mar’s educating him on the importance of Feng Shui in China. Mar also believes that Albertans should maintain their heritage languages and that we must make second language learning a priority in our schools. He said that the arts also have a role in helping other countries understand our culture, just as we must try to understand theirs.

The rise of the creative class

Gary Mar greatly admires the work of Richard Florida on the rise of the creative class as the driver of our economic engine. Mar stressed that we not only need to attract the creative class, but we need to ensure that our students are being well-educated so that we can transform our economy, which is based on non-renewable resources, into a sustainable knowledge-based economy. He used the example of how Finland, which is similar to Alberta in many ways, invested strongly in education and how this helped Nokia reinvent itself from its roots in paper and rubber to become the world leader in mobile phones. Mar is convinced that we can also reinvent ourselves, but it will require creative people, and creative people do not want to live in places that do not invest in arts and culture.

Fine arts funding in schools

During the question period, it was noted that fine arts programs are often the first to get cut when school budgets are tight and how the PC caucus has not demonstrated that they support greater funding for the arts. In response, Gary Mar returned to his roots, saying “What is past is prologue,” and stated that he has a strong track record of supporting the arts. He said that because of his extensive experience in various portfolios, he is able to see how the arts is connected in all of them, something that others may not be able to see. He is determined to come up with something that works for school boards, as each board has its own priorities. He especially wants to see First Nations education become much more culturally relevant and help those students gain an equal footing with other Albertans. With regards to an unsupportive caucus, Gary Mar used the following quote: “Whatever interests my boss always fascinates the hell out of me.” He firmly believes that caucus will follow whatever direction the premier wants to lead the province in and that just as he values the arts, so will an Albertan government led by him. He is not one of those who “know the cost of everything, but the value of nothing.”

Tom McCabe, president of Theatre Calgary and Chair of the Premier’s Arts Council, stood up and endorsed Gary Mar at the meeting, affirming that when Mar was the Arts minister that he was very supportive of the arts. Mar ensured that McCabe got the funding that he had requested and actually had him speak to the Alberta treasury board about the value of the arts in Alberta.

Bill 44

A student brought up how the passing of Bill 44 is limiting the fine arts, especially drama, where many works deal with complex social issues that would require parental notice before being able to be studied in schools. Gary Mar said that repealing Bill 44 is not on his list of priorities, but could be looked at in an overall context with other matters. However, he again pointed to his record and stated that he was in support of gay marriage and is a strong supporter of the Alberta Human Rights Commission. He says that it is especially important that schools be encouraged to have discussions about controversial subjects where students can explore these issues in a safe environment.

Is fine arts as important as math?

The last portion of the meeting was devoted to this question and will be the subject of a future blog post.

Thank you, Gary Mar!

SOFA wishes to thank Gary Mar for taking the time to meet with us and discuss the role of fine arts in our society and in our schools.