The Every Child Achieves Act and the Arts: Fal-De-Ral and Fiddle-Dee-Dee
Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella songs are flipping through my head as I ponder the re-authorization of NCLB, or the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and more specifically music and the arts.
In my own little corner in my own little world I can be whatever I want to be. On the wings of my fancy I can fly anywhere and the world will open its arms to me.
On one hand, the Every Child Achieves Act (ECAA) reminds me of this. It also sounds, however, suspiciously like its evil stepsister No Child Left Behind.
So let’s consider music in our public schools. With ECAA will the children sing again?
Cinderella is my favorite Broadway musical. I fell in love with the Julie Andrews’s version of this play as a child. I know every song by heart. My family will roll their eyes and attest to this.
But has Cinderella really arrived at the ball when it comes to ECAA? Will we see a revival of the marching bands in public high schools? Will elementary students get exposure to choir and musical instruments?
There’s certainly enough giddiness to get me excited. Here is National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen García describing her enthusiasm for the passage of this bill.The Every Child Achieves Act and the Arts: Fal-De-Ral and Fiddle-Dee-Dee:
