A tradition of great art is part of America's heritage.
From today's masterpieces and going back to petroglyphs,
the art created on this continent has enriched our
environment and our lives. In our homes, business, and
public spaces, we proudly showcase beautiful artwork from
this American tradition. However, the future of art here
may be at risk. As art programs disappear from the schools,
knowledge and appreciation of all forms of art are also
disappearing from the minds of the next generation. Art
literacy is endangered.

As art programs are increasingly being cut out of school
budgets, the future art of America may be in jeopardy. If
students aren't learning about and learning to appreciate
art in our schools, then where will they find a love for
art? A few select schools with large budgets are trying to
keep an artistic environment alive, but these are few and
far between. Many smaller schools or public schools in low
socio-economic areas do not have the choice to keep their
arts programs without sufficient funding.

Although sports programs have in the past been blamed for
the cuts in funding for arts programs, in the current
situation, sports programs are beginning to have budget
problems, too. No Child Left Behind requirements and
accountability tests force the schools to eliminate
programs that don't lead directly to the bottom line of
passing standardized tests. Neither the arts nor sports can
be measured with a standardized test, and so as night
follows day, they receive less funding.

Our students' exposure to the arts is dwindling as the
years go by. Without future generations to learn about and
experiment with the arts, our artistic heritage could
slowly and subtly fade into a remnant of the past, if we
allowed that to happen. Most students enjoy creating art -
drawing, sculpting, word play, dance~ all of it. There is
no struggle to engender an interest among our youth in the
creative end of the art world. However, many will not
choose on their own to formally study art in their spare
time. They remain therefore ignorant of the vocabulary, the
history, the formal knowledge. Yet those who are required
to study art, by exposure sometimes become the future
artists.

Instead of handing responsibility over to art programs in
the public education system, people need to organize
themselves. It's not wise to expect government to sustain
our artistic heritage. Through grant foundations, community
centers, parent groups, and so on, people keep the arts
alive and well.

As a fused glass artist, Amber Van Sickle has made a study
of topics related to art.  She is contributing writer of
articles for <a href="http://fmgart.com">The News about
Art</a> , your premier resource on-line for information on
art. Find the archive of articles at: http://www.fmgart

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