September 12th marks the beginning of National Arts in Education Week; and although I'm blogging from outside the nation, I'm still happy to participate in a circle of blogs celebrating this event. Congress has signed resolution H.CON.RES.275.RFS which recognizes the importance of art in education and makes the following commitment to art education:

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress--
(1) supports the designation of Arts in Education Week;
(2) calls on governors, mayors, and other elected officials from across the United States to issue proclamations to raise awareness of the value and importance of arts in education; and
(3) encourages the President to issue a proclamation encouraging the people of the United States to observe such week with appropriate activities.

While I'm all for a good awareness raising, and fond indeed of appropriate activities, I thought I'd blog today about what my Arts Education Week Resolution would state:

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress--

(1) supports the arts through increased funding and through the hiring of highly qualified art teachers.
(2) recognizes that in order to keep America competitive in the 21st century, we need to educate students who can think both critically and creatively and imagine new possibilities.
(3) agrees that as art teaches us what it means to be human through the act of creation and the investigation into the experience of being human, and cannot therefore be relegated to an 'elective'.
(4) demands that arts education be made a right of all students.

Well, a guy can dream. While we're at it, lets make number (5) chocolate every friday. In the meantime, here is what some of my fellow art teaching bloggers are saying about National Arts in Education Week:

The Art Teacher's Guide to the Internet
The Teaching Palette
Wonder Brooks Extraordinaire
Mrs. Gillespie's Blog

Update: Lois Girbino has some great thoughts on Art in Education week over at More Art 24/7. Here's a great quote that just nails it on the head:

Wonderful teachers exist in all content areas, but creative thinking, the kind of thinking that happens every day in “the arts”, is where our innovators of the future develop the habits of mind today. Beyond the concrete proof of brain scans during creative exercises, isn’t the world a more refined and beautiful place when we have art?