By Laurie Schell
Check it out! ArtsEd Tennessee has launched an online course, Building a Strong Voice for Arts Education in Tennessee. The course is designed to advance knowledge and understanding of arts education advocacy and provide immediate action steps for engagement. The learning modules are appropriate for a wide audience, including teachers, students, administrators, parents, arts and culture organizations, and community and philanthropic leaders. SBO+: This course is not limited to Tennessee arts educators!
As I’ve noted in other publications, this project represents both the science of advocacy – building blocks for understanding what effective advocacy looks like – and the art of advocacy with calls for improvisation, adaptability, and generative thinking, all characteristics of artmaking.
ArtsEd Tennessee is a statewide coalition of arts education advocates coming together to ensure that every Tennessee student has access to a comprehensive and sequential arts education (dance, music, theatre, and visual arts). My colleague Stephen Coleman, president of ArtsEd Tennessee and longtime music educator, and I provide the course content, with additional insightful stories and interviews from national and local leaders. Project coordinator Dr. Heather Casteel of Knox County Schools provides the design and structural wizardry. We are grateful to the Country Music Association Foundation for financial support and guidance throughout the project. Many others have provided input and encouragement.
What You’ll Learn
The course is divided into three modules with introductory stories and sub-topics:
Module 1: The Role of the Individual in Advocacy
Understanding the “Why” of Arts Education *
A Brief History *
See Yourself in the System *
Understanding Systems Change *
Understanding Your Role in the System *
Module 2: Existing Laws and Policies that Impact Arts Education in Tennessee
How Education Laws and Policies Are Created
Education Governance
How a Bill Becomes a Law in Tennessee
Influencing Arts Education Laws and Policies in Tennessee
Funding for Arts Education *
Crafting the Ask *
Module 3: Tools and Opportunities for Engagement
ArtsEd Tennessee as a Resource
A Unified Voice for Arts Education in Tennessee
The Role of Professional Organizations
Act Now
Building a Local Coalition *
Components of a Coalition *
Maintain Momentum *
* Not specific to Tennessee
The course includes stories and interviews from national and local leaders in the field, guiding questions and resources for each section, and opportunities for feedback and reflection.
It is designed for readers who want to move sequentially from beginning to end and for those who prefer to dip in and out and follow their interests.
Why It Matters
I’ve been working in the arts education advocacy arena for decades in both education and arts/culture nonprofit settings. The term “advocacy” sometimes elicits not-this-again groans. If I could find another word, I would use it. That said, advocacy does in fact work, which is why I’m still at it. In the short time since its launch, the training is already impacting local advocacy efforts in a county in middle Tennessee.
For the skeptics and reluctant advocates, I urge you to give the course a try. We address some of the common complaints voiced about advocacy– lack of time, fear of reprisal, my voice doesn’t matter– by designing a flexible course outline, focusing on the individual, and influencing change at the local level. If you live beyond the borders of Tennessee, there is much here that will resonate regardless of your locale.
My Advice to You
Lived experience has afforded me some perspective.
Practice patience and urgency. (A dose of impatience can be quite motivating.)
Advocacy is a long game. It took 25 years to pass a dance and theater credential in California.
Regroup and keep going. Think how time stretches in the final two minutes of a basketball game.
Progress can be nonlinear. For example, the board game Chutes and Ladders or your favorite video game.
Small wins are important. Speaking at a school board meeting is a win!
Connect actions to a goal. Speaking at a school board meeting leads to increased student access and participation.
The work is ongoing. School leaders and legislators come and go; it’s our job to keep music and arts education front-of-mind.
Give the course a try! I’d love to know what you think.
Laurie Schell is a lifelong advocate for music and arts education. She is founding principal of Laurie Schell Associates | ElevateArtsEd, providing consulting services and issue expertise in coalition building, public policy and advocacy, strategic planning, and program development with a focus on arts education.
ElevateArtsEd.org • ArtsEdTn.org
