Tearse 1

Isabelle Tearse

Dean

PHIL 3108

6 December 2016

Budget Cuts Harming Students

Recent budget cuts to public schools have negatively affected schools abilities to

educate children to their full potential. Libraries, as well as music and art programs, are

being removed from many schools because of budget cuts. These programs are all crucial

to a childs education because they each contribute to the complete cognitive

development for children. Libraries encourage students to practice their reading skills all

while discovering their areas of interests. Music programs allow students to expand their

short-term and long-term memories through memorizing how to play instruments and

notes in a specific way. Art programs help students to example their critical thing skills

through expression of their own emotions in art or by analyzing other works of art. The

ethical issue is that these budget cuts are causing the education in elementary schools to

deteriorate and this supports Paulo Freires concept of problem-posing education, where

student engage in critical thinking, which happens frequently in libraries and in music

and art programs.

Due to the 2008 Recession, a budget was passed that cut over $6.1 billion in

funding to California K-12 public schools. As a result, by the 2011-2012 school year, 53

percent of schools across the state did not have a certified librarian (Neason 24). In the

Los Angeles School district, all librarians were laid off by the year 2011. This meant
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many schools struggled to find the funds needed to keep their libraries open. Parent

volunteers are now replacing certified librarians in an effort to keep libraries running.

The budget cuts also have significantly affected many schools abilities to keep

their music and art programs running to their full potential. In the Placentia-Yorba Linda

Unified School District in California, 3,000 students lost the experience of musical

education because of the districts loss of five elementary music teacher positions

(Arsenault). This devastating occurrence has appeared all over the country. Along with

music teacher positions being cut, there have also been decreases in opportunities for art

education. Many elementary schools do not have teachers specifically assigned to

teaching art, as can be seen in Whiteside County, Illinois where 6 out of 15 of their

schools do not have an art teacher. The Dixin Public Schools in Illinois had to cut their

art education programs entirely in 2010 (Coleman). The loss of these programs is

significantly detrimental to students education.

Libraries are one of the most important buildings in an elementary school since

they provide an exploratory learning space for children to learn about various topics, as

well as practice their reading and counting skills. Stephan Krashen, a reading specialist,

states that having access to libraries is crucial to the literacy development for students,

especially when they come from a lower economic class (Hughes 33). A study conducted

by Keith Curry through the Colorado Library Research Service, revealed that there is a

strong positive connection between students reading test scores and school libraries. The

study showed that schools with higher levels of library staffing, larger book collections,

and higher usages of the school library also had higher reading scores than compared to

the schools without these library services (Hughes 32). This positive correlation
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strengthens the argument that school libraries are vital to the teaching of elementary

school children.

Additionally, a study done in Illinois assessed schools that made the accessibility

of libraries higher, which caused an increase of 10% in reading scores and 11% in writing

scores on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (Informational Brief). Not only do

libraries need to have librarians who support the teachers and students, but also libraries

need to have a wide variety of materials. A study in Iowa compared the number of books

used by early elementary school learners to their test scores on the Iowa Test of Basic

Skills. This study revealed that schools with students who received higher test scores had

each student using on average 2.5 more books each time they visited the library

compared to the schools that had lower testing scores. Overall, these studies provide

evidence for why it is crucial to have the funding for schools to have fully functional

libraries. Libraries help with increased test scores and reading levels of elementary

schools children, which is crucial to their development as learners.

Besides libraries, music programs have also been known to have significant

cognitive developmental benefits to elementary school learners. Howard Gardner, a

famous American physiologist and educational reformer, believes that music is a distinct

and separate form of intelligence (Won). Music helps the brain develop specific

strengths that a child will later use in other aspects of his or her life. Practicing a musical

instrument significantly increases the brains ability to improve short-term and long-term

memory pathways. Music allows students to recall things from their memory more

quickly and in greater detail (Collins). This skill is essential in education, especially at

younger ages, since students are learning foundation level information that they need to
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remember to succeed in the proceeding levels. Improved memory recall allows students

to recall their multiplication tables easier and as well as how to spell words, both skills

that are very useful at any point in life. Another study conducted in 2004 by Glenn

Schellenberg at the University of Toronto included the assessment of 144 six year olds,

half of whom were in music lessons and the other half did not receive any lessons. The

study revealed that those who had music lessons increased their Wechsler Intelligence

Scale for ChildrenThird Edition (WISC-III) test scores (Winter).

Additionally, Stefan Koelsch, the author of the book Brain and Music, states the

human brain, particularly at an early age, does not treat language and music as strictly

separate domains (Collins). Since children see music as another form of language,

music education is extremely important and benefits language acquisition. Overall, music

education and the frequent practice of playing an instrument or singing are imperative to

the growth of a young students brain. Music education improves childrens IQ scores

along with their memory and retention abilities, making them capable of achieving

greater academic success. When schools are given budget cuts that force them to cut out

music programs, the students do not receive an education that completely supports their

cognitive development.

In addition to music, art education is also important to the development and

growth of elementary school children. In Elliot Eisners book entitled The Arts and the

Creation of Mind, he states, the arts teach children to make good judgments about

qualitative relationships. Unlike most of the curriculum in which correct answers and

rules prevail, in the arts it is judgment rather than rules that prevail (Florey). Making

judgments and not just memorizing information is an extremely valuable life lesson for
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children to learn while they are young so they can later apply it to their life. Additionally,

Howard Gardners theory of Multiple Intelligences discusses how every child learns in a

different way, which includes a form of intelligence called spatial intelligence, meaning

picture smart (Multiple). Drawings and visuals appear in all forms of art education,

which is why schools should not cut art from their curriculums. One school in Maryland

made the concept of Multiple Intelligences mandatory for their teachers to use as a tool

for learning. After this change, one teacher reported that the students scores on a

Maryland Performance assessment increased by 20% after one year (Florey). Teaching

art in education is crucial so students can experience various learning strategies and styles

and implement these strategies to become better learners.

Besides the importance of creating art for learning, discussing and analyzing art is

equally important. Art programs allow schools to obtain the materials to teach about

various artists, artistic styles, and periods, allowing the students to discuss the differences

between them. When students talk about their own art or others art, they are practicing

communication, a significant stepping-stone in cognitive development for elementary

school children (Sorensen). Overall, art in education connects to the improvement of

literacy. Students can write about a piece of art they created or they can create a piece of

art to represent their written work. This connects to the idea of Multiple Intelligences and

allows students to create different representations of the same idea, therefore practicing

various communication skills. Overall, art education is essential to the rounded growth of

students and helps reinforce other subject areas in the childrens education.

One major theory in ethics is Paulo Freires concept of education from his book

Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Paulo Freire presents his view that classrooms are currently
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taught through banking education and proposes that classrooms should be more

focused on problem-posing education. He describes banking education in a negative

light. He describes this method of education for students extends only as far as

receiving, filing, and storing the deposits (Freire 1). Banking education is an analogy;

Freire says the students are considered the bank and the teacher deposits information to

fill the bank. This form of education causes people to become oppressed because the

teachers see themselves as significantly superior to their students. Freire criticizes this

form of education because students become unreceptive objects that are controlled by the

teacher. With this form of education, students do not use critical thinking skills since the

teacher does all of the work for their students and do not hear their own students various

perspectives on the information. With this instructional method, all creativity has been

taken away from the students. Currently, American public schools focuses on banking

education as teachers are pressured to teach to the test and simply want students to

know facts that they can regurgitate through their multiple choice answers. This closely

relates to the budgets of public schools since federal funding is often directly related to

the test scores produced by the school. Higher tests scores mean more government

funding, creating a catch-22 situation.

Freires preferred form of education is problem-posing education. This form of

education does not have only one direction of teaching, such as from the instructor to the

student. Instead, the teaching goes both ways: from the teacher educating the student, and

the student educating the teacher. Freire explains this form of education as the teacher

presents the material to the students for their consideration, and re-considers her earlier

considerations as the students express their own (Freire 7). This learning process allows
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the students to fully understand the content because they actively participate in their

education and gain sufficient knowledge through their discussion of the material with the

teacher and their peers. Freire discusses that the only way to completely end banking

education is for students to discard this method for problem-posing education.

Overall, Freires theory is controversial. While the problem-posing method of

education could be considered preferable, it cannot be the only method of education.

Both methods are needed to have a balanced education, since some concepts in education

can be discussed while others are simply concrete facts that need to be memorized. When

talking about mathematical questions, students use the banking method of education since

math formulas just have to be memorized. However, other subjects can use the problem-

posing method of education, such as history where students are encouraged to discuss

their opinions on why certain groups acted the way they did. Freires concept of

education is well explained; however, contrary to his belief both types of education are

needed to create a complete educational curriculum.

This theory is closely related to the necessity of libraries and music and art

programs in elementary schools since these programs use both of Freires described

learning styles. Libraries bring students the opportunity to explore their interests while

also practicing reading and alphabetizing. Libraries are essential to students discovering

topics that interest them, which can allow them to form stronger goals and aspirations

about what they want to do in the future. Libraries use banking education when students

have to memorize how the books are organized and problem-posing education by

allowing them to think critically about the topics that interest them and the things they

want to read about. In music classes, students learn how to follow instruction. There is
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only one correct way to play each instrument and each note on a scale. Additionally,

music helps students to increase their memory recall, which is necessary for banking

education. This however is very different from art because while there may be specific

guidelines for different styles of art, painting and drawing pictures allows students to

come to their teachers desired outcomes in their own unique ways making it primarily a

problem-posing form of education. If all students were told to draw picture of a dog, each

student could put into practice the problem-posing method of education since they can

use their creativity to dialogue with their teacher what medium they wish to use and what

breed of dog they may choose to recreate. These programs help reinforce these two

educational forms, banking and problem-posing, and help students develop skills and

strategies to succeed in both styles of education, creating a rounded student.

Cutting budgets in public elementary schools is unethical because it forces

schools to eliminate or reduce the sizes of libraries, as well as music and art programs.

These services help to provide students with a complete education, which is necessary for

succeeding later in life. In America, the likelihood of parents who earn less than $15,000

per year having their children attend preschool is 20 percent less than parents who earn

$50,000 or more each year. This gap impacts the children later in life since those who do

attend preschool are 32% less likely to drop out of school later on (Friedman).

Additionally, an education gap is seen between those who can afford private school and

those who cannot. These budget cuts affect the 50.4 million students going to public

school in America (Fast Facts). Schools need quality programs to reduce the gap in

education that has already formed, which then can improve a students success rate in

their future education and careers. Additionally, quality education breaks the poverty
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cycle. Many jobs require a certain level of education, which would allow people in

poverty to obtain jobs and eventually break this cycle entirely. Finally, it is important to

make sure youth are educated since they are the future generation who will later run the

economy and justice system. Society needs a well-educated population because citizens

directly vote in politicians and on propositions. If citizens do not receive a quality

education, they are ill equipped to make informed decisions that affect all of society. This

is why it is important to not cause public schools to receive major budget cuts because it

affects the education for many children.

In conclusion, significant budget cuts to public elementary schools force them to

cut programs that are vital to the education and development of children. Libraries give

students the freedom to learn based off their interests as well as practice their literacy

skills in an environment that encourages their growth. Learning music has proven to

improve long-term and short-term memory, which is essential in elementary school and

in higher levels of education. Art programs allow students to experience the same

material in various elements while expressing their creativity. Paulo Freires concept of

education relates to these cuts and while not all parts of his argument are agreeable, his

theory can be used to help support the need to include all of these programs and services.

Overall, school budget cuts prevent students from receiving a quality education. Budget

cuts are unethical and harmful to the development of elementary school children, who are

the future generation.

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Works Cited

Arnsenault, Charlene. Schools Music Programs Weather The Down Economy. School

Band & Orchestra 12.9 (2009): 26-33. Education Research Complete. Web. 22

Oct. 2016.

Coleman, Emily K. Next Picture Show tries to fill gaps left by schools budget cuts.

Daily Gazette, The (Sterling, IL) 09 Mar. 2012: Newspaper Source. Web. 29 Oct.

2016.

Collins, Anita. Music Education And The Brain: What Does It Take To Make A

Change? UPDATE: Application Of Research In Music Education 32.2 (2014): 4-

10. Education Research Complete. Web. 7 Nov. 2016.

<http://ezproxy.dominican.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=ehh&AN=95434104&site=eds-live>.

"Fast Facts." National Center for Education Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2016.

<http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372>.

Florey, Ashley. "Exploring the Benefits of Art in Elementary Education." (n.d.): n. pag.

Web. 7 Nov. 2016.

<https://www.csustan.edu/sites/default/files/honors/documents/journals/elements/

Flory.pdf>.

Freire, Paulo. "Chapter 2: The Banking Concept of Education." Pedagogy of the

Oppressed. New York: Continuum, 2000. N. pag. Print.

Friedman, Howard Steven. "America's Poverty-Education Link." The Huffington Post.

TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2016.

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<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-steven-friedman/americas-poverty-

education_b_1826000.html>

Hughes, Hilary. School Libraries, Teacher-Librarians And Student Outcomes:

Presenting And Using The Evidence. School Libraries Worldwide 1 (2014): 29.

Literature Resource Center. Web. 7 Nov. 2016.

<http://ezproxy.dominican.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=edsglr&AN=edsgcl.376206635&site>.

Informational Brief: Impact of School Libraries on Student Achievement.

Ornithological Monographs 76.1 (2011): n. pag. New York Comprehensive

Center. Web. 7 Nov. 2016.

<http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/nyla/nycc_school_library_brief.pdf>.

"Multiple Intelligence (MI) Howard Gardner." Multiple Intelligence (MI) Howard

Gardner. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.

<http://web.cortland.edu/andersmd/learning/MI%20Theory.htm>.

Neason, Alexandria. A Tale Of Three Cities. School Library Journal 61.8 (2015): 24.

MAS Ultra School Edition. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.

Sorensen, Megan Kristine, "Integrating art and literacy in the elementary classroom"

(2010). Honors Program Theses. Paper 30. Web. 7 Nov. 2016

<http://scholarworks.uni.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1032&context=hpt>.

Winter, Heather Nicole. The Link Between Music Lesson And Intelligence In

Children. American Music Teacher 66.2 (2016): 14-18. OmniFile Full Text

Select (H.W. Wilson). Web. 7 Nov. 2016.

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<http://ezproxy.dominican.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=ofs&AN=118190412&site=eds-live>.

Won, Mina. "The Significance of Music Education in the Primary Curriculum." National

Teacher Carysfort College of Education, n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2016.

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ollection>.