The Arts are being threatened in our schools now :(

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pg
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Re: The Arts are being threatened in our schools now :(

Post by pg »

Education is not only about preparing people for the world of work though. If that were so, why bother with History or English Literature? Arts have a value as part of a good education. It is just as unrealistic to think that one could earn a living as a sports person - but you don't find people being discouraged from pursuing sporting excellence just because it is unrealistic as a job opportunity.

The arts need not be elitist. They can be inclusive, therapeutic, egalitarian, healthy, supportive, socially beneficial - and many useful lessons about living in society can be learned from them, if they are well taught. I think it is narrow-minded and short-sighted to relegate the arts to something "irrelevant". Education should not be just about how to earn a living.

How much does it cost to go a football match? If it's a big club, it's quite a lot, isn't it? No-one seems to call that elitist.

I believe "Celebrity Culture" is something that needs countering in society - perhaps that is something that could be usefully tackled in schools - but Celebrity Culture and the unrealistic expectation that have grown with it have nothing to do with the usefulness and teaching of the Arts in my opinion.

I completely agree that the profession is grossly overcrowded and that earning money as a performer is extraordinarily difficult - far more difficult than most people are willing to contemplate. It's not just that people won't earn much - it's that 80% who try to make a living at it won't earn anything at all most years or at least will only earn money from something that is only vaguely connected to what they hoped to do. I would never, ever try to persuade any young person to become an actor, or a dancer or a singer for a living. However, most of the NAPM offspring have supportive, realistic, concerned parents who cannot (or do not wish to) dissuade their offspring from doing what they enjoy. In many cases, dissuading them would be very difficult.

I understand the Government agenda - I certainly do not agree with it.
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Flosmom
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Re: The Arts are being threatened in our schools now :(

Post by Flosmom »

With social media opening up whole new ways of communicating, performing arts skills have many more commercial outlets.

In my day job I am CEO of a national charity. I expect to be commissioning video-based material over the next six months, including short films, as part of our campaigning agenda. I couldn't have imagined doing this three years ago as there just weren't the channels to get them to where we need them to be. Now blogs, content curation sites like Upworthy, the functionality of Facebook and good old You Tube mean far more people are consuming content as film.

So I can't help but think that actors will be in demand as the channels open up even more in the next few years. OK, it's not high art, but it pays a bill or two.

Maybe I'm an eternal optimist, but why not? :D

Happy Xmas!

Deb x
paulears
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Re: The Arts are being threatened in our schools now :(

Post by paulears »

A couple of weeks ago, the Stage Newspaper reported that Equity had carried out a survey that reveal half of their membership earned less than £5000 over the year. That is simply dreadful!
pg
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Re: The Arts are being threatened in our schools now :(

Post by pg »

Yes, it's a pretty sobering statistic - but one that doesn't surprise me at all.

I don't think many people outside the industry have any notion of how hard it is to find paid work.
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Flosmom
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Re: The Arts are being threatened in our schools now :(

Post by Flosmom »

Gosh - I'd best get on with doing my little bit to boost the industry then! :lol:

There must be a lot behind this statistic. For example, I imagine that the range of payment must be vast, from people who earn nothing because they get no work, through people who earn little or nothing because the work is unpaid (we know it happens, even when the commissioner/producer could afford budget to pay) through those who earn regularly and do OK, right up to those who earn vast amounts for doing very small amounts of work. It would be interesting to see the curve broken down, wouldn't it?

Or maybe I just need to get out more?

Deb x
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riverdancefan
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Re: The Arts are being threatened in our schools now :(

Post by riverdancefan »

pg wrote:Yes, it's a pretty sobering statistic - but one that doesn't surprise me at all.

I don't think many people outside the industry have any notion of how hard it is to find paid work.
Agreed PG

I think this probably applies to many entering the industry ...the naivety of both young people and their parents astounds me sometimes. (Exceptions on this board) ;)
No homework is ever done, no looking around or investigation, , no research.
No knowledge of the hard work, the competition for places at top training establishments, never mind paid work
Over and over I have seen locally, kids who enjoy a bit a performing, but being brutal, just not outstanding, packed off to mediocre BTEC courses, and finish those with zilch prospect of really progressing any further.
"Tall and proud my mother taught me, this is how we dance" - RIVERDANCE
JayLou62
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Re: The Arts are being threatened in our schools now :(

Post by JayLou62 »

The reality is though that the job market is poor for most people now. I graduated in 2008 as a Youth and Community Worker. The recession hit and I can no longer find work where I live because Children's and Young People's Services are always the first to be cut back. I work in Nursing Care now which again is risky as very few are now coming into care and staff are being cut back. I received a 1% pay increase last year and told to be grateful. While there are Youth Work jobs elsewherein the UK I cannot uproot my children as my husband is in work, 1 child is doing A levels, 1 child is in the middle of GCSEs and 1child has special needs and is in a school that supports him. I have been fortunate in gaining a 2nd job as an Outreach Worker working with young people leaving care. These young people have often struggled in education or training and the Arts are instrumental in them being able to have an outlet for their emotions and build their confidence and self esteem and as a means of assisting them back into education or training.
Cutting the Arts and PE in schools will affect those from deprived areas more than affluent ones. I have worked with young people both in deprived areas and affluent ones and while the affluent ones can take part in activities outside school those from deprived areas don't due to the expense of activities and lack of transport/expense of transport to access them. This will create further marginalisation and greater poverty and deprivation as the gap between rich and poor increases. For instance most people listen to music and different cultures have their own dance styles. We live in a muti cultural area - my children's school has over 87 different languages spoken. Music and dance is a common stream bringing cultures together. Take that away from schools and what are you left with? Youth centres are closing so the Arts cannot be accessed there. Children and young people now have more homework than ever before and the Government are pushing for wraparound care from 8am to 6pm. When do our children/young people get to be 'young people''? Where do the young people go who used to attend youth clubs or met with Detached youth workers on the streets or where they hung out go and what happens to them now?
This issue is a lot deeper than how many young people want to train in the Arts or whether the arts are elitist. Its about having a wide curriculum that can be accessed by young people no matter what background, culture, gender etc they are from.
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Welsh Mum
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Re: The Arts are being threatened in our schools now :(

Post by Welsh Mum »

Well said jaylou. Couldn't have put it better myself. Its very tough on young people these days and the arts could be a lifeline that will soon only be available to the affluent
The highway's jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive.
pg
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Re: The Arts are being threatened in our schools now :(

Post by pg »

Hear, hear JayLou62! Well said.

Flosmum:

I think it's around 10% (of Equity members - so not even all those attempting to work in the industry) who work enough to do "OK" (i.e earn enough within the profession to survive just on what you earn as a performer). Only a very few of the 10% will be earning vast amounts.

The BSF that is paid for commercials is the same as it was over 20 years ago - and now there are no repeat fees. In some cases fees have gone down, not up. Theatre work pays enough to live on - but not enough to save much. Unless you can command big bucks because you are a big name it is very rarely possible to land a job that pays well enough to keep you going for very long through the lean times . Equity minimum is not a fortune - it is enough to live on, but only while you are actually earning it. Attending auditions often costs money - and of course living in London is flipping expensive. (If you don't live in London then getting to auditions is even more expensive).

I would say that DS is one of those who has been in the OK camp for a couple of years - but honestly, only OK. Not enough to save a huge amount really - despite not living extravagantly. He's out of work again now - and there is no way for him to be sure when the next job will come along. I'm in the bottom 50% this financial year - I've no idea whether next year will be better. (Obviously I do other work to make ends meet).

I don't think that anyone can quite believe that this is how it will be for them though. We all hope that we won't be in that bottom 50% - but of course half of us will be ;) - and many of the others won't be earning much more than that.
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riverdancefan
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Re: The Arts are being threatened in our schools now :(

Post by riverdancefan »

So turning the debate in its head - just to play devils advocate
Is not perfectly sensible given the job market overall, that children are encouraged to steer away from performing subjects and perhaps focus more on the academic subjects that can lead to other less risky careers and may be more stable on the long term?
And is that not what the government are actually doing ? By cutting the funding to drama and dance etc, and channelling the children into more traditional subjects rather than the perceived weaker "ology" subjects etc.
I'm not saying this is my opinion, I agree with much of Jaylou's post... I am taking a different slant on the proposed cuts.
"Tall and proud my mother taught me, this is how we dance" - RIVERDANCE
Katymac
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Re: The Arts are being threatened in our schools now :(

Post by Katymac »

But to contrast I was academic all the way through; never had a proper permanent job until civil service - which I hated (looking for work in Liverpool in the early 90s)

At 35 I discovered a job I love, it doesn't pay a lot of money but I love it; I wouldn't swop the job I love for anything and anything I do from here on in builds on my existing love and knowledge

If DD has found that at 14/15/16 more power to her; if she does it for 1 or 2 or10 years doesn't matter really does it? She will move on from there developing her skills just the same as I would. Her love wasn't created in school but it could have been
JayLou62
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Re: The Arts are being threatened in our schools now :(

Post by JayLou62 »

Ok, so what do you class as a 'stable' job? No job is secure these days and more people are in rented accommodation as they can't afford the huge deposits needed for a house. What's the average income these days and the average cost of a house?
The Government wanted more people to go into higher education...well, more did and now they weren't wise choices? So lets cut choices in schools....oh and cut opportunities for those who didn't choose wisely or whose career choices are now at an end for various reasons (Police, Youth Service, Play Workers, Public Services including Councils etc). Looks like Teachers are next not forgetting Teaching Assistants (who my ds needs as without their help he would now be struggling in school).
So what of the children/young people with special needs or with no supportive networks or from other cultures or who are NEET (not in education, employment or training)? Does a one size fits all education really work? And what would a school look like with no Arts? What would our society look like with no Arts? Remember that the Arts creates a huge income in terms of tourism every year. Not just in terms of theatre but all those knock on jobs such as in catering, tours, etc of all our cities.
To most young people the Arts and PE are a hobby, to enjoy not a career choice. We need to protect it, not lose it. We have already seen the demise of young people's free time....to lose access to the Arts and PE as well would be dreadful.
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riverdancefan
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Re: The Arts are being threatened in our schools now :(

Post by riverdancefan »

I'm just asking the question, it's not my personal opinion, however there are plenty of people who DO think the arts are a waste of time ( they all watch TV and listen to music though ) and I'm very quick to point that out !
"Tall and proud my mother taught me, this is how we dance" - RIVERDANCE
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Flosmom
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Re: The Arts are being threatened in our schools now :(

Post by Flosmom »

It turns out that Maria Miller is going to declare 2014 the Year of the Creative Industries tomorrow.

Apparently creative industries are the new boom sector

http://www.theknowledgeonline.com/the-k ... m-per-hour

Shame the Dept of Culture and the Dept of Education don't seem to chat to each other very much, isn't it?

Deb x
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