I'm finding myself increasingly frustrated by the lack of big picture vision by administrators and planners when it comes to education. I understand that funding is tight. However, it seems as if decisions are continually swayed in favor of testing and numbers rather than looking at balance and the well-being of the whole child. I live in a district that is relatively well-off. We are still maintaining a balanced budget and yet we have cut art education to the core, are looking to strip music education, have a bare bones elementary PE program, and library program and are looking to do further damage. Statistics show overwhelmingly that these subjects are not "specials" as we like to call them in the formative years, but truly developmental in nature. The following mini-documentary on PBS is wonderful and spells that message out loud and clear.
http://www.pbs.org/filmfestival/all-films/live-art/
