Where art thou? : bringing the arts into elementary school classrooms

There is not enough art education in local elementary schools, and the curriculum, time constraints and funding make increasing arts education difficult. Interviewing a diversity of local elementary school teachers allowed us to get a broad understanding of the situation of the arts in schools, and to discover attitudes toward the arts which might encourage or discourage increasing arts education in schools. More privileged schools with the means to include art education find that students are excited and engaged in learning. There is, however, a lack of training, funding, and time in the curriculum to allow for greater arts education. A grant was applied for in hopes of bringing a professional in the arts, associated with the Arts Council of Monterey County, to provide a ten hour lesson on the arts to a school with no formal arts education. Teachers want to bring the arts into their classrooms, but faced with current restrictions, they are finding it difficult