Madam, - Will it take two Government Ministers and five experts to discover that properly funding the teaching of the arts sections of the primary school curriculum is the priority and the foundation stone of any coherent arts in education policy? ("Ministers promote arts in education initiatives," The Irish Times, September 29th.)
The fact that the arts curriculum for primary schools isn't being properly resourced is the central issue here and no number of other initiatives, valuable or welcome as they might be, can compensate for that.
The arts elements of the primary school curriculum brilliantly articulates the potential value to youngsters of experiences and engagement in dance, drama, music, mime and the visual arts. Schools and teachers are doing their best to realise these values but without adequate resources and arrangements, children are being denied access to critical formative influences.
One Minister, not two, is responsible for funding the primary school curriculum - all of it! So far, she has shown little strategic thinking about provision for the arts elements of this curriculum. To be fair to the Minister, she may be constrained by the character of the curriculum. It may be difficult to replicate in every school some of the very specialist expertise, materials, equipment, etc, necessary for comprehensively tackling all the arts segments.
However, such difficulties could quite easily be overcome by the provision of district "arts in education" centres. Such centres would act as a resource for teachers, supplementing what they are already doing and provide very specialist expertise, equipment, etc, for clusters of schools. They could also act as performance centres.
Such a dual-stranded approach to arts in education would help release the power and magic of the arts for youngsters as well as animating local communities with a strong cultural current. - Yours, etc,
Cllr MICHAEL CONAGHAN, Lally Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10.