On October 13, 2016, Tallwood High School hosted the VBCPS Fine Arts Forum held to convince school board member to vote for full time employment of fine arts teachers. This event was eye opening for many who did not see the importance or impact the arts have on students and their traditional academics. In conjunction with the event, I was able to interview a few of Tallwood’s arts teachers to help stir conversation about the performing arts in an academic setting.

Q: Why are the arts important to education, in your opinion?

Mr. Rossettini, Tallwood High School Band Director

“The arts are important because they transcend so many barriers; time, language, religion, political beliefs. The arts reflect our humanity in a way that other disciplines cannot. The expressions, “A picture is worth a thousand words” or “When words fail, music speaks” are so very true. Art can depict human emotion and experience that can’t be expressed in any other way.”

Ms. Pucky, Orchestra Director

“Arts classes are important because they round out education in our society. Students have a chance to step back from the rigors of everyday core classes and do something they love and want to be a part of. Students need to have a class that they can go to and use the creative side of their brains. Students also have the choice to take arts classes, so they are already more involved and engaged before they even enter the classroom.”

Ms. Schutte, Art Teacher

“In my opinion, arts education is important because the format for teaching and learning are different than those used in traditional or core classroom settings. Students get to approach problems, challenges, or experiences from different perspectives often completing tasks that do not have right/wrong answers but a range of interpretations.”

Q: Why did you decide to teach your art in an educational setting?

Mr. Rossettini, Tallwood High School Band Director

“I decided to teach music because I am passionate about it. I want my students to understand and enjoy the value of music as art, but I also believe that music is a teaching tool for life skills. I believe that students who study music learn the value of working as a team and the value of individual responsibility, two skills that are important as members of the workforce and of society.”

Ms. Pucky, Orchestra Director

“I always had great teachers in my music classes. They are the ones I really remember from my years in school, so they must have left a lasting impression. I chose to teach for 2 reasons. #1 – I wanted to have a career that was challenging and rewarding. Teaching is a career that is always changing, and it’s a constant learning process. I like having a job that doesn’t get boring. #2 – I want to give my students the experiences I didn’t have when I was in their shoes. VBCPS talks about having “highly qualified teachers” and I want to be one of them. I want my students to learn, have fun, and remember things that they can take with them beyond the classroom and beyond Tallwood High. I had a lot of great experiences in music when I was a student, but I want to give more to the kids of today. It’s harder than ever for them to be part of the arts, so they need some reasons to be there, and I can give them what they want.”

Ms. Schutte, Art Teacher

“As a college student I grappled with the best setting for me to continue as an artist. Should I be a practicing artist or artist/teacher? Ultimately, I decided that teaching art was the best environment for me to continue learning and growing as an artist while inspiring others to express themselves through art education.”

Q: What benefit/element do you most enjoy about teaching the arts?

Mr. Rossettini, Tallwood High School Band Director

“I love watching my students succeed as musicians and I love the music that we make together. But I enjoy watching them succeed in life even more. When students come back and visit, or write letters and emails and tell me that they are succeeding in life (most of them in vocations outside the field of music), that is all the reward that at teacher can ask for.”

Ms. Pucky, Orchestra Director

“I love the overall creative process and the freedom that teaching the arts allows me. Art and Music teachers have a lot more freedom when it comes to what we teach and when we teach it. Being that we are prepping for concerts or shows throughout the year, we are not buckled down to a particular schedule, and we don’t test at one particular time of the year. We have SOLs, but we are not tested on them in the same fashion as core classes. I also like being able to get to know my students really well and work with them as individuals and a whole group of musicians. I like interacting with people, so that’s a fun part of my job.”

Ms. Schutte, Art Teacher

“I feel privileged to be part of students’ educational experience. Participating in the process of students’ artistic growth while making art is inspiring and helps me grow as an artist and educator.”

Q: What do you wish/see for the future of arts in Virginia Beach City Public School or education systems in general?

Mr. Rossettini, Tallwood High School Band Director

“I hope that the arts remain an important part of the educational experience in Virginia Beach. We are very lucky in our area to have access to so many different artistic venues; the Virginia Symphony, the Virginia Opera, The Chrysler Museum, The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Chrysler Hall … and I believe that those venues should be appreciated by young, old, and everyone in between. Art is an essential part of humanity and when public education supports arts education, I believe that we are producing better humans and sending them out into the world.”

Ms. Pucky, Orchestra Director

“In VBCPS, I would like to see the continued growth of music and art programs throughout our city. I would like to see changes made to the graduation requirements at the high school level that require students to take fine arts classes for all 4 years of high school, or at least more than 1 year. I would like to see the fine arts be recognized as something truly important and equivalent to sports and other academic subjects. Also, students are pulled from their arts electives in middle school for SOL support and other tutoring, and that needs to stop. Students should not be pulled out of their electives to make up work or study. Students chose their electives because they want to be there, not because they want to be pulled out for help in a different required class.”

Ms. Schutte, Art Teacher

“I see art staying integral to education in general. VB Schools will be wise to keep the arts as a necessary balance to traditional classes as we compete in the global market for jobs which require creative thinkers and problem solvers.”