I love this topic. One might consider me biased since I’m an artist who now works in a more “conventional” field – but I cannot say my degree in music did anything to get me hired, from the standpoint of someone looking at my resume and concluding, “Why yes, I think your experience in the arts makes you perfect to work in the retail finance industry.” That never happened.

But could it be that the connections between music and finance, or the intense study of musical minutiae and the intense study of financial accounting statements are really tangible?

I’m not sure, but author Daniel Pink thinks so. In a recent speech he gave in California to teachers and administrators about “Innovation, Education, and The Changing World of Work,” he made the case that “whole-mind” education leads to better outcomes in education and ultimately, the workplace.

But there was more to it than that. Pink was in O.C. to talk about the importance of arts education in forming a well-rounded, competitive job-force warrior — apparently a subject of intense interest in Orange County, not only among teachers (of which there were many in the audience) but within the business community as well (they were the ones in the dark suits thumbing away on their Blackberries).
The buzz was palpable, and the mood among the people I talked to revealed the reason for all the excitement.
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Teachers and school administrators are looking for new ways to justify the conservation of arts curriculum in an era of draconian cutbacks. H.R. types, trying to keep abreast of the rapidly changing needs and conditions of the workplace, are rethinking the definition of the well-trained and adaptive employee.
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After Pink’s talk, the crowd was invited to break up into discussion groups. Among the topics: “Community-Based Arts Education Advocacy”; “Turn STEM into STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, ARTS and Math”; “Seeking Solutions to Closing the Arts Gap.”

“People are aching to have a thoughtful discussion and to hear an insightful speaker on this topic,” said Richard Stein, executive director of Arts Orange County. “Many people share Daniel’s belief that arts education should be a core curriculum subject. It’s a mistake to make it a frill or after-school activity. Many studies have shown that it’s key to the well-rounded education and creative thinking.”

It seems that the theory “a well-rounded employee does better work” makes sense, but how can this be tested, and proven. Furthermore, does it need to be? Does the overly-simplistic argument that “arts make us happier, better, more-creative people” have enough value to it? I know from my own experience, when I pull away too much from the arts, I feel the malaise of unproductivity – not because I’m not busy or not working, but perhaps its because my work tends to challenge only one part of me – the analytical and rational. Music and other arts are another outlet.

Tags: Business and Economy, Creative Careers, Creativity, Daniel Pink, Education

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 3rd, 2010 at 10:16 pm and is filed under Creative Careers, Creativity, Work/Life Balance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.