Why Arts and Music Must Be Restored to the School Curriculum

Over many decades, the school curriculum has been whittled down to focus on core academic subjects, often at the expense of arts and music education.  The shift has been most pronounced in schools serving low-income students and students of color. In this pilot episode, education leader Pedro Noguera, Dean of the USC Rossier School of Education, makes the case for a robust arts and music curriculum. He talks to renowned actor John Lithgow and "Hamilton" star Daveed Diggs  about the impact arts education had on them. And he discusses California's Proposition 28 with former Los Angeles Unified  Superintendent Austin Beutner, the driving force behind it.  Veteran journalist and former EdSource Executive Director  Louis Freedberg profiles ArtistYear, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit which places artists in schools for a year through the AmeriCorps program. Sign up here so we can keep you posted on future podcasts on how education leaders are responding to the mounting threats against public schools In the United States.