The technology gap between schools and the rest of the world is real and it is growing. Whether we like it or not the increasing pervasiveness and vitality of this technology is changing the expectations of our children and their world view. Schools of the future could look dramatically different from those we attended. If we plan carefully, if we bring teachers along with us and implement new technology wisely together with other needed reforms, learning could be dramatically better.

American public schools serve as the major provider of formalized arts instruction for American’s youth. The arts help children develop literacy skills such as, reading, writing, speaking, and listening. The arts encourage divergent thinking and problem-solving skills, enabling students to think creatively. Current research has shown that arts education can play a critical role in a child’s academic and social development.

California public schools rank next to last in the nation in performance on standardized science tests at the 4th grade level and only 25% of elementary school teachers feel qualified to teach science.

America’s competitive edge in this “flat world,” depends on an education system capable of producing young people and productive citizens who are well prepared in science and mathematics. We know that there is a need to make drastic changes within the nation’s science and mathematics classrooms. If not, our nation risks raising generations of students and citizens who do not know how to think critically, and make informed decisions based on technical and scientific information.