Arts opens many doors. (Arts Awareness and Advocacy).

Editor's note: This column is a reprint from the December/January 2000/2001 issue of American Music Teacher.

David O'Fallon, executive director of the Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley, Minnesota, was a presenter at the 2000 National Convention. O'Fallon has served as a consultant for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Prior to his appointment to the Perpich Center, he was the education director for the National Endowment for the Arts.

--MarySue Harris, NCTM, National Community Outreach and Education Chair, Lincoln, Nebraska

We have crossed a national threshold regarding the way many different American publics perceive and value the arts as part of a child's education. This step requires a change in the way arts educators think of their jobs and the message they send to others. Stepping across a threshold just gets you in the building. Of course, the building may not necessarily be completely furnished and fully equipped.

The threshold I think we have stepped over is that the arts are increasingly seen as a legitimate and even necessary part of a child's development. The arts are seen as an important and even powerful resource to hew us address important social issues, such as communication across cultures. I do not mean to say that the arts are suddenly fully supported, or that an arts education is suddenly as embraced and highly valued as a computer programming job. I do not know a music teacher who has been offered stock options--yet. But I would not be surprised if there are some teachers involved in a dot.com company.

My perceptions are based on work, travel and networking across the United States. I have learned to trust perceptions based on wide views and built over time. Here are a few instances from many I have encountered in my life that bolster this perception:

* A reporter from a major daily newspaper calls to discuss this center's work, and we end up talking about her young daughter and the need for music education in her early years. Then this happens again with a reporter from another media source.