Asia Art Archive's Mobile Library travels to Myanmar

An Oakland nonprofit that uses art for therapy has a startling track record for helping developmentally disabled adults become prolific—and profitable—artists.

Educators are bringing the classroom to the thousands of Mumbai’s children out of school — in school buses, treehouses, and beyond—enabling them to receive a quality education despite their poverty.

Why do schools teach music in a way that turns off so many young people rather than igniting their imagination? A program that taps into students’ passion for pop and rock is revitalizing music education in many schools.

Each year, close to three million dogs and cats are killed in shelters - in some cities more than 70 percent of the animals in shelters are euthanized. Target Zero is a program that works with fellow cities to spay and neuter animals and return them to the streets. Public complaints about animals have plummeted, and many shelters are well on their way to achieving a 'zero-kill' status.

It's often difficult for the disadvantaged portion of the population to find meaningful and rewarding work. The start-up ArtLifting takes pieces created by homeless and disabled people, finds buyers and shares the proceeds with the artists.

Through the Burbank Senior Artists Colony - a community created by EngAGE - low-income seniors learn how to become artists. The recreational classes hosted by the community keep people feeling phsyically and mentally young, allowing them to focus on recreation instead of financial hardship.

As American classrooms have focused on raising test scores in math and reading, an outgrowth of the federal No Child Left Behind law and interpretations of the new Common Core standards, even the youngest students have been affected, with more formal lessons and less time in sandboxes. Washington and Minnesota are beginning to train teachers around the state on the importance of so-called purposeful play — when teachers subtly guide children to learning goals through games, art and general fun.

Arts education programs in the United States are subjected to cutting for maintaining tight school budgets. Technology sectors in Seattle seek professionals who have been trained in problem solving skills and innovative idea generation. In response, Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture collaborate to promote equity in students’ access to the arts.

Little Kids Rock has helped to revitalize and broaden music education in more than a thousand schools by encouraging children to learn to play popular music, form bands and compose their own songs. Despite a backlash from traditionalists, teaching children to play music they love doesn’t “dumb down” music education—it enriches it.

With arts funding on the cutting board across the country, students can lack motivation to go to school and the creative resources for critical thinking skills. In Brooklyn, Ascend Learning is an inner-city network of public charter schools that offer a rich arts environment to teach Common Core and the student academic performance has surpassed other schools in the neighborhood.