You can’t teach music lessons in a lecture hall, but DAN School of Drama and Music professors fear they might have to.
Budget cuts to the DAN school have resulted in a dramatic reduction in one-on-one lessons with professors, converting much of the promised applied study into group work. Without applied instruction for fields as technical as music, students find that their classes no longer meet the industry standard. It’s frustrating to see the university blatantly devalue music and performing arts degrees, while backing out of promises made to students before their enrollment.
Performing arts students expected a certain level of training when they came to Queen’s, and taking that away midway through their degree is both unfair and unacceptable. Many students have transferred out of the program due to the lack of applied lessons, while professors have chosen to leave or retire early for the same reason. For many, it’s upsetting to see a school “committed to educational integrity and artistic excellence” blatantly disregard an entire program.
While Queen’s receives donations and invests thousands of dollars in promoting and uplifting its Engineering and Commerce programs, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) and, particularly, Fine Arts students, are feeling the effects of deepening budget cuts. Though the arts may not pump out as many incredibly wealthy alumni, the faculty deserves more recognition for its talented and passionate students and staff.
While business and science students play an important role in solving global challenges, music and art are equally important to culture and society. Pursuing the arts is an honourable endeavour that deserves to be recognized by the University. Studying the arts cultivates empathy, creativity, and critical thinking, all of which are critical to approaching problems from a human perspective. While science and business are important, art is a cornerstone of society, a critical element of almost everyone’s life.
Attending university used to be a way to devote yourself to studying a passion; now, it’s an institutional hurdle to a career. The faculties with wealthy alumni and promising career prospects receive ample funding, while programs focusing on music and art are left in the dust.
As students take more and more online classes and continue to turn to Artificial Intelligence (AI) for assignment help, education is moving further and further away from formal discourse and knowledge synthesis. Art is something that AI can never recreate, indicating its intrinsic value and important place within education. Though equipped with advanced technology, AI-generated art’s missing the human touch that should be cultivated within institutions of higher education.
Students and professors are feeling the effects of not being able to learn and teach in the same way. It’s time that faculty representatives and other FAS professors speak out about the unfair treatment of the DAN school and advocate for a model of higher education that prioritizes passion and proper instruction.
—Journal Editorial Board
Tags
Arts, Budget, DAN School, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
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