Kate Baker is a celebrity of sorts. Every day when she walks into her place of employment, she is greeted by delighted screams from her fans: a group of elementary school students at Beacon Hill’s Maple Elementary in Seattle, Washington. Why is Baker so popular with her students? It’s very simple: she’s the art teacher.

“They’re always so excited,” Baker said about her students. “They want to know if they have art that day. Because they get joy from it.”

So it seems somewhat wrong and confusing that one of the most popular teachers at Maple Elementary is fearful for her job due to budget cuts in the district. Also, many schools are feeling the pressure to place more emphasis on math and reading skills, which means that any extra funds go to these programs instead of to the art programs.

“If your school has money or if you have a principal who’s a real proponent of the arts, then you get it,” said Baker about which schools have arts departments. “And if you’re not in one of those two groups, then you don’t.”

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Society says that earning a degree is an investment into your future. But have you ever figured out the math on how much you actually profit from your degree?

After paying thousands of dollars over the course of three to five years, these majors result in a list of the worst paying jobs according to a study released by Payscale.

10. Drama: Starting annual salary: $35,600; mid-career annual salary: $56,600. However, you can always make it big and become a multi-millionaire actor or director.

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What exactly can you do with a Masters degree in Fine Arts? Well, you have three main options:

1. Have you always been gifted with a pencil? Maybe sculpting breathtaking works of art form a mound of clay is more your style. Do you want to be a professional artist? Sure, it might be rough going, financially, but the emotional appeal of doing art for art’s sake is too strong for some creative geniuses.
2. Or perhaps you want to share your gift with others and teach students how to express themselves through art. Imagine helping a kindergarten student trace his fingers and create a turkey for Thanksgiving. Or do you see yourself critiquing the final projects of a senior high school art class and helping them prepare for entrance exams to top art schools?
3. Your final main option is to go into graphic arts. Once you master Photoshop, Paint, Illustrator, or another similar program, you could find yourself creating video games, advertisements, newsletters, pamphlets, and so much more.

So, all of these sounds appealing to you? Then check out US News’ list of the top 10 schools to earn a Masters in Fine Arts degree.

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As I sit here listening to my best friend play away on her flute, practicing for college auditions that are coming up in February, it makes me not only wonder how many hours she has devoted to her playing, but also why music has been removed from elementary schools and why fine arts seems to be so under funded.

It amazes me that not only is my friend an incredible flute player, in my opinion, but there are also many other skills that can be learned from practicing as much as she and my other friends who play instruments have obtained. Such skills and traits as dedication, perseverance, and attention to detail. Such dedication many of my friends exhibit through their practicing is also exhibited in many other aspects of their lives, such as school. They are able to balance between school and their instruments and other activities, and many of them are also in International Baccalaureate, so it amazes me how much time some of them can find in their crazy schedules to practice as much as they do. For example, my friend I are currently listening to practices on average of two hours a day. Many days it’s much longer, until she can no longer move her hands! Read the rest of this entry »