Past Features

February 23, 2009 (Vol. 9, No. 3)

The Arts in Education: Luxury or Necessity?

Professor Linda Hirsch and Professor Jim Carney
Professor Linda Hirsch and Professor Jim Carney

How important are the arts to children's education? Are they important enough to fund in the face of looming budget cuts? Or are they a luxury only to be encouraged when times are good? These are some of the questions that will be raised in the next edition of "Edcast" with hosts Professor Linda Hirsch of Hostos Community College and Professor Jim Carney of Lehman's Journalism, Communication, and Theatre Department.

Titled "The Arts in Education: Luxury or Necessity," the episode will air over CUNY-TV Channel 75 (Time Warner Cable) on February 25, at 10:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m., and 11:30 p.m., and on Sunday, March 1, at 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. It also will be carried over BronxNet Cablevision Channel 67 (check listings for show times).

Guests on the program will be Gina Cicco, professor of education at Hostos, and Jackie Pine, director of The Early Stages arts-in-schools program. They will discuss the role of the arts in children's cognitive and emotional development.

Launched in 2007, EdCast is aimed at educators and tackles such issues as teacher education, the classroom, and trends in teaching math, reading, science, and the arts.

An expert on literacy development among both native and non-native speakers of English, Professor Hirsch has taught graduate students at Columbia University Teachers' College, New York University, and the CUNY Graduate Center. She also has produced an education segment on 'BronxTalk' and 'Open' and served as a content consultant on the PBS series Ghostwriter.

Before joining the Lehman faculty, Professor Carney was CEO of the award-winning community television network, BronxNet. Working both in front and behind the camera and microphone, he has earned dozens of awards for his productions, including Cable Ace awards and a New York Emmy Award.