Huckabee pushes the arts
Stephen Schmidt - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 7/3/07 Section: Metro
With his sports coat hanging on a mike stand nearby and his pink tie dangling from his neck, Republican presidential-nomination candidate Mike Huckabee leaned over a black and white Fender bass Monday afternoon, smiling and thumping along to a Chuck Berry song, backed by two West Music employees.
For the former governor of Arkansas, it was one of many stops this week in Iowa, at which he expressed his views on the importance of religion in politics, discussed his health-care plan, and talked about the need for creativity in the economy of the future.
On the Coralville stop, though, a part jam, part question-and-answer session in West Music, 1212 Fifth St., he focused on the significance of music and arts programs in schools.
Teaching the arts, especially music, is important because it helps students "learn how to learn," Huckabee said, citing improvements that students involved with music have in math, language, and science.
"You've probably never heard a presidential candidate talk about music and art and the importance of it," Huckabee said. "But if I don't get to do anything else running for president, I want to make sure that this country hears that this is a vital part of future and a critical part of our education system."
Alice Stewart, a spokeswoman for Huckabee, said the governor is a lifelong music lover who has played the guitar since he was a child. Huckabee also plays bass in a band called Capitol Offense, made up of former staff members of the governor's office.
"Music was life-changing for me," he said.
He believes "education is a function of the states," and his education plan would preserve much of the framework that has been established by No Child Left Behind.
No Child Left Behind added music to the required curriculum for the first time in American history, Huckabee said, but because there is no objective test of performance for music and art, as there is for math and English, schools have been ignoring it.
"What I would want to do as president is to help states to understand why [setting high standards for music and art] is in their best interest academically and economically," Huckabee said.
Another improvement he would like to see in education is to empower individual students to develop curriculum that would keep them interested, he said. He also supports parental choices for education, whether that means public, private, or home schooling, he said.
Martin Bontrager, a dairy farmer from Kalona, attended the event leaning toward voting for Huckabee. As a home-schooled father of nine, he said, he likes the emphasis Huckabee places on local and parental control in schooling.
"I appreciate the value I've seen him place on family," Bontrager said. "He's a man who has a vision for the next generation and the future, and I see such a lack of that from other candidates."
E-mail DI reporter Stephen Schmidt at:
stephen-schmidt@uiowa.edu
For the former governor of Arkansas, it was one of many stops this week in Iowa, at which he expressed his views on the importance of religion in politics, discussed his health-care plan, and talked about the need for creativity in the economy of the future.
On the Coralville stop, though, a part jam, part question-and-answer session in West Music, 1212 Fifth St., he focused on the significance of music and arts programs in schools.
Teaching the arts, especially music, is important because it helps students "learn how to learn," Huckabee said, citing improvements that students involved with music have in math, language, and science.
"You've probably never heard a presidential candidate talk about music and art and the importance of it," Huckabee said. "But if I don't get to do anything else running for president, I want to make sure that this country hears that this is a vital part of future and a critical part of our education system."
Alice Stewart, a spokeswoman for Huckabee, said the governor is a lifelong music lover who has played the guitar since he was a child. Huckabee also plays bass in a band called Capitol Offense, made up of former staff members of the governor's office.
"Music was life-changing for me," he said.
He believes "education is a function of the states," and his education plan would preserve much of the framework that has been established by No Child Left Behind.
No Child Left Behind added music to the required curriculum for the first time in American history, Huckabee said, but because there is no objective test of performance for music and art, as there is for math and English, schools have been ignoring it.
"What I would want to do as president is to help states to understand why [setting high standards for music and art] is in their best interest academically and economically," Huckabee said.
Another improvement he would like to see in education is to empower individual students to develop curriculum that would keep them interested, he said. He also supports parental choices for education, whether that means public, private, or home schooling, he said.
Martin Bontrager, a dairy farmer from Kalona, attended the event leaning toward voting for Huckabee. As a home-schooled father of nine, he said, he likes the emphasis Huckabee places on local and parental control in schooling.
"I appreciate the value I've seen him place on family," Bontrager said. "He's a man who has a vision for the next generation and the future, and I see such a lack of that from other candidates."
E-mail DI reporter Stephen Schmidt at:
stephen-schmidt@uiowa.edu
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Linda Brown
posted 7/10/07 @ 3:24 PM EST
Music, the arts, education - just one issue I find myself agreeing with Mr. Huckabee about. He's the man with Christian based, common sense approach to politics. (Continued…)
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