The fine arts credit for student publications information is available on the DOE website (www.doe.in.gov) under “Course Descriptions.”
However, we are including the PDF of the entire 2015-16 Indiana Course Descriptions document and a copy of the specific fine arts wording for Student Publications on this website as well. (Bolded bullet at the end.)
To see the addition on the actual document scroll down to Page 61 for 1086 (STDNT PUBS) Student Publications.
Note the final bullet bolded below that says “Fulfills the Fine Arts requirement for the Core 40 with Academic Honors.”
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STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
1086 (STDNT PUBS)
Student Publications, a course based on the High School Journalism Standards and the Student Publications
Standards, is the continuation of the study of journalism. Students demonstrate their ability to do journalistic
writing and design for high school publications, including school newspapers and yearbooks, and a variety of
media formats. Students follow the ethical principles and legal boundaries that guide scholastic journalism.
Students express themselves publicly with meaning and clarity for the purpose of informing, entertaining, or
persuading. Students work on high school publications or media staffs so that they may prepare themselves for
career paths in journalism, communications, writing, or related fields.
*Recommended Grade Level: Grades 9, 10, 11 or 12
*Recommended Prerequisites: Journalism, Mass Media, or teacher recommendation
*Credits: 1-8 credits. The nature of this course allows for successive semesters of instruction at advanced levels.
May be offered over three or four years by subtitling the course Beginning,
Intermediate, or Advanced.
*Counts as an Elective for the General, Core 40, Core 40 with Academic Honors and Core 40 with Technical Honors diplomas or
two (2) credits accrued as an English/Language Arts Requirement for the Arts.
*Fulfills the Fine Arts requirement for the Core 40 with Academic Honors.
NOTE: This is the designated school newspaper or yearbook course.
1. Just because you use pictures with a story you write, doesn’t make it art, and doesn’t mean that it should be counted as an art credit. We use Math and Science and English in all of my art classes. Should we also get a math, science, and english credit for that? Of course not.
2. Just because news reporters use photos with their stories, it doesn’t make them artists. Anderson Cooper is no more a visual artist than I am a writer.
3. Art courses could see a drop in class size because of this.
4. Some kids who could discover an interest in the very large and profitable career field of art may never take an art class because they are also good at English and prefer a class that allows them to write (Newspaper/Yearbook).
5. I haven’t seen the Newspaper and Yearbook state standards, but do they have anything to do with the Fine Arts standards, specifically in relation to the art elements and principles that students should understand to create good photography and design? Do they even talk about the rule of 3rds to help compose a better image? Or do they just say take pretty pictures??
6. Of course you can say “we use art in these classes.” But that is because art is everywhere. It is the application of the things we learn in our other classes. It is what teaches kids to think critically to best answer questions with infinite solutions. It is in everything we touch, wear, ride in, look at, and surround ourselves with. Everything from Furniture design, to clothing, to graphic design, to screen printing, to visual communications, to advertising, to the design of our phone or watch or chair, and anything else sitting on your desk right now. But just because you draw a circle in math class, or learn the elements used to mix earthen pigments for different colors doesn’t mean that you can say, “ooooh, lets give ourselves an art credit.
7. Editing a picture with Instagram or other preset filters does not count as learning an art skill. Any 4 year old can grab an iPhone and do that. It is learning the process of creating better photos that matters. It is learning when and why to use certain filters that matters.
8. Karen T. Braeckel’s arguments from the Hoosier State Press Association for why this is a needed change are based on a personal bias and uneducated opinions that have nothing to do with the value of art education. I’m sorry if she had a bad experience in art, but Karen is basically saying that a traditional art class is meaningless compared to courses related to journalism. However, her example is suggesting that the sole point of an art class is to end with a piece of art. This ignores the fact that the process, the history, and the cultural relevance are equally if not more significant. Can you imagine if we took the same approach with a Math or Science class, and said we don’t care about the process, we just want you to end with “this.” The kids would be great at ending with “this,” but would have no idea how to think critically and use that knowledge to create or solve a different problem with its own unique challenges.
9. Does this also mean that an Art History class should be counted as a Social Studies Credit because it deals with Ethnic Studies, Topics in History, World History and Civilization, and a few others?
10. If anything, it should Fulfill an English/Language Arts requirement for the General, Core 40, Core 40 with Academic Honors and Core 40 with Technical Honors diplomas. After all, it is in the English/Language Arts section of the Indiana course titles and prepares students for a career path in journalism, communications, writing, or related fields.