Why Join
the National Art Education Association?
Bonnie Rushlow
For as long as I can remember,
I have heard art teachers
ask the question: “Why join
the National Art Education
Association?” Seems like a simple
question, doesn’t it?
So, why should you join the
NAEA? Education today faces
numerous challenges. With No
Child Left Behind and standardized
testing impacting our schools—and,
more importantly, art programs
across the nation—we can no longer
sit back and allow others to influence the future of our programs.
ences that prepare them for the
bright futures we know await them,
given the right opportunities. It is
our job to make sure these opportunities happen for our students—and
to ensure that decision-makers
understand the critical role that art
education plays in preparing young
people to assume these twenty-first-century roles where competency,
creativity, and innovation will be at
a premium.
through professional development,
service, advancement of knowledge,
and leadership.
NAEA stands ready to cultivate
the leadership skills and knowledge
you need to promote the understanding of the critical role of the
arts in your school and community.
Through the development of a new
web-based community, the national
convention, research journals, and
timely publications, NAEA provides
resources and opportunities that
impact teaching—helping students
to become “competent, creative, and
innovative” learners.
How NAEA Can Help
As the world’s largest organization
committed exclusively to serving
art educators, NAEA represents
the authentic voices of those who
share their belief in the power of
the visual arts in developing human
potential.
We can no longer sit back and From the
allow others to influence the vantage point
of a rich sixty-
future of our programs. year legacy that
honors our core
values, NAEA is in the midst of an
organizational transformation that
will better serve the twenty-first-
century needs of visual arts educa-
tors. While adapting to meet the
rigorous demands placed upon its
members, NAEA remains true to its
mission: to promote art education
Reaching Out
We interact daily with critical audiences, including school administrators, education policymakers,
legislators, and
other key decision-makers.
Each of these
stakeholders
needs to understand how and why visual arts education is a vital part of developing
the human potential of our nation’s
youngest citizens.
Every day we contribute to the
development of our students and
witness their growing interests,
enthusiasm, abilities, and experi-
The NAEA Convention
NAEA’s annual convention is the
largest professional development
opportunity in the world devoted
exclusively to art educators. This
March, New Orleans will host the
2008 NAEA Convention: Innovations in Teaching, Learning and
Leading, featuring renowned artists
and educators, including Faith Ringgold, the Blue Dog Guy, Lynell Burmark, Thomas Mann, and Charles
Falco. More than 1,000 sessions will
be offered—all geared to visual arts
education and the latest in research,
