Whether or not you agree that the annual cap on H-1B visas should be increased (see story, p. 1), clearly bringing in foreign talent is only a short-term solution to meeting what many contend has been a shortage of qualified American artisans in the high-tech sector. The long-term answer is to develop more homegrown professionals through a greater commitment to arts education and technical training.
Unfortunately, arts programs were among the first budget-cut casualties in public school curricula during much of the 1980s and ’90s. We have since learned, the hard way, that a high price has to be paid for that shortsightedness. Due to this void in arts education, Congress raised the H-1B visa cap twice in the late ’90s to help American tech-driven companies, including a number of CG and effects houses, gain access to foreign labor.
From the late ’90s into the beginning of this decade, we thankfully saw budgets rise—significantly in some states—for arts education and tech training. But alas, there’s something to the adage that history repeats itself; faced again with staggering budget deficits in nearly every state and most municipalities, arts are once more among the first cutbacks in the education agenda. This is happening despite the fact that arts education from kindergarten through 12th grade has been deemed pivotal by many experts in helping to build a capable workforce for the new millennium.
And cuts in arts education adversely impact much more than industry. Numerous studies have determined that kids receiving an arts education perform far better in other school subjects, including history, English, mathematics and science. Test scores over the past 20-plus years substantiate this finding. The oft-cited reason for the improved performance is that when kids are engaged in the arts, they see and feel the value of education in enhancing their lives. This, in turn, motivates them to further their educational pursuits in other areas.
This column has expressed support over the years for arts education—so it was particularly heartening to see the column below this one, "Your Shot," take the same advocacy position earlier this month. Authoring "A Lesson In Arts Education" (SHOOT, 10/3, p. 4) was Anastacia Feldman, executive producer of CG/visual effects house Radium, San Francisco. Feldman wrote of her recent trip to the Expresion en Corto International Film Festival in Guanajuato, Mexico. She was struck by how supportive the Mexican government was of the event—and others of its kind—both financially and culturally. Feldman also said she found it "amazing to see students learning advanced skills in CG modeling and animation at such an early stage in their education."
Feldman additionally observed Mexican government funding for film commission endeavors, which allow for mentoring and experts such as herself to be brought in to share their professional expertise and experiences with the local community. "Mexico’s universities, film commissions and students are being introduced to endless opportunities with the help of government funding," she wrote, "while U.S. film commissions are losing funding and closing down. … Other countries are advancing with their knowledge and skill sets."
Feldman concluded, "About fifty percent of the shoots Radium attends for visual effects are out of the country. Why? Because other countries are making it much easier. Perhaps it is time for the U.S. to take note and start supporting arts education rather than deeming it an elective."
