Thoughts on Creativity and Innovation

I just watched a video clip posted by someone in our class - Thanks ! - http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/july-dec12/flame_07-02.html -
I think it reaffirms the need for creativity and innovation in our teaching and in our expectations for students - particularly with respect to creativity and innovation in science education and increasing the connections across the curriculum.  So if creativity and innovation are so important, why
are so many places cutting arts programs?  I just spoke with some family members this past holiday about how their school district has cut ALL arts programs as well as all extra activities/classes/ programs that do not address core academic areas.  While I realize this is a funding issue, it is also an extreme societal issue.  The arts - music, visual art, dance, etc - are age old traditions that allow people not only to communicate complex thoughts in beautiful ways, but also provide an alternative, complex perspective for viewing various aspects of this planet, including its problems - scientific or otherwise.  Those who have little experience or background in the arts lack a particular dimension to their view of many scientific phenomena and fail to see the connection.  The conceptual nature of the arts and its value for augmenting science education and addressing scientific problems should not be underestimated.

Just last year, I heard of the STEAM initiative which was presented to Congress, urging a push to include ART in the STEM initiative - STEM to STEAM.  There are many websites to explore - this is one http://steam2020.com/. 

Every fall our school provides all science students with a STEM event during which students are able to visit with and learn from a wide variety of professionals in the community regarding science, math, technology - related work and careers.  It was proposed to me by one of our art teachers that we could use this forum as an opportunity to broaden the perspective by including art students and art and design professionals to join our event.  This is the kind of forward thinking that we should be employing, so I presented it to our department reps who do the planning for the event and it was not well accepted.  Why not get ahead of the curve and move forward past the red tape, and be an example - take the lead for progress and innovation?  To me, it is the next logical step in preparing our youth for the challenges that face us now and will continue to face us in the future with respect to science and the environment.  Tony Wagner, in the Global Achievement Gap indicates that the engine of our economy in the future will be innovation; innovation that attempts to solve our planetary woes in order to sustain this planet.  There must be ways of reawakening curiosity in our students if we are to work toward this end, so why not appeal to a wider audience with an additional connection between the arts, science, math and technology?