What is the Every Child Achieves Act, how does it differ from the No Child Left Behind Act, and how will it change the face of public education, especially in low socioeconomic schools by considering fine arts programs core school subjects? In it's most general sense, the Every Child Achieves Act aims to get fine arts classes considered core subjects in public schools so that fine arts programs will receive government funding. I am personally very interested in this topic because it correlates directly to my major study in school. I am a music education major so anything that concerns music education in schools is something that is very important to me personally. I am qualified to write on this given topic because I have done lots of research on the Every Child Achieves Act and I have been following it's progression ever since it was first passed in the Senate in July of 2015. Since I have been closely following this act since it was first passed, I do not believe that my values or views of the act will change throughout my continued research, however, I hope to continue to learn more about the act itself, why it was passed, and what changes it will bring to public education. 

The first step to understanding why we need the Every Child Achieves act is to fully understand what it is and how it will change the face of the No Child Left Behind act. An article titled "Everything you need to know about the Every Child Achieves act" very thoroughly summarizes what the No Child Left Behind Act is, the changes that are being made to turn it into the Every Child Achieves Act, and what is meant to come of the change. Think Fun is an online source for Educators, or the audience that is directly affected by the Every Child Achieves act, so the information holds credibility. The Every Child Achieves act is going to be viewed as a positive source in this situation (looked upon by educators) because it is intended for the Act to bring a more well rounded education to low socioeconomic schools. This article is very specific and in-depth, and goes over both the No Child Left Behind Act and the Every Child Achieves Act and how they differ from each other. This article, like all of the articles on this given topic, is very new because the act was only started to be out through the senate this past summer so the information could continue to change as time goes on.

Once we know exactly what the Every Child Achieves Act will encompass, it is important to fully understand changes that are to be put into action in the near future. An article by the name of "Every Child Achieves Act passed by the Senate" describes the changes that will be made when the Every Child Achieves act is passed. The main change that is intended to be brought about is that fine arts classes; art, music, dance, and drama; will considered core class subjects in order for them to be put into the curriculum. The author of this article works for the NEA, or the National Education Association. This author holds credibility because this act specifically affects the public education system in order to help to make a more well rounded curriculum. This particular source should be classified as argumentative because it lays out why this act directly affects the public education system. This article was passed in July 16, 2016. The fact that this article is so recent could affect the content of the article itself because it is always changing and new aspects of this act are constantly developing.  

The NAfME, or the National Association for Music Education, published an article this past summer titled "Senate Passes Every Child Achieves Act, with Music and Arts as Core Subjects, Intact". The purpose of this article is to express their excitement about the act that was passed and to explain what their hopes are for the future. Being the National Association for Music Education, they helped with a lot of the fundraising and marketing that went into getting this act to Congress, so they are clearly very happy that it is in it's first step to becoming a nation-wide law and this gives them credibility. 

The research on this topic is arguable because of the difficulties in budgeting and the monetary cost that goes alongside adding more core classes to public education. One of the reasons it took so many years to add fine arts to public education curriculums is because many schools simply did not have the funding. This is a problem that many schools will still have to face and is something that music educators all over the nation are working towards finding a solution to. The overwhelming majority of individuals believes that fine arts are important. The problem is that many believe that while these classes may be beneficial to students, there are other things that are more important like sports or standardized testing that need to be paid for first. Of course, personally I believe that fine arts are absolutely crucial to achieve a well rounded education and I will always passionately fight for every child's right to a fine arts' education, and the Every Child Achieves act is the first step of many in order to get there. 
