El Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

When I first pitched this idea to my 5th - 8th graders the general reaction was "That's creepy!" until I explained to them what the Day of the Dead was really all about. It's a Mexican and Mexican-American celebration of dead ancestors. Despite the morbid subject matter, this holiday is celebrated joyfully, and though it occurs at the same time as Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day, the mood of The Day of the Dead is much lighter, with the emphasis on celebrating and honoring the lives of the deceased, rather than fearing evil or malevolent spirits.

As an educator I believe in teaching my students about other cultures beyond our community. Where we live is rural Iowa and when I was a kid diversity was more like being any other nationality but German or any other religion but Catholic. That is changing these days. We have a growing Hispanic population in Carroll as well as families from India and the African continent. I like diversity- it makes you think - about a lot of different things.

So this is our take on the sugar skulls. Enjoy!

ART is IMPORTANT!

2.98 MILLION AMERICANS WORK IN THE ARTS!


One in 111 jobs is in art and design.


The creative industries are an estimated $30 billion export annually.


Jobs in design have increased 43% in the past ten years.

There are over 532,000 designers working in the U.S.

More people are employed in the visual arts than in all of the performing arts and sports industries combined.

Animators, film and video editors, and others skilled in digital filming and computer-generated imaging have the best job prospects in future of the motion picture and video industries.

There are about 94,000 computer artists and animators working in the United States.


OVER $385 BILLION IS SPENT ON ADVERTISING WORLDWIDE!

EMPLOYMENT OF GRAPHIC DESIGNERS IS EXPECTED TO GROW 35% FROM 2010 TO 2016!

THERE ARE ABOUT 400,000 AMERICANS WORKING IN THE FILM INDUSTRY!
The computer animation industry generates $33 billion annually.

Jobs and employment in many creative industries are growing faster than the labor force as a whole and make up 30% of the work force by some estimates.

America’s nonprofit arts industry generates $134 billion in economic activity every year.

By 2016, jobs for artists and designers are predicted to increase by 42%.

Arts-related businesses in the country's largest cities represent 4.3% of all businesses and 2.2% of all jobs in the United States.

There are 3 million people working for over 600,000 arts-centric businesses in the United States.

Wage and salary employment in the motion picture and video industries is projected to grow 11% by 2016.

PHOTOGRAPHY JOBS HAVE INCREASED 38% IN THE PAST FOUR YEARS!

BY 2016 JOBS FOR MULTIMEDIA ARTISTS ARE PREDICTED TO INCREASE BY 47%!

PEOPLE SPEND APPROX. $55 BILLION ANNUALLY ON VIDEO GAMES!
Employment growth by arts-centric businesses since 2007 was 12%, more than four times the rise in the total number of U.S. employees.

Designers are the single largest group of artists, followed by performing artists such as actors, dancers, musicians, and announcers.

Employment of interior designers is expected to grow 19% from 2006 to 2016.

Median salaries of: Creative Directors–$90,000, Art Directors–$86,505, Fine Artists–$48,870, Multi-media Artists and Animators–$61,555, Graphic Designers–$46,925, Set and Exhibit Designers–$49,330, Producers and Directors–$86,790, Broadcast Technicians–$40,270, Photographers–$36,090, and Film and Video Editors–$66,715.

Sources: Americans for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Entertainment Software Association