Some more thoughts

Talking to Marika the other night and I told her about something that happened long ago. I have a cowbell that came from a night of jamming at my boyfriend’s house with him, Riley, and others.

“Good memory,” she said.

It is a good memory. Today I pulled out the cowbell for a silly iPhone photo on Instagram (cows were involved), but then I shot this photo with my D3400.

The cowbell, my drumsticks, my tambourine. A lot of fun there (and no, I don’t play the drums) and definitely good memories.

I think about music a lot. I think of all the families I know who put their kids in weekend and after-school classes to learn everything: martial arts, dance, gymnastics, tennis, languages, piano, voice, painting…

I speak now in defense of public schools, because I am passionate about keeping education free and available to all. I was once a public school student. I come from a family of teachers. I was educated to teach in public schools. I think one of the worse trends in education was to begin teaching toward standardized tests and focus on academics only (and trust me, I FERVENTLY WISH TODAY’S SCHOOL SCIENCE CLASSES WERE ANYWHERE NEAR AS GOOD AS THEY USED TO BE). In some school systems, they are. But not all.

Cutting the arts… Not every family can afford to feed their kids, much less pay for private lessons to develop their skills and interests. Even the poorest schools still have sports, and athletics have been a way into acceptance and out of poverty for some kids. But not all kids are interested in sports or good at sports.

I know what music, theater, art, and dance meant to many of my friends. Our schools need these activities that give children and teens a place to grow and develop. To find their hidden talents. To be part of something and be good at something. These things make better children, better schools, better adults, better citizens. I believe this to the bottom of my soul.

People talk about how the Internet offers children everything. Maybe. Maybe it can be more than a diversion or passive entertainment. But that’s only if you have access to it on your timeframe and not just during school and library hours.

Funny, those same people also say kids these days just seem so mean. I love teenagers; I always have. Even when they aren’t related to me. I’ve seen what makes a mean teenager–an eighth grader with a bad attitude is a challenge like no other. But I’ve seen how many teenagers were drawn away from a system that can make them mean by providing them access to the arts and an opportunity to develop a sense of their own self-worth.

The arts are for all kids. In school. Not just affluent kids. Outside school.