Arts Advocacy Discussion

Wow! First post! I'm so excited. I guess it's gotta be good, huh? Let's start off with a poem.

Once I was a princess, a mermaid, a star
Once I was a lion, then a speedy racecar
Once I was an elephant who grazed upon the plains
Once I was a scientist, a pioneering train
Once I was an astronaut and the next day I would be
A doctor or an actress or a silly bumble bee
Once upon a time, there was a little girl
Now she is a teacher, ready to serve the world.

It's always fun to think about children and the potential they have. They can be anything they want to be that day and the next day be something completely different. I've always thought it a little sad that as we grow up we're forced to specialize. Why do we have to give up all the other things we want to be in order to conform to the world?
My answer?
We don't. We can explore all these things and more through art; through theatre. A lot of people forget their childhood as they grow up and face the realities of adulthood. But it doesn't have to be that way! If we can only remember our childhood dreams and joys, we can make some of those happen. It's there inside of us, if we'll only tap into it.

So take a look at that child within you. What is he/she saying right this very moment?

In class today we had some really great presentations on arts advocacy plans we could implement in our schools and communities. My idea was appealing to the Parent Organizations in the schools to understand their concerns and develop a theatrical after-school program to help fill those concerns and get the parents involved in their children's social, intellectual and artistic development. We'd invite parents to be the visiting artists and help with instruction. Then they would have the opportunity to continue to develop their talents and help their children discover their talents at the same time! We would explore all kinds or facets of the theatrical production and we would involve as much of the community as possible.

A few friends shared ideas about cross-curricular drama within the teaching community where teams of teachers within a school would work together to discuss issues and intersect their areas of study in order to make the most well-rounded experience for the students. Another friend passionately described her lack of enthousiasm for her elementary art program because of a teacher who told her, "You're being creative wrong" effectively taking the create out of her creativity. Her solution for this was to help teachers implement the arts in their teaching more effectively via workshops and classes.

We recognize that incorporating arts into our already packed lives takes time and some planning, but we recognize that the benefits are well worth the cost. Another friend shared a video she found on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x25UZ3V9U4o&feature=related

Go check it out!

Kira had a great idea she called the Act Pack--a high school to middle school to elementary school arts mentoring program culminating in a final production. But I'll let her share those ideas herself.