Arts Education -- who has time to fit that in!
I hear you. I've said the same thing myself. After all, as homeschooling moms we're responsible for quite a lot: religion, math, science, history, writing, foreign language, English, literature, grammar... it boggles the mind. How on earth can we add on anything else? Are the arts really that necessary?
In a word: yes. We're trying to educate the whole child, his mind and his heart. And his soul!
I have a major confession to make. I've been in the theatre my whole life, and because I have boys who like sports, math and science and dislike art and music I've largely neglected that part of their education. I haven't pushed them into exploring the arts like I should have. I have encouraged their love of sports (to the extreme, some would say), their love of nature, their love of math and science, always following their lead and helping them, I thought, to become the person that God wanted them to be. I didn't want to impose my interests onto them, and quite frankly, I got tired of arguing with them about it! We all saw the arts as my interest, not theirs. Which is really a self-fulfilling prophecy, because perhaps if I had pushed the envelope a bit more they would have discovered their own joy in the arts, in their own way. I robbed them of this opportunity by taking the path of least resistance...... until now.
Why the change now? For quite a few reasons, actually. I see that my guys perceive the arts as something rather feminine, which is so definitely not true! I see that I have emphasized the mind over the heart, so to speak, and realize that men, especially, must have some familiarity with the world of emotions. Although we always have read Shakespeare aloud (and have had much fun doing that) and I have taken them to various live performances over the years, it has always been something they have done to please me, not to please themselves. I now see that my guys think of themselves as being completely uncreative and are pleased with this assessment of themselves, as if being "creative" somehow lessens their masculinity! Oh, what is this! What have I done!
As a piano teacher this year I have had the privilege of seeing these really "macho" sports-loving boys sit down at the piano and learn to fall in love with their own music, at their own ability to create beauty out of nothing. They are so proud of themselves! I almost tear up while watching them.
This joy, this pride in their own accomplishment, of creating something beautiful completely by themselves, this act of expressing their own soul into a tangible reality and sharing it with others..... this is what I have robbed from my own children. Yes, I too believe in child-led learning, of letting the children have a say in directing their own education.... to a point. While we did hit all of the academics (and have the SAT/ACT scores to prove it) and participated in all the sports, I think I left something crucial out of the equation. Mea culpa.
But no more. Starting now. My boys are quaking in their shoes!! LOL!!
Why teach the arts? To teach their souls how to express themselves, and to discover who they truly are.
In a word: yes. We're trying to educate the whole child, his mind and his heart. And his soul!
I have a major confession to make. I've been in the theatre my whole life, and because I have boys who like sports, math and science and dislike art and music I've largely neglected that part of their education. I haven't pushed them into exploring the arts like I should have. I have encouraged their love of sports (to the extreme, some would say), their love of nature, their love of math and science, always following their lead and helping them, I thought, to become the person that God wanted them to be. I didn't want to impose my interests onto them, and quite frankly, I got tired of arguing with them about it! We all saw the arts as my interest, not theirs. Which is really a self-fulfilling prophecy, because perhaps if I had pushed the envelope a bit more they would have discovered their own joy in the arts, in their own way. I robbed them of this opportunity by taking the path of least resistance...... until now.
Why the change now? For quite a few reasons, actually. I see that my guys perceive the arts as something rather feminine, which is so definitely not true! I see that I have emphasized the mind over the heart, so to speak, and realize that men, especially, must have some familiarity with the world of emotions. Although we always have read Shakespeare aloud (and have had much fun doing that) and I have taken them to various live performances over the years, it has always been something they have done to please me, not to please themselves. I now see that my guys think of themselves as being completely uncreative and are pleased with this assessment of themselves, as if being "creative" somehow lessens their masculinity! Oh, what is this! What have I done!
As a piano teacher this year I have had the privilege of seeing these really "macho" sports-loving boys sit down at the piano and learn to fall in love with their own music, at their own ability to create beauty out of nothing. They are so proud of themselves! I almost tear up while watching them.
This joy, this pride in their own accomplishment, of creating something beautiful completely by themselves, this act of expressing their own soul into a tangible reality and sharing it with others..... this is what I have robbed from my own children. Yes, I too believe in child-led learning, of letting the children have a say in directing their own education.... to a point. While we did hit all of the academics (and have the SAT/ACT scores to prove it) and participated in all the sports, I think I left something crucial out of the equation. Mea culpa.
But no more. Starting now. My boys are quaking in their shoes!! LOL!!
Why teach the arts? To teach their souls how to express themselves, and to discover who they truly are.
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