I am not a novice with Social Media, dipping my fingers in various pots; even so, there are still many, many more pots waiting to be stirred. I’m also not a novice in regards to the arts and arts education.
I received the following from a FB acquaintance (thank you Susan Shatz), and knew I had to pass this on:
There are many people who live, breathe, eat, sleep, etc. The Arts (capital letters on purpose) but don’t have the exposure or professional gravitas which would give them the recognition that they deserve. They may be young in age, or “still new” in their respective turn at this part of their career. In Barry’s words:
Regular followers of this blog know that late every August I publish a list of the Most Powerful and Influential Leaders in the Nonprofit Arts. Most people understand that the list isn’t meritocracy based; it isn’t based on specific achievement or accomplishment per se; it doesn’t purport to necessarily identify the “best and brightest”, rather it merely identifies who has power and influence.
There has been some past comment that unfortunately the list excludes a whole cohort of serious thinkers – a group of younger (not necessarily chronologically younger) leaders omitted because their careers have not been long enough for them to develop the requisite power and influence the Most Powerful list embodies, and that there ought to be some mechanism that gives this cohort of leaders a voice and some recognition. They are, after all, our future.
If you are interested/concerned about the state of the arts and nonprofit arts, I strongly suggest that you click HERE for the full blog entry. I know I’ll be giving this some serious thought.
Opening up dialogue with new thinkers, the ones who are doing the work, who resist hearing & living “we’ve always done it this way”…this is one way to acknowledge those who might seem behind the scenes but need to have a more national, if not international voice.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks.
About Barry: Former Director of the California Arts Council; President of the California Assembly of Local Arts Agencies; Executive Director LINES Ballet. Author (Hardball Lobbying for Nonprofits – MacMillan & Co.; Youth Involvement in the Arts – 2 phase study for the Hewlett Foundation; Local Arts Agency Funding Study for the Aspen Institute; City Arts Toolkit), consultant, public speaker. Barry’s Blog is a service of the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF). The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of WESTAF.
One of the most disturbing things that I have heard from a student was:
"Why should I try? I'll only be working at McDonald's."
I was an Artist-in-Residence for a year for a large school district in Westchester County, NY. Still early in my profession, that statement was both a shock and a revelation of a point of view I had never considered before: low expectations given, and projected; leading this student to live that that is all they can do.
While I have been slumbering, figuring out what to say/do with this blog, someone "liked it' this morning: rereading it, it gave me a renewed sense of purpose. I am job hunting, and that has taken over most of my concentration. Today I have two interviews, both for Director/Manager of Education position in arts administration. This post already has helped clear some of the cobwebs I've laid in my own way. Thanks for the like, Isurrett2.
I was just on an interview for a job I would love to have. One of the questions I was asked was about the working hours: would I mind working the longer hours this new school would schedule. What struck me is that it needed to be asked at all: there are many, many reasons why extended school time is needed today.
Before I continue, these are MY opinions from what I’ve observed in the field (I have taught as a Teacher, Teaching Artist and as a Substitute Teacher); I’ve left you five links above for others on the subject. Object if you must, but do so with justifications and always keep it civil.
I have heard from too many educators that there is just not enough time in the school day to accomplish all that must be done. I’ve experienced it myself: you just get things going, and they have to rush to another class instead of investing the time needed t o really explore. I’m not talking about busy work, which I have seen in an abundance. Actual student engaging moments get cut short many times.
We have a shrinking teacher base, due to budget cuts in places there should not be budget cuts. Classrooms are overcrowded. Tests and evaluations and rote “learning” practices shove aside a real chance for connections and actual learning.
Yes, we should have more teachers, more classrooms, and less students per class.
With the changing economic realities, parents are not always home until later in the day. The idea of Mom always being home after school is antiquated in many parts of the US; that has changed, but the schools have not changed with the times. There are after school clubs and such already in place; but again, the idea for a longer day is not just social activities (which they do need to foster as well, since much of home life gets truncated that way).
Double blocks of teaching (80 to 90 mins) during the day gives the teacher and the class to work on projects. The time constraints we have now means that there are only three classes per day that way. A longer day would allow more constructive work.
Advisory meetings, portfolio work, special projects that have a true impact and are not busy work (again, seen too much of that), planning sessions; individualized work (NOT study halls: I saw, in one location, 12 students on computers playing Halo in study hall; not making that up, and it was not my place to stop them)…there is so much that can be accomplished with proper time use.
The long summer breaks were originally set up by agricultural needs: farmer kids needed to work on the farm. School came second.
Education should not come second in anything we do.
You can believe in what you want. As long as it’s not hateful or harmful to others, I’ll even listen to your POV if you promise not to try to ram it down my throat, or try to convince me that your belief is the only right way.
Democrats and Republicans do many wrong things, for the wrong reasons: there are lobbies/big money that have no concerns for the people of this country, only profits.
The blame game is what is hurting this country. I read a series of posts on FB, an anti-President Obama thread, that were volatile and negative spewing. The main thrust was, from the person who started the thread, that he feels all Republicans should say NO to anything coming from an opposing POV.
No listening and judge on individual merits; no attempt to compromise; no attempt to work for the betterment of all the people in the country. Just Say NO was his mantra…and then he and others complained that “the liberals” only spout and don’t listen and run away from a fight.
[Side Bar: As to arguments about Bush Bashing...one thing to disagree with the man, which I do. I have my reasons: my two biggest complaints are: his getting the news of the 9/11 attacks and just sitting dumbfounded in a Kindergarten classroom, not making a move, not directing the country, not showing any action; the second is, when asked about his greatest achievement in office, he talks about a fish he caught. Joke or not, to me, it's not funny. I'm not even going to go into the economic state of the union he left for whoever won the election to pick up after him. Nope. Not going there.]
Before any civil rights acts, inter-racial marriages were forbidden, as were inter-religious ones. They were, for those days, their own “war on marriage” which, yes, I have seen slogans for.
The President spoke his mind and made a stand: he believes in same sex marriage. He did not say any other state of marriage should be nullified, nor did he exclude anyone. He did not say, in any way, that this was a war on marriage. He did not say we all must believe as he did. Many won’t, and that is their prerogative. He is, if anything, advocating the civil rights of the “rest” of the country for consenting adults in love to get married.
If you don’t want to be married to someone of the same sex, or a different religion, or a different skin color, or a different nationality, then: JUST DON’T. But, don’t impose your own POV on someone else.
Why then, as a straight man, am I so behind repealing an amendment based on hatred and bigotry?
I’m also a JEWISH male, and if anyone wants to talk about history of abuse and hatred against a people, then let’s talk. We got ya beat by thousands of years.
It’s time to let things that are NOT important to the running of a country go, and focus on what we can do POSITIVELY and for the GOOD OF THE PEOPLE. The civil rights of American Citizens are being crushed under foot by those who say they love this country.
You love this country, then show it. Stop forcing your negative religious beliefs on others and do something positive with all that energy.
Fight poverty
Fight human trafficking
Fight hunger
Fight injustice (and you better believe this is injustice)
Fight for a stronger economy
Fight to bring our schools back to a place of prominence
Fight for a way to bring this country together, instead of continuously tearing it apart
I have had (and have many in the waiting) some great – and I mean GREAT – guest blogs for my creativity series. Yesterday was no exception, but a comment by Maureen of Zencherry got to me, as well as many of the comments to yesterday’s post.
I have an example of kindergarten happy turning to first grade bricks.
Youngest child: Teacher pinned a naughty badge on his shirt, (on the first day of school), and made him wear it all through the day and then on the bus home to me because he “sang in the bathroom”. It said it in big red letters on his badge.
Yesterday’s Guest Blogger, Lisa Kramer, of Woman Wielding Words, commented and said exactly how I feel: “That makes my heart hurt. “ Lisa also declared it a Sing In The Bathroom Day for her family.
I’m taking it one step further: I hereby declare a “National Sing Everywhere Movement”!
If you go back among my posts you’ll see that I have endorsed the fact that we can all sing, dance, paint, CREATE!!!
Too many times creativity and exploration is deemed unacceptable and does not fit the norm of what’s expected in school, work, and life. To these fuddy-duddies, I give a great big raspberry (and in some cases a certain raised middle finger); I just don’t have the words to describe in a public forum like this how I feel about that teacher who, to me, exemplifies all that is wrong with our education system and corporate system. Yes, there is lots more “wrong” in both – just what was done to Maureen’s kid really rankles me.
NAUGHTY BADGE
SINGING IN THE BATHROOM
(Don’t let it out, but…I do not know how to make a badge. If anybody knows how to, they can use what I’ve just done above and I would be honored to display it and give it out to all you naughty creative people).
SING OUT LOUD
FINGER PAINT ON THE WALLS
DANCE LIKE THERE’S NO TOMORROW
BE CREATIVE… WEAR THE NAUGHTY BADGE PROUDLY!!!!!!!!
Don’t EVER let someone shame you from doing something that is not causing anyone else harm.
I have PLENTY of stories of adult BULLIES who have shamed me, from childhood on. ADULT BULLIES.
This is a problem that needs to be addressed on the same level we try to do with the kids.
I am not 100% sure how I came upon Woman Wielding Words, Lisa Kramer’s blog, but I am glad I did. (PS: she thinks it was something to do with LinkedIn.)
I found a kindred spirit, overall, in what she has written, and this guest post only cements that.
It is a pleasure to introduce her to you here.
The Creativity Series: Guest Post
Creativity isn’t About Being Perfect, It’s About Living Life with Passion: Lisa Kramer
No matter where I am or what I am doing, one statement crushes me, causing me to want to scream.
What is this horrific statement?
“I am not creative.”
I hear it all the time; in college classrooms, in discussions with friends, and perhaps most painfully out of the mouths of children. How could a child not be creative? Or perhaps I should ask, what does society do to suck the creativity out of children, or their belief in their ability to create?
In my experience, everybody is creative, but there comes a point where creativity is frowned upon as something less worthy or less “normal” in some way. That is a loss. If you look at the dictionary definition of creativity, you will find the following:
. . . the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination (dictionary.com)
How could anybody not welcome the “ability . . . to create meaningful new ideas . . .etc.”? Why is creativity something that society seems to fear rather than embrace?
I don’t have the answers, but I fear for a world that stifles creativity in children at such a young age, and a society that seems to be trying, on a daily basis, to silence anyone who thinks outside of a restrictive social norm. I’m sure some might say that I exaggerate, and that children lose their creativity as a natural result of getting older. However, the problem is not simply an issue of growing up.
Several years ago, at a week-long puppet-making workshop for grades K-6, I offered different puppets for different age groups. For the Kindergarten and First graders I decided to make fish puppets, based on The Rainbow Fish. The Kindergarteners took their instructions and ran away with it, adding color and scales, eyes and glitter in any chaotic fashion that suited their fancy. It was a fast-paced burst of creative energy, and I loved the result especially the fish with two eyes one side of its head and thee on the other.
In the first grade, things were different. Many of the kids censored their creative impulses. If they couldn’t do it “right” or make the “perfect” fish, they wanted either my assistant or I to do it for them. (We didn’t, of course).
In Being Perfect, Anna Quindlen writes that “being perfect [is like] carrying a backpack filled with bricks every single day.” (11) Where do we pick up and fill that backpack? What happens between kindergarten and 1st grade that allows us to catch this terrible disease? Perfectionism is, in many ways, the enemy of creativity. I am not saying we can’t strive for perfection in our creative endeavors, but that pursuing perfection often paralyzes our ability to create.
Often the people who say, “I’m not creative” are also the ones who slog their way through life just doing what they have to do following all the rules as they go. Perhaps this comes from a narrow definition of what it means to be creative. Creativity is not limited to those people who can put words on a page, or images on a canvas, or write music or whatever you think of as creative. Everything we do involves a creative choice, especially if we take even the tiniest step away from the “rules”: how we dress, how we set up our desk, how we cook our food, how we decorate our house, even how we sign our names involves creative choices.
Imagine a work place where everything must be done in one way, and one way only. Your office or cubicle has to be decorated under precise parameters. Every word you write, whether a memo or an e-mail must be worded following protocol. Imagine yourself as a worker in this place, who suddenly realizes that there is a better and more productive way to accomplish XYZ, but you do not speak up because it doesn’t follow the proscribed rules of the company. Slowly you learn to stifle those creative thoughts, and become a corporate drone. Life turns gray.
I am not saying that all corporations suck creativity out of every individual. I’m not even saying that people who don’t think they are creative can’t enjoy life. Instead, I argue that in order to make change and embrace life, everything we do must incorporate creativity. If we lose the creative aspects of ourselves, then what do we have? So my response to a person who says, “I’m not creative” is, “yes you are, you just don’t see it.” And my response to the question “Why creativity?” is simply, “Life is creative.”
Lisa A. Kramer is a freelance theatre director, educator, and writer. After graduating from Smith College with a double major in Theatre and English Language & Literature she spent some time teaching English conversation in Japan. This led her to expanding her understanding of theatre and pursuing and MFA in directing from the University of Hawai’i, Manoa as well as a Ph.D. in Theatre for Youth from Arizona State University. She enjoys directing theatre for all ages, developing new works, incorporating non-western techniques in productions, and exploring cultural and social issues through theatre. She hopes to develop shows using multiple cultures, languages, and generations to help build bridges.”
Nothing encourages creativity like the chance to fall flat on one’s face. ~James D. Finley
Creativity takes courage. ~Henri Matisse
Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try! ~Dr. Seuss
I live a creative life. I don’t think – no, I know – I would not be happy living any other way. I do not think in a linear way and I am not the most pragmatic of people. I have my anal/stubborn periods that keep me fixed and inflexible. I do try to work on that. It is not an easy lifestyle due to the fact that there is not always a lot of money in it. That makes it hard especially for people who are very concerned with security and providing for their families. Still, it is my feeling, and my opinion, that living a creative life is a great way to live.
Not everyone embraces this way of thinking. Many have trouble wrapping their heads around the concept of living a creative existence. That’s all fine and good, but why do they have to put judgment blocks and hamper the creative process? Albert Einstein, one of my favorite people to quote as you well know, said “Great spirits have always encountered opposition from mediocre minds.”
A number of corporations and businesses get locked down into the numbers game. Schools, supposedly a hotbed for critical and creative thinking, or often anything but that. Too many school systems are playing the numbers game as well, although this has nothing to do with income but staying the course and remaining open. It has little to do, and very little regard, in what students are actually learning.
Over the next couple of weeks, I will be having some guest posts from people with various areas of education and business. They will be discussing what creativity is for them, and why creativity is important. To be fair, I would also like to find people with the opposing view. I really want to see both sides of the picture. What works for me does not always work for another. I understand that. What I’d like to try to do is put myself into other persons shoes.
I just hope that they would like to try my shoes on.
Photo by Ian Crowfeather
Have you tried to look through someone else’s POV?
I made mistakes in drama. I thought drama was when actors cried. But drama is when the audience cries. (Frank Capra)
There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action. And because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open…whether you choose to take an art class, keep a journal, record your dreams, dance your story, or live each day from your own creative source, above all else, keep the channel open!~Martha Graham
It’s all about the audience ~ Stuart Nager
Well, I sometimes have to disagree with Mr. Nager, but I understand what he means. There is a symbiotic coexistence often happening in the arts, and in teaching/leading/guiding. A lot of it IS creative/ego driven, doing what we do as a MUST DO for ourselves. Then, there is the part that is fed by what we get off of our audiences. Applause feels good, appreciations of our work feels good. I’m not going to lie to you: it’s a part of it.
The other side of it is for our audience, performance, exhibit, classroom: it’s for them, in many cases primarily for them. Otherwise, why produce something and then show it?
Couple of things that strike me:
In the classroom: It is ALL ABOUT THE KIDS (yes, back to shouting). Period. If we TA’s (and teachers) are not there for the kids, then we are not there for the right reason. A paycheck is one thing, and if you are only there for a paycheck, please…don’t be there. Go. Find something else. You are not working towards the betterment of the child. Scoot. I’m deadly serious here. If you think the classroom is solely for YOUR betterment: get thee gone!!
Allow your audience to find their own interpretations and connections, and be cool if it differs from what you intended. (I’m still learning this one; I know it, and sometimes I have to stop myself from saying “huh?”). I don’t care what art discipline you work from.
Let go of the self doubt. Once you put it out there, it’s out there. Live with it, listen to any feedback…and move on. Good or “bad”…move on. There is always a next one. The only time there isn’t is when you’re dead, or cognitively/physically unable.
Enjoy what you are doing.
Think of yourself as a professional, no matter if you get paid or not, or how little, and you’ll act like a professional.
Smiles and laughter are amazing gifts to give and get.
Enjoy what you’re doing (hmm..echo?)
“I believe arts education in music, theater, dance, and the visual arts is one of the most creative ways we have to find the gold that is buried just beneath the surface. They (children) have an enthusiasm for life a spark of creativity, and vivid imaginations that need training – training that prepares them to become confident young men and women.” – Richard W. Riley, Former US Secretary of Education
I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. John Steinbeck
Artists to my mind are the real architects of change, and not the political legislators who implement change after the fact. William S. Burroughs
Artists are traditionally resistant to labels. Patti Smith
Artists have really never had any representation on Capitol Hill, because it’s not the nature of the artist to join together and make a unified presence. Those days kind of died in the ’60s. Sheryl Crow
All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. Pablo Picasso
All children are artists, yet we often try to take it away from them in the pursuit of testing…I’m sorry, education. Until they are told, in one way or the other, they can’t dance well, or sing well, or draw well, or tell a story/act well…well, they will just DO IT. They don’t start off with the negative filters that destroy them along the way.
I integrated all different art forms in the theatre classes. I looked to have the students explore, for themselves, how to find their artistic voice. Too many times, a student would tear up a piece of artwork. “Why?” would come out of my mouth. “Because it’s no good” or variations of that. Looking at the unfinished work, judgments in this child’s mind were already formed. Where it came from was beyond my scope most times. Seeing these 500+ students only once a week, for 45 minutes at a clip, did not afford me the full in-depth deciphering of their psyches.
Sometimes I would notice that the child would look at what someone else was doing and immediately stop. Rip, crumple, toss, and then maybe a hissy fit. Did this student have his work compared to another piece of art, directly or indirectly? Jealousy? Fear of failure? Ridicule lessons in the classroom or at home, or both? Honestly, most times I could not tell you. I’d let the classroom teacher know when she/he would pick the class up, but more often than not they dismissed it with the “oh, you know how ______ is.”
When does the toddler who throws him/herself into their art become their own worst critic?
As to adults, why do many of us turn away from embracing an art form that we love? I often tell any class I lead, no matter what age level this very simple thing: When we create in art, there is no wrong answer, and there should be no judgment of what or how we do it. We CAN all sing, paint, dance, act, tell a story, play a musical instrument (yes, you can do percussion). If we compare it (See rule #1 above) to someone who either has practiced their artistic craft for years upon years (or are just artistic savants), well…we just do ourselves a disservice.
So what if you’re off key, can’t draw a straight line, are a klutz. If you love it, DO IT. Just do it. Do it for the love and happiness you feel when you let yourself be free. I can sing, but my voice is not trained like it used to be and I go off key a lot. My art is mainly doodles. My music is percussive or on a kazoo. My artistic language comes out in the written and spoken word, but I do sing, I do dance, I do play music, and I do art.
YOU DO ART…All children are artists. We’re still those same children, but the art has been beaten out of you. Take it back.
Give it back. Give the arts back to the schools.
The reason actors, artists, writers have agents is because we’ll do it for nothing.
