If you’ve been reading my blog, you know i’m an advocate for arts education in our schools. It seems to be a given that when budgets get cut and funds dry up, the arts are the first thing to go. So many valuable programs have been eliminated from so many schools around the country and you hear more being lost every day. It was nice to hear some good news for a change when i received an email from Jasmine Hall at Onlinecolleges.net about one of their recent postings: 12 Inspiring High Schools Keeping the Arts Alive.” These are inspiring stories about schools AND individuals who are coming up with new and innovative ways to add cultural pursuits to the educational curriculum….dance, music, painting, sculpture, poetry, etc. The stimulation that programs like these provide for our students is critical. It develops their minds and hearts and teaches them how to think in new and creative ways. So many kids find themselves in the arts…just like some kids find themselves in math….some in language arts…some in science…we NEED these programs to develop this entire population of artistic thinkers.
I was so happy to have the chance to participate in two projects last year in two Florida High Schools…Stranahan High School School and Fort Lauderdale High School. It was inspiring for me to work with so many talented and motivated students. Their enthusiasm for both projects was infectious and only served to bolster my goal of doing my part to help out. I have a few master classes scheduled in 2012 already and plan to further my Fazzino Arts Education Initiative as part of these projects. I will keep you posted, but in the meantime, please remember the arts…and do what you can to encourage our young people to never lose site of their creativity.
