I am so
moved by a piece I watched this week on NBC Nightly News. It's about a school
in Roxbury, Massachusetts that was in dire straits. Violence ruled, and the
environment resembled a prison. Kids could not even carry a backpack to school
for fear they were carrying weapons.
Orchard
Garden School had been labeled the "dropout factory." They have had
five principals in seven years and nearly fifty percent of teachers each year
did not return the following fall. Enter principal number six.
When
Andrew Bott arrived, the school was spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a
year on security, and he decided to make a bold move - to reapportion the funds
used for security into arts programs for his students - and to use those
programs as a tool for success.
Orchard
Garden is now termed the "turnaround school." While it was once
labeled the worst performing school in Massachusetts, it is now boasts the
fastest improvement rate in the state.
Surprised?
Me, not so much. I have been beating this drum for decades. From my own
experience, at age 13, the first time I sang for a school assembly, my life was
changed forever. I was transformed from an insecure, fearful child into a
musician. I knew that I had a talent and a gift. I knew that I was special.
What was
even more important in that experience was the transformation I experienced by
conquering my fears, taking a chance, taking to the stage. That is where real,
measurable growth occurred.
For many
children - singing, acting, dancing, writing, filming, being on a debate team,
or even working backstage has brought about the same profound transformation.
It does not matter whether one chooses the arts as a career, or even whether
one possesses an exceptional talent. The benefit is brilliant nonetheless.
Consistently,
the very first programs that our schools cut for budgetary reasons are the
arts. And yet, the Presidents' Council on the Arts has reported that the arts:
• Improve math and English test scores
• Improve self confidence and poise
• Improve team work and problem solving
skills
• Reduce incidents of violence in schools
Kids who
are immersed in arts programs are more likely to attend college. And they are
more likely to succeed in life.
I am
baffled that the arts still lack support in our elementary, middle and high
schools. Recently in my home town, funds were approved for after school arts
programs. Yet, the school superintendent instead used those funds to bus
failing children to after school remedial programs. How many times must we
remind ourselves that listening to Mozart improves math aptitude before we
actually believe it?
From my
perspective, if kids are not learning what they need to learn in six hours,
they will not learn any more in seven. Depriving children an arts education
robs them of an opportunity to greatly enrich their lives and improve their
confidence and self esteem. But that's the least of it... it deprives them an
opportunity to fully succeed, and that is something that every child deserves.
Please
watch this wonderful story by clicking on the link:
And,
PLEASE support the arts in your local schools!
