Welcome to my blog..

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. ~Pablo Picasso

Thoughts for the Teaching Artist is devoted to an ongoing exploration of the role of the arts in education. I believe that the arts are an integral, essential part of every person's education. Arts education develops 21st Century Learning Skills, supports all core subjects, creates empathy & builds bridges, and helps develop voice & vision.

The views expressed in Thoughts for the Teaching Artist are mine alone and do not represent the views of my employer or any other persons or organization.



Friday, October 29, 2010

Daily Thoughts

October 25-29, 2010

Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get — only what you are expecting to give — which is everything. What you will receive in return varies. But it really has no connection with what you give. You give because you love and cannot help giving. - Katharine Hepburn


The things we fear most in organizations—fluctuations, disturbances, imbalances—are the primary sources of creativity. — Margaret J. Wheatley

I love criticism just so long as it's unqualified praise. ~Noel Coward

Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle. ~Michelangelo

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. - George Bernard Shaw

Friday, October 15, 2010

Daily Thoughts

October 11-15, 2010

An artist is a dreamer consenting to dream of the actual world. ~George Santayana


Poetry surrounds us everywhere, but putting it on paper is, alas, not so easy as looking at it. ~Vincent Van Gogh

If I cannot overwhelm with my quality, I will overwhelm with my quantity. ~Emile Zola

It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.~
Noel Coward

In a real dark night of the soul it is always three o'clock in the morning, day after day. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald

If you wish to receive these daily thoughts as an email every Monday through Friday, please send me an email at artistthoughts@gmail.com and I will add you to my distribution list.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Daily Thoughts

October 4 - October 8, 2010

There are two men inside the artist, the poet and the craftsman. One is born a poet. One becomes a craftsman. ~Emile Zola

Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness. ~Maya Angelou

I love acting. It is so much more real than life. ~Oscar Wilde

One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain. ~Bob Marley

Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day. ~Thornton Wilder

If you wish to receive these daily thoughts as an email every Monday through Friday, please send me an email at artistthoughts@gmail.com and I will add you to my distribution list.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Sisyphus at the Precipice

Outside, the rain is falling. The long days of summer live only in memory, and for those Teaching Artists who work in schools, the initial fervor of the new school year has faded into the daily grind of classes, rehearsals, assessments and grades.

We stand at the precipice of danger. The vast bulk of the school year stretches ahead, and even now some may feel that there is more work to be done than ever. Like Sisyphus, we already feel the weight of rolling that boulder up the hill of another year.

Rarely does that boulder have anything to do with our students. Far from it; as Teaching Artists we draw our energy and our satisfaction from our time with our students. Rather, the boulder we push valiantly against seems more often to be made of administrative duties, budget realities, inadequate facilities and colleagues who don’t always understand or value what we do. We are in danger of letting that boulder roll right back over us, leaving us flattened in its path.

We can’t escape the boulder entirely, but we can lighten it to a less unwieldy weight. We can begin by practicing the presumption of good will. The moment we begin to presume the best, the boulder gets, if not smaller, at least far more manageable.

Here are a few suggestions:

To practice the presumption of good will, I must strive to:

o Believe that all of my colleagues, both in the arts and throughout the school community, are acting in good faith.
o Listen.
o Not assume I know all the issues factored into any given decision.
o Not assume I know what other people think.
o Not base my opinion of any group-students, parents, colleagues- on the most critical, disgruntled or loudest 20%.
o Believe that the success of others does not diminish me.

As Teaching Artists, we can endeavor to be resilient in the face of adversity, cheerful when challenged, and strive to positively impact our community because we believe in our work. We believe in our students. We know that art matters.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Daily Thoughts

September 28-October 1, 2010

He who would travel happily must travel light. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Humanity can be quite cold to those whose eyes see the world differently.~Eric A. Burns

Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a little. ~Agnes de Mille

This world is but a canvas to our imagination. ~Henry David Thoreau

If you wish to receive these daily thoughts as an email every Monday through Friday, please send me an email at artistthoughts@gmail.com and I will add you to my distribution list.