A Renewed Sense of Purpose
Over the years, I have found it harder and harder to keep my voice as an arts advocate. The actions and inactions of government plus a loss of respect for politicians were key factors in the demise of my passion for change.
But I am renewed - recharged by new learning and the target of my advocacy has been redirected. Why? As always, I have been invigorated and educated by teachers; the ideas of some master thinkers and one particular man of action have renewed my faith and my passion for change by showing me that the answer is not in the hands of our politicians, but in the hands of our teachers, principals and school board officials.
I have always believed in the need for a massive change in government arts policies; nothing has changed there. But I believe that the changes I want in government policy will only come when culture and the arts are relevant to everyone. Only when the general public demands that government provide more access to culture will the social revolution I seek happen, so the problem becomes, how to involve everyone in the arts.
To do that means that my priority is to see the school curriculum transformed - and I am not speaking of more art, music and dance classes in the schools, but I mean a teaching methodology for all subjects that recognizes, respects and encourages creativity. Might this be possible? My cynical voice is ready to answer and if I give in to it, I can do nothing. But my idealism has been recharged by the research or teaching of several people.
One of them is the young daughter of Howard Imemoto. When her father was putting on his coat one day, she asked him where he was going. "To work," He answered. (Imemoto teaches art in Japan.) "What do you do there?" she asked. "I teach people how to draw," he replied. And she asked, "You mean, they forget?"
Good point. When we are young, none of us are afraid to draw. We have confidence; we are not afraid to try anything. "We educate people out of their creativity," says Sir Ken Robinson, and he goes on to tell the story of Gillian Lynne. Lynne was a soloist with Britain's Royal Ballet who went on to become the hottest (and richest) choreographer for London's West End. A compassionate counselor who saw Lynne as gifted with a non-academic form of intelligence saved her from a diagnosis of ADHD and a medicated trip through her schooling.
Ken Robinson champions a syllabus that recognizes that intelligence comes in a myriad of forms. He gives us the language and education we need to fight for what we want and believe in. He is one of my new mentors. The others are John Howkins, John Holden and Dave Eggers. John Howkins helps me believe that now is a good time to advocate for a change in how we teach our children and John Holden helped me see why expecting politicians to change government policy is futile without changing the way we teach.
John Howkins published his ideas on creativity and innovation in his book, 'The Creative Economy,' in 2001. He dramatically shows how creative economies are growing at twice the rate of resource-based economies. He provides arts advocates with plenty of ammunition with which to fight for an education system that equates creativity with literacy.
John Holden does work that helps me better understand why politicians and government will not provide the leadership I expect. He explains the differing values of government arts policymakers, cultural professionals and consumers of culture and that it is this conflict of values that prevents change. He believes strongly that we must change the way we teach in order to provide a workforce relevant to the creative economy.
Ms. Imemoto lit my fire and Robinson, Howkins and Holden fueled that fire, but it was Dave Eggers who got me out of my head and onto my feet. Dave Eggers is a writer who read that a student exposed to only eight ours of one-on-one attention in a year could see his or her letter grade average rise one full letter. So he rallied his writer friends who all had some free time and flexible schedules.
They rented a facility to house their offices plus a tutoring centre but the lease required that they have a retail operation. As a lark, they decided to sell pirate supplies "to the working buccaneer" because although they were prepared to carry inventory and appear like a retail outlet, they did not want customers. They wanted students to tutor.
The kids started flocking to their tutoring services and loved going to "the pirate store" instead of an agency with a name that reminded them of their deficiencies. Dave Eggers' initiative has been copied in many cities. He is an inspirational man. He did something simple and is changing the face of education in many constituencies. Fight for change with me; one person can make a difference.
Ken Robinson: www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66
John Howkins: www.creativeeconomy.com
John Holden: www.calgaryartsdevelopment.com/john_holden
Dave Eggers: www.onceuponaschool.org
ctyrell@shaw.ca
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