On October 1, President Barack Obama released a proclamation declaring October 2010 National Arts & Humanities Month. National Arts & Humanities Month was established in 1993 and is celebrated every October in the United States. It was initiated to encourage Americans to explore new facets of the arts and humanities in their lives, and to begin a lifelong habit of active participation in the arts and humanities.
Now if only we could reinstate arts education at the elementary, middle, and high school levels! Having been involved in the performing arts (in my case, music) from kindergarten through college, I feel very strongly that the confidence instilled in students who are exposed to the performing arts is terribly important throughout their lives, in both personal and professional settings. I know all too many adults who cannot get up in front of a group (even a group of their friends or family) and speak or perform without being overwhelmed by embarrassment and shyness. I truly believe that if they had been active in music or drama, an audience wouldn't faze them at all - it doesn't bother me, and I was terribly shy when I was young. But playing recitals from the age of 6 taught me that being in front of an audience doesn't have to be a scary experience.
Let's all support arts education!
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1 comment:
totally agree.we had a drama club and a speech club among others.
after performing during hs. i could face any crowd anytime.then i went into teaching when i moved abroad, but that's another story ;)
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