Mary Myers, director of Academy of Fine Arts, shares with families the benefits of performing fine arts classes for their children and the understanding of the true value of experience that can shape their child's life.
www.academyoffineartsok.com
The Value of Fine Arts Classes
Not too long ago, I was in conversation with a former parent of our school. Of course there was the usual chit chat of " we have just been so busy" and "she has decided to follow other interests". Most teachers hear this often, actually. But when you listen long enough, what you eventually are able to hear (while reading between the lines and watching the body language of the parent) is that it is the parent that made the choice to move to other activities or interest; it is the parent that was uncomfortable with the class schedules because it does not meet the schedule they want to be on and it is the parent that may not really see the child's real passion for what they want to do because they are still searching for what they never got to experience. Now, I am totally not bashing parents here, so please continue to read further.
But what the teacher finally hears (while still reading between the lines and watching the body language) is "hey, I know it is a healthy activity for my child, but so are a lot of other things, and I am not sure where it is that I want to help my child focus their interests towards". We get it! And we hear it loud and clear. And we hear it most of the time with no ill feelings towards the parents or the family. Sometimes we just wish we could share back what we have seen, experienced and know, from a very personal stand point, about studying performing fine arts.
If we could be heard (with out someone thinking we are just wanting to keep their child in class for the money), a parent mind hear something similar to the following.
"We know for a fact that studying performing fine arts gives a child the courage to present and make a stand as well as to be creative to find the solutions to any problem for a lifetime. We know that a student begins to understand their bodies better in how they function physically, to how the brain can think in such intricate patterns, with out a mistake, and do it with such grace and personal command that it looks easy."
"We know that performing fine arts develops self discipline and control that allows the student to know where they are going at all times. We know that they learn to set goals at a very young age, and are able to see in their mind, the path (or process goals) that they need to travel to reach their dream (any dream).
"We know that studies have shown over and over that those that study music, either by playing an instrument or moving to it, do better in school and are well accomplished in no matter what field of study or work that they choose."
"We know that we seen lives change and grow each time they step onto the dance floor, play a note, warm up their voice and learn to work with others in total cooperation. We know that we see their face shine with confidence when they have had a chance to stay in classes (mostly due to parents positively supporting their efforts) long enough to achieve different levels. We know that students who are allowed to continue classes on a consistent schedule, learn to be more organized in school, work and life."
"We know of the many adults that come to us and state that they wish they had had the opportunity to of studied fine arts outside of their public school experience. We know and hear from many adults that say they were in classes as a child but have no idea why they were not allowed to continue or finish their fine arts education. We know that we have many parents that tell us how studying performing fine arts impacted their lives and they want that for their children."
What I know for a fact (and I hope you are still reading this lengthy post), is that I have seen children lifted up by performing fine arts when their family life was being destroyed by divorce at home. I also know for a fact, how being bullied was turned around, when the bullies realized how bad they looked at making fun of someone over the years that just walked across the graduation stage with a full scholarship to a university. I know for a fact that performing fine arts has helped many young people from our school to develop strong thinking skills, a goal minded mindset and a plan for success.
The value of classes, you see, is not in how much the tuition is or what the instrument or costumes cost. The value is in your child growing and finding themselves as strong, confident, hard working, goal oriented and eager young adults that are willing to push forward to reach their dreams in a timely manner. I know this, because over the past 30 + years, I have seen it and personally experienced it with my own children (a mental health expert, a doctor of chiropractics and a business manager, not to leave out that at the same time they are all mothers of our beautiful grandchildren).
Ah, but that is your family you say. Well, let me tell you about some other families that have experienced the value of keeping their children in performing fine arts from the time they were little, until their child's high school graduation. These families now have grown children that are currently school teachers (many of those), surgery nurses, business owners ( more than a few of these), fitness trainers (several of these), member of the national guard, coaches, dance teachers, gymnastic teachers, band directors, artists, mental health specialists, doctors (couple of these), ministers, authors, pageant coaches, business managers, real estate professionals, investors, banking professionals, insurance professionals, financial planning professionals and more.
The value of your child's performing arts education, from early childhood to early adulthood, is more than you can total in your checkbook. It is more than the cost of competition fees and recital fees. It is more than the gas and time to get them to and from class. The value of your child being in performing fine arts classes is that they too can become confident, well organized and goal oriented people. The value is that they can connect with the emotions of music and develop empathy for others. The value is that you can say, "I helped to get them where they are today, each time I drove them to music or dance lessons."
By the way, I hope you were willing to read to the end of this post.
