Bear with me while this twists and winds around topics – it will eventually lead to education.
People often feel they meet their “soulmate” and the connection that they share is one that feels so familiar. They feel that they belong together.
So can a person feel that way about a place? I say yes. Walking the cobble streets, hopping on the tube, and keeping pace with Londoners I can’t help but feel at home here. London’s culture for music, art, dance and fashion can only be rivaled by New York and Paris.
But what London holds as my soulcity is the core memories of my education. Training as a concert musician at the Royal College of Music, working with Britain’s National Dance Company – Rambert and daily visits to the myriad of art museums and galleries shaped me into the person I am today. It created balance and a wide perspective on the arts.
What are arts educators doing to widen their students perspective? Are art teachers collaborating with music teachers? Are dance schools doing performances with music schools? How do music teachers work together with other instructors – or do they?
What London gave me was a collection of incredible artists to work with and it’s through those experiences that I found myself. Just like being a lawyer or doctor, being an artist is about knowing yourself and then communicating that perspective. How do arts educators help their students to find themselves: their natural strengths, inner beliefs and curiosities?
Why are cities like London attracting artists from all over?
It’s the dense mixing of people from all around the world that creates this magnetic pull. Creativity is the mixing of disparate ideas to create new ones. As we mix and integrate, creativity soars because of an abundance of different perspectives and people. So if you transfer this insight to education – I am still confused as to why school subjects are separated.
If we are looking to promote creativity in students, we should encourage curriculum models that weave multiple subjects to develop new ones. At the very least we can find a simple way to mix divergent curriculums to spark more students to develop a passion for learning.
JT