The Art of Learning(Excerpted)Drew Faust and Wynton Marsalis
Reading through a copy of the January 2, 2014 issue of the USA TODAY newspaper, I came across a thought-provoking article espousing the importance of education based on "what the arts teach us."
The authors, Harvard President Drew Faust and Wynton Marsalis, noted composer and trumpeter, join forces in presenting an argument for the importance of an arts education.
"We need education that nurtures judgment as well as mastery, ethics and values as well as analysis. We need learning that will enable students to interpret complexity, to adapt, and to make sense of lives they never anticipated. We need a way of teaching that encourages them to develop understanding of those different from themselves, enabling constructive collaborations across national and cultural origins and identities.
In other words, we need learning that incorporates what the arts teach us.
The arts are about imagining beyond the bounds of the known.
Let's learn to:
These are the qualities by which the future will measure us."
To read this important article in it's entirety, please click here The Art of Learning.
Reading through a copy of the January 2, 2014 issue of the USA TODAY newspaper, I came across a thought-provoking article espousing the importance of education based on "what the arts teach us."
The authors, Harvard President Drew Faust and Wynton Marsalis, noted composer and trumpeter, join forces in presenting an argument for the importance of an arts education.
"We need education that nurtures judgment as well as mastery, ethics and values as well as analysis. We need learning that will enable students to interpret complexity, to adapt, and to make sense of lives they never anticipated. We need a way of teaching that encourages them to develop understanding of those different from themselves, enabling constructive collaborations across national and cultural origins and identities.
In other words, we need learning that incorporates what the arts teach us.
The arts are about imagining beyond the bounds of the known.
- The arts embrace the past and the future of the human mind and soul.
- Playing music can be both a model and a metaphor for important aspects of the life we are called to lead.
- Music stresses individual practice and technical excellence.
- Learning to play or paint, dance, sing or act, means constantly being refashioned, constantly demanding risk.
- Dealing with one's inevitable mistakes is a part of an artist's education.
Let's learn to:
- practice til it hurts,,
- bravely take the stage,
- imagine,
- create and innovate,
- and, after hitting that wrong note -- follow it up with the right one.
These are the qualities by which the future will measure us."
To read this important article in it's entirety, please click here The Art of Learning.