On Feb 8, 2013, at 1:15 PM, joseph berg <[email protected]> wrote: > http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/01/22/top-10-skills- children-learn-from-the-arts/
How prescient! How post-prehensile! Valerie Strauss, the WasPo author, opens the article with: "You dont find school reformers talking much about how we need to train more teachers in the arts, given the current obsession with science, math, technology and engineering (STEM)..." Why didn't she list the four disciplines in the order they are given in the acronym, viz., science, technology, engineering, and math? Isn't she paying attention? IF she isn't, why should anyone else? Strauss then refers to a book "The Artistic Edge: 7 Skills Children Need to Succeed in an Increasingly Right Brain World," written by Lisa Phillips. Right brain worlds, really? Clichi, anyone? In the rest of the article, Strauss incorporates an entire blog entry written by Phillips, titled "The Top 10 Skills Children Learn from the Arts." Okay, 7 skills children need, 10 skills children learn ... whatever. Phillips says in skill 1 of the blog: "Being able to think on your feet, approach tasks from different perspectives and think outside of the box will distinguish your child from others." Think on your feet, approach a task from a new vantage point, but not be able to write 'outside the clichi." I looked at the 10 skills that can be learned from "the arts." Guess what? They can be learned from "the sports" too. Or "the sciences" or "the trades" or "the militaries." This is trivial, small beer, thin gruel. Nothing. Berg, you should find something a bit more substantial and a challenge to your googling skills. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Michael Brady
