I spent the most wonderful Saturday at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Buzz's scout troop had scheduled a day trip, and I eagerly volunteered to drive. I love museums in general, but PMA has a special place in my heart. Twenty years ago, I was a student in Philadelphia and spent many a Sunday afternoon there , walking amidst the masters (admission was free that day!)
It was indeed like going home. I had taken the children when they were younger, but it was not as enjoyable as neither had yet developed the maturity to compare works or study them. It was wonderful to now discuss the works together with Buzz, now that he has an appreciation and knows the history of the diferent periods. Buzz's buddies who tagged along with our group were fascinated to get the back story of many of the artists, and before I knew it I was holding an informal Q & A.
I just love seeing these kids curious and passionate about art. They told me with sadness that there is very little of this in their public schools, which is a crying shame. It was so neat to hear them tell Buzz how lucky his is that he gets to take class like art history, and visit museums. As we drove home, it was almost heartbreaking to hear them confess how much they hated school and the politics, the games of russian roulette for scoring the only decent teacher in a subject, and the boredom. They all wished they had been homeschooled, so they could have freedom over their education.
These are bright, fun kids who are not unique. They hunger to learn, to discuss current events and history. But they are being fed a diet of dry textbooks and boring lectures. I could have cried, for them and the thousands of others out there like them, languishing away instead of actively participating in their learning.
I invited them to visit the our local art museum with us later this winter.
Our little Allentown Art Museum really scored big with their upcoming exhibit "The French Impressionists: Monet to Matisse", and the boys seemed as eager to spend a Sunday afternoon amid the masters as they would playing Halo.
I realized that we have finally reached the age when bringing friends along on field trips has more purpose than companionship. It can now be about sharing passions. Have I mentioned how much I love having teenagers?
HoneyGirl and PapaBee were also inspired by the discussion of our trip, and have asked that we plan our next family outing there. Papa has never been the museum type, but is learning to love art vicariously through us. They want to take sketchbooks along, and do as I did decades ago and sit in the Japanese Tea room or Abbey of Saint Laurente and draw. It seems even old dogs can learn new tricks! Yes!
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3 comments:
Sounds great. And if they need you to introduce them to art outside of school, then so be it. I've learned a lot about art from Tigger's interest
We spent many an afternoon there
during the "college years"..
it is one of DH's fave museums.
Well, you know where I come from, and where I stand, but in between, I had this fabulous experience, in the late 1970's when "extras" like art and music were the first to be cut from public school curricula.
Fortunately, even in a bedroom community of the auto industry, our "extra" programs held on, if by a thread, and my HS art teacher was beyond excellent.
In addition to wearing the hat of "steadfast guide to the wayward and at-risk," and getting the "fringe" kids involved in those leadership and community service roles colleges look for, he was considered pretty hard-core for including an ample dose of history in his classes -- lessons that supported and enriched what was being taught in World History, down the hall.
Man, I LOATHED history, and was offended that it should be taught in the art studio! But I loved my teacher as much as I loved finding that "zone," while creating, where you lose all track of time and place, so I paid attention to those slide shows and lectures and discussions, and I went on those field trips to the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Toledo Museum of Art, and I managed to retain anything and everything that wasn't a date.
One of the things I admire about my blog-friend Fineartist is that she does these same things for her high school art students in teeny-tiny rural-town Missouri. She won't say that about herself, but it's true.
In college art history, I groped for the century, deployed the beloved "circa," and hoped I was lucky, and on the few occasions when that wasn't quite good enough, I relied on confidently excellent writing skills, and my wild-card sort of "not typically juxtaposed and considered insights" of historical events to get the A.
Likewise, when I substitute taught up here ten years ago, I was impressed to see that art history is a mainstay of the junior high and high school art programs. That our inner-cities have not been able to retain these essentials breaks my heart, because I do believe art and music studies are as essential to a well-rounded education as phys ed and physics.
The art teacher acting as a sort of "safety net" in the public school environment is typical -- they're typically kind-hearted liberal sorts for whom it is natural to go out of their way for the underdog or the at-risk.
Three cheers for you, Angela, for providing this important element of education to your kids, and for being open to providing it to kids in the community whose schools choose not to afford it.
Yes, I did say, "choose not to afford."
I'd cut every varsity sport in order to keep general phys ed, art, and music alive.
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