Awe

 We need to practice awe in relation to the world around us. There is awe in a leaf. There is awe in a singing bird. There is awe in the pebble and the shell. There is awe in the capacity of our hands. There is awe in the complexity of our bodies. There is awe in the mysteries of the universe.

Without awe, we are mundane creatures living mundane lives. Awe pulls us into the universe as participants. If our education system cannot make awe a reality for us, we have failed.

Decent

 What kind of culture enables violence, mass murder, depression and suicide, child and spousal abuse, drug use, addiction, overdose deaths, poverty and homelessness, racism, anti-Semitism, sexual abuse, sexualization of marketing, consumerism, waste, and lack of confidence in its legislative and judicial systems to exist in the levels we see in America today?

We spend incredible amounts of money and effort trying to mediate all these problems. How successful have we been? How much time do we spend really identifying and attacking root causes?
Is it possible to find a means of raising decent, loving and capable human beings in a culture with this as its primary goal?

Labor

 The world has been built by labor—slavery, forced labor, migrants, indentured servitude, cheap labor, peasants, sweat shops, even child labor. One day is not enough to recognize the contributions of workers.

Grandma cheer

 A new phenomenon is sweeping the grades 1-3 football community: The Grandma Cheer Squads. Grandmas decided that since they had to attend games, they might as well be overt about it. Uniforms and pom-poms are being designed and regular practices are in the works. Said one grandma: I haven’t kick this high in a long time, and I don’t care who sees my panties.

A few grandpas are being recruited as well to help with the flips and pyramids.

Art haikus

Take an artist’s hand
Search for beauty everywhere
Ground, sky, mind and heart

Ride with an artist
To places of mystery
Where life’s most alive

On an artist’s back
You walk unexplored regions
Now with eyes agog

Sit with an artist
Conversing is a journey
Mind will open wide

Ask an artist why
Answer rambles like the art

And questions linger 

Language

 

Fine arts

 The “fine arts” are not fine because they are elite. On the contrary, the task of the fine arts is to search out beauty and to come to a deeper understanding of what it means to be human. This is an effort aimed at everyone, and access to the fine arts is often free or less in cost than access to entertainment or sports venues.

But in my estimation, there are two hitches. First, the fine arts require some work in response to the work of the artist. Second, the fine arts are not given the level of attention and support they deserve in K-12 education.