I think an important idea to take from the Jones article is community involvement. I know in my high school, we were considered a quality music program, but the only people who occupied seats at our concerts were parents and other students. Community involvement opens many doors to opportunities for students. First, students can be involved in advertising for concerts and musical events. Also, when the community is involved they will see the progress that is being made in the school. When it comes time to vote on the budget, they will have solid experiences to base their decision off of. Also, and most importantly, students will see that what they do has a positive affect on their world outside of school. Inviting the community to be a part of the musical experiences will help bridge that gap between what happens inside schools and what happens in the "real world."
posted by Liz @ 6:36 AM
2 Comments:
I also agree that community involvement is incredibly important to further the building of stronger community bonds, especially with the arts. While inviting the community is always a good thing to do, why not go out there and see them? Encouraging students (and aiding them) in putting on performances at local area nursing homes, coffee shops etc. will MAKE the community aware that the arts programs in the school is there to be involved. Actively getting out into the community to make them aware that the school is intersted in being involved may be even more effective than just inviting them to come. I believe if the students get out, showing interest in the community, the community will begin to show more interest in the students.
I couldn't agree more with you Liz. I think this is an underlying theme that Jones is trying to convey... "creative workers" are important in creating the actual arts and events in a community, but more importantly, the create and interest in the arts, and thus a need for them. In high school we often performed at nursing homes and churches... this was beneficial not only for obvious moral reasons, but also because we were able to target the large population of voters (for the budget) that otherwise have no connection to the school. This is an essential step in funding the program!!
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