the arts

Last week we attended the Tri District Art & Music festival {our town and the one next to us are both so small that while we have our own elementary schools, the highschool is shared; hence, Tri District}. A note had been sent home that our little Monks had been chosen to display one of his pieces of art work! When we arrived, Monks showed us his masterpiece, Australia, and we were beyond blown away. As he described the scene to us I was unable to tear my eyes away from the tiny pieces of paper he had used to collage various figures, and with such accuracy! I thoroughly enjoyed it when he told me that the little thing next to him was his friend Elisabeth, "but she's small because she's far away from me." Hello!! Perspective!!

Seconds later, a woman about my age came over to us and as I eyed her over, I thought, "is this someone that I know?" Yeah, she was that cool; funky Betty Page bangs, a fun flower barrett and a pretty rockin' Americana vintage style tattoo on her arm. I liked her immediately. She proceeded to tell us that she was the Monks' art teacher and that she had just been dying to meet us and to tell us how incredibly talented she thought our little guys was. She kept saying things like, "when I see this kind of talent, I just want to do whatever I can to encourage it", and "he is doing work that I do not even see 2nd and 3rd graders doing". I had to chuckle when she asked if we did alot of art and creative things at home. "Yeaaah", I said with a smile.

My head was swimming and my eyes were welling up as she went on and on about my little boy; I could not have been more proud! It meant the world to me that we were all there, and the Monks knew that his teacher thought he was exceptional and was telling us so. But ofcourse, we already knew that! The Monks is also advanced in reading and math, but I could not be more grateful for the wonderful art program which has helped him to develop in a more complete way. My heart was saddened a bit as I saw the students from the band, excited to preform, all dressed in their black slacks and crisp white shirts. You see, in our state, our school state fundings has been cut dramatically and of the many teachers and aides who were laid off, the band program was also cut.

I am not happy about this. My husband and I will attend meetings, write letters but most importantly, we will go today and vote on the budget. It is heartbreaking and frustrating when our elected officials dictate policies that play out in a way that do not reflect the wishes of the people they represent. I want this Arts Festival to be just one of many events over many years where I can see my children shine. Events like these are magical in their ability to instill pride and self esteem in students. I'll never be able to figure out why music, art, etc. are called "extras"...I can't think of anything more essential.

We are so proud of you Monks!

xoxo