Creativity in the Classroom....Since When?

It's like that one thing that we all know, but dare not talk about. Sure, its been going on for years and years...possibly since the start of the idea of public/general education, but nothings gotten in the way of stopping it. Sure, some have tried, but those people are looked down upon and called 'liberal hippy radicals' by your parents, the school board and the rest of society. And those people are the exact kind of people who didn't get along with the school system in the first place! But I'm getting ahead of myself. What am I ranting about?

The complete lack of presence that is creativity in the public school system.

Like I said earlier: ever since the idea of general education for all has begun, its been assumed that included 'the arts' in the curriculum were an after thought. A spot on the face of academia that could be done away with at a moments notice ('Due to budget costs, the drama department is now being shut down.' How many times have you heard that?!). The fact is that the arts aren't taken seriously at all when it comes to education. Anywhere. AT ALL!

Personally, most of the courses that I've taken and loved the most have been the ones that get slated in as 'artsy': drama, music, etc. They're the ones where you really get to see what people are like, take chances, and have fun. Who doesn't love that? (besides the conservatives, I mean).

I think its about time that the arts get better funding and more recognition. Especially now in a time of economic stress. Why is that important? Well...

History has showed us that in times of economic stress or fiscal problems, people loved to be entertained. Even if just for a little while, they want their mind to be taken off the finance trouble at hand and give in to make believe for awhile. Even though people are careful about what they spend money on, they want to have a good time, and thus they make sure to go to the movies, see a play, etc. This is why films do so well even though money's tight: they entertain and distract, something that everyone needs once in awhile.

So, with more and more people looking to have fun, what better time to pump some money into arts programs all over Ontario? Now is when we really should be pushing the arts on people, because now, they're more likely to give in. In English, we study Shakespeare's plays. Why not act them out? In history, we're taught that the visual art that a society and culture creates is like a hand print: it represents who they are after they're gone, and its what gets studied thousands of years later. So why aren't we encouraged to make more of it? All I'm saying is that if 'All the worlds a stage'......we're only sitting in the wings, backstage,  when we really should be out in the spotlight.