Do the arts really need to be taught in school?

Question

Memory

by Cynthia S.

Radio on in the kitchen,

memory spills over me;

oil anointing the blessed.

I’m seven again.

saddle shoes, plaid dress,

gray coat, red ribbons

in my braided hair.

First row balcony seat,

teacher sits beside me

squirming in my seat waiting

for the symphony.

Lone Ranger rides again.

Teacher catches me, I almost

fall over the rail.

First encounter with ecstasy

love affair with brass,

winds, strings, percussion.

New world discovered.

I turn the volume up

feel old excitement, dizzy

with gratitude, joy.

Answer 1

This happened to me when my older brothers took me to "2001: A Space Odyssey." I thought the movie was silly. I asked mom to buy me the LP.

Answer 2

Yes, the arts are essential.  They evoke imagination and creativity.  Your poem expresses this through your vivid memory.  I relived your age 7 experience.

Answer 3

Well it sounds like a lyrics, you can actually rap this. children are being more influence and taught by the media. look how many girls dress like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Clothes are so short you could see the color of their panties Look at boys listen to rap music disrespects women. Calling women B's and holes. In these rap music the men who supposed to be remodel where their hanging down their butts. using women as s*x objects. We don't need teachers anymore.

Seems like the media teaches our kids more about things they should not know until their 30.

Answer 4

I'm with TD on this.  I took my brother (then 10 yrs old) on an outing to see "2001" on the BIG screen.  I was super impressed and my brother was transfixed. The visuals and The Blue Danube Waltz would remain with me and my brother for the rest of our lives.  He died in 2002.  On his living room wall was a giant poster of "2001" - a childhood memory - 34 years old. He never forgot - and I'm glad I was able to give him a good memory.  All children should have this kind of time. ♥

Answer 5

Yes, they should. Kids need other things besides reading, writing and arithmetic. They need classes to broaden their horizons. Seems that with budget cuts, a lot of schools are cutting down on these classes and that's a cryin' shame.

Answer 6

And only a gray coat...poor child!  lol  Flashbacks can be quite rewarding.

Answer 7

With music as your ecstasy you get a natural high anytime you switch on the radio. A good lesson for all. Lovely poem Cynthia.

Answer 8

Is this poem about Dvorak?

I really like the naturalistic temporal framing of the poem, moving from music first to inessentials of atmosphere, clothing and pure senses, with an apparent hint of the religious (oil anointing the blessed?) before moving back to music.  The `question' adds a lovely rhetorical layer to the poem which I would lament it missing, with the bare title `Memory.'  I appreciated how I only caught the significance of the first line in the third stanza.  This poem reminded me of a few of my favourite poems by Jorie Graham, about her childhood in Italy, that occasionally brushed so gently with the mysterious as well.

To answer the question: I personally think so; I much admire the seriousness with which musical instruction is approached in Finnish schools, because half measures do merely annoy.

Answer 9

Children could visualize then.  I love this poem and the memories it evokes.

Answer 10

sure. you know art can change our live. that is the magical things.

Answer 11

no. if your'e good at hte arts you can't put it into a curriculum its like 99% hard work and 1% instinct/talent.

its not knowledge or anything - hteres no right or wrong therefore its hard to put a criteria to it.

no they dont need to be taugh.t