a little something from HandEye

Awhile back Wendy Golden-Levitt called me up and did a little phone interview with me in advance of writing this article, which just came out in the recent online version of HandEye magazine.

We talked about a lot of things and although I wasn’t sure exactly what she took away from our little chat I trusted her intuition and ability to not only hear my words but feel the the intent and passion in regards to some of that which we discussed. After seeing the article “in print” I was pleased to see that part of the article spoke to my feelings about kids these days and what I perceive as a huge hole that we have allowed to develop in their education. We have removed so much of the joy, the potential for passion, curiosity, and wonder that it feels as if we are creating empty beings. Contemporary (K-12) public education feels like random dots on a page without a system for the students to connect the dots back to their everyday lives, or as Wendy puts it, we ask them “to develop their intellect and study for reasons that ignore their own well-being”. And although there are many groups and people (myself included) trying to counteract these losses in public schools the fact remains that we end up teaching (preaching) to the choirs with minimal effect on the condition as a whole. I feel wary of letting more generations of kids get through school like this, without experiencing passion for something, passions that may ultimately carry them through tough times in their lives ahead. As we all know- a career in art, music, dance, or theater is a difficult and unlikely choice, but a passion for any one of these things is an opportunity to grow and discover part of yourself regardless of one’s ultimate vocation. We are driven by fear to do so many things these days-whether or not they are good for us. Look at all the commercials that are based on feeding off our fears. The arts can teach us to overcome our fears in so many ways. Ahhh….fear. Another topic for another day. I thank Wendy for crafting the right words.

…in other news:
milo has taken an interest in the “other” cats

then retired to rest in the “in” box. he’s just that kind o’ cool!

the “cats”
this one is has just shed its skin. i think it’s in its third-instar
i think he/she looks more like a dog now

and these guys remind me that we all are all unique and develop at our own pace-
it’s just a matter of time and patience usually