bmcdonald

At ISW, the Arts matter. When other schools are running away from the Arts—arguing that students need more time to prepare for and take multiple choice tests—ISW is running toward the Arts. Why? While some of our students may well go on to be professional artists, many (most) will not. That said, we value the Arts for every student for five reasons:

Reason #1: The Arts help us make sense of and give purpose to our lives. If you recall reading a book or poem or seeing a building or a movie or a television show that profoundly altered the course of your life, thank the Arts.

How many of you have a cell phone? We have these because science fiction screen writers dreamed them up as props. While the original Star Trek was campy and often silly, as a piece of art, it has had a serious impact on our culture. For me, growing up watching Star Trek meant that when Bob and I decided to build a family, adopting children who didn’t look like us seemed like a natural choice. As Pablo Picasso noted, “Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth.”

Reason #2: Students who study the Arts develop better motor skills, language skills, critical thinking skills, visual learning skills, and creativity than students who do not. Bottom line: students who study the Arts make better students of everything else.

Reason #3: The Arts teach students how to present themselves in the world—in writing, in speaking, in telling a story, in communicating in every mode.

Reason #4: Students well-educated in the Arts make better professionals in every walk of life. As Clifford Smith, President of the General Electric Foundation notes, “GE hires a lot of engineers. We want young people who can do more than add up a string of numbers and write a coherent sentence. They must be able to solve problems, communicate ideas and be sensitive to the world around them. Participation in the Arts is one of the best ways to develop these abilities.” A recent article in the New York Times on high achievers in every field, from journalism to technology, noted that “music opened up pathways to creativity. And their experiences suggest that music training sharpens other qualities: Collaboration. The ability to listen. A way of thinking that weaves together disparate ideas. The power to focus on the present and future simultaneously…Look carefully and you will find musicians at the top of almost any industry.”

Reason #5: No one on their death bed ever thinks, “Gosh, I wish I had spent less time making the world a more beautiful, meaningful place.”

At ISW, we are undoubtedly shaping tomorrow’s engineers, writers, thought leaders, lawyers, doctors, programmers, and a host of job titles and careers we can’t even imagine. I am thrilled that, in addition to giving our future adults a rock solid academic foundation, we are giving them the tools to create moments of joy and connection as well as funny, intimate, grand, searing, soaring, lovely works of art.