no need for a bogus quote...

Yesterday evening I heard a radio program announcer use the following quote in his rapturous support of the arts in school: “When Churchill was asked to cut arts funding in favour of the war effort, he simply replied, ‘Then what are we fighting for?’” Churchill, according to extensive research never said such a thing, but the bogus quote once launched circles round and could come back and bite. Who needs made up stuff?

He did actually say, “The arts are essen­tial to any com­plete national life. The State owes it to itself to sus­tain and encour­age them…Ill fares the race which fails to salute the arts with the rev­er­ence and delight which are their due.” Churchill was in fact a painter.

But do we need to rely upon the expertise of others to see that which is actually at hand? Are educational policy makers dumb or what? Can we not see and bear witness to the power of our hands and the arts and meaning they create? And then make the adjustments necessary to place the arts and science at the center of education?

I was not held captive by the royal wedding yesterday, but I did take time to listen and watch the young American cellist playing at the end of the ceremony. Are we to be given such beauty in life if we do not take time and invest in such things as music, wood shop, and the other arts?

The drawing is one I did to show the immature hammer grip of a child. As he or she learns, grows and gains strength, the hand will move down the shaft to give greater force.

Make, fix, create, and adjust schooling so that others learn lifewise.