Feb 4th, 2014
by Steve Colucci
Arts are valuable in and of themselves
An impressive Jan. 14 Commentary piece (“Music education offers skills for this century and beyond“) makes a cogent point about the advantages of music education. However, I found it sad that Amanda Siegel, the Rocky Hill student who wrote the piece, might have found the need to do so.
Her piece reflected on the fact that we need to justify music education or any other “creative” endeavor as worthwhile due to the impact on other scholastic endeavors. This is disheartening.
Have we come to the point where our valuation of the arts is in terms of how it enhances academic pursuits? Are these not valuable pursuits for professional or even personal life-enhancement alone?
That we need to defend arts education is a sad proposition. Lose music or other arts and many students are now lost. If we see pursuits of the arts only as a way to enhance other academic areas our culture will be the worse off. There are jobs in the arts. Do we not value them? If not, why do we buy art, creative jewelry or clothing and works produced by creative minds? How is this any less of a career choice?
Yes, it is difficult to make one’s way in the arts, but it is no less true in most fields these days. Still, kudos to Ms. Siegel and her impressive talents, not only in music, but in writing. Talent in one does not necessarily lead to the other.
Steve Colucci
North Kingstown
Shared by Grosse Pointe Music Academy
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