The Power of Arts Education
There seems to be no concept used more often, in today’s debate regarding our Nation’s future, then The American Dream. The expression dates back to James Truslow Adams’ book “The Epic of America” published in 1931 where he writes: “…that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. … It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”
In essence, if one is willing and determined to learn and work hard, he or she will have every opportunity to achieve. At the beginning of this dream is the development of ability. There it stands: Education. While we hold our future to a great extent in our own hands, controlled by our willingness to learn and apply, there is one event in our life which we cannot influence but which has a profound impact on our future.
It is the day we are born.
This day defines our initial social environment and determines greatly what education we will receive. As a Nation, we have worked hard to provide equal education irrespectively of who you are and where you live but we must face the reality that we have not accomplished our goal.
Education is a formative process of developing a person’s mind, character, knowledge and physical skills. Adams noted in an essay titled “To ‘Be’ or to ‘Do’” that there are “…two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live. Surely these should never be confused in the mind of any man who has the slightest inkling of what culture is. For most of us it is essential that we should make a living...In the complications of modern life and with our increased accumulation of knowledge, it doubtless helps greatly to compress some years of experience into far fewer years by studying for a particular trade or profession in an institution; but that fact should not blind us to another—namely, that in so doing we are learning a trade or a profession, but are not getting a liberal education as human beings.”
There is no doubt that making a living, being able to protect and raise a family, is a fundamental need: It is the right to live. These are the two fundamental needs of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Physiological and Safety Needs. That is why we have actively supported UNICEF around the world for many years, raising and donating millions of dollars to support their education programs. Every day, 22,000 children die from reasons we know how to prevent. Every day, UNICEF provides lifesaving interventions to address immediate threats to a child’s life. But the cycle of poverty will only be disrupted if we educate and empower the children to successfully deal with the challenges of their environment and to build strong, effective and self-sustained communities.
Education is the ultimate weapon in this battle for survival.