Boys and the Arts

I watched the Tony Awards, the Oscars of the theatre world, with my 12-year-old son last night. We critiqued the musical numbers, commented on the plays and predicted the winners. And at the end of the night, my 12-year-old son watched me jump off the couch and applaud my childhood best friend as he took the stage at Radio City Music Hall, part of the crowd accepting Memphis' award for Best Musical.

I was proud of my friend because he's my friend, but also because he and I grew up together, here in a small midwestern town where sports reign supreme. I watched, supported and shared his interest in the arts over the years, listenting to Phantom of the Opera in his room (on new-fangled CDs!) and applauding wildly the first time we saw Cats. We sang in choirs together, acted in plays together and attended the theatre together.

But while all of those activities were deemed OK (if not cool) for me, my friend fought an uphill battle because boys, you see, aren't supposed to like art. Boys are supposed to be manly and tough and strong. They're supposed to play football, not participate in show choir.

That was the message, at least, 20 years ago in this small town. Things are changing -- and I give a ton of credit to the choir director who came our junior year, who elevated the arts in our community -- but culturally speaking, the message still looms large. The arts are for girls -- or fags.

Don't believe me? In his 2002 report, Engaging Boys in the Arts, Scott Harrison cities a number of studies that uncovered stereotypical and homophobic beliefs about boys in art:

• From Hanley, 1998

Singing is viewed a feminine activity - boys who engage in singing are feminine by implication... the peer group is hung up on the image that boys don't sing and those who do are gay or sissies or whatever - weak anyway

• From Levine, 1995

American adults held...that only certain occupations were appropriate for homosexuals... They included nurse, librarian, airline steward, waiter, interior decorator, hairdresser and dancer, musician and artist...Homophobic men do not participate in sissy, womanly, homosexual activities or interests...Fear of being thought to be a homosexual thus keeps some men from pursuing areas of interest, or occupations, considered more appropriate for women or homosexuals.

Yes, the studies are older studies, but given the trouble my son's show choir has attracting male members, I don't things have changed as much as we'd like to believe. As far as art is concerned, our sons face some serious obstacles.

That's why I'm so glad my son watched the Tonys with me. He's been interested in music, dance and theatre from the beginning, and while we've encouraged his passions, nothing compares to a role model. When my son watched the Tonys last night, he heard performer after performer reference their dreams, dreams that once-upon-a-time seemed impossible. And when he saw me jump off the couch and my friend take the stage, he knew, somewhere deep in his soul, that boys from small midwestern towns can do anything they want.

A Great Teacher

I've blogged about good teachers before. But now, based on a comment from Ron Doyle, a former educator and current blogger, I'd like to talk about great teachers.

Ron said:
I believe a great teacher is someone who inspires learners to take their curiosities, transform them into objectives, and take actions that will benefit themselves and humanity.

Which makes me wonder if great teachers vary, depending on the student. Is it possible the some teachers simply click with some students? Maybe "greatness" depends more upon the relationship and personalities of the teacher and the students than anything else. On the other hand, I think we all recognize that some teachers are truly transformational leaders. Ever seen Stand and Deliver?

At the very least, greatness begins with dedication. A truly great teacher is dedicated to his or her students, putting their needs above state objectives and curriculum requirements. A great teacher finds a way to teach the material while making it relevant to his students' lives. Great teachers don't start their day at 8 am and end at 3 pm; great teachers are constantly, even subconsicously, thinking of ways to help their students. Great teachers -- like Mr. Todd Kruger at Mayville High School -- go above and beyond. (If you check out the link, go to pg. 4. Great teachers also rarely toot their own horns, preferring to work behind the scenes for their students' success.)

Todd Kruger is the vocal music instructor at Mayville High School. He also leads a multitude of extracurricular musical groups, including Capella Choir, junior and senior high show choirs, Vocal Jazz and much, much more. His musical groups have performed throughout the country and won multiple awards; his students have gone on to careers in show business all over the world.

Yes, he teaches them music. More than that, though, he teaches them about life. Mr. Kruger spends hours with his students, both before, during and after school. He spends weekends traveling to competitions with "his kids" and often -- often -- works for no extra pay. The kids, meanwhile, learn confidence and dedication and teamwork.

Twenty years ago, Mr. Kruger was my teacher. Today, he directs Boy #1 in show choir and I couldn't be more pleased.

More on great teachers tomorrow. Meanwhile, tell me about a great teacher in your life.

Snapshot Sunday: On Stage

Doing Nothing

After lunch today, I sat back on the sofa and sipped my soda.

To the casual observer, it may have looked like I was doing nothing. (Especially since I periodically closed my eyes.) But if you looked closer, you would have seen education in action.

In reality, I was helping Boy #2 write a story. He LOVES to draw and last night created his very own super hero and nemesis. Today, he drew an entire cartoon story featuring his characters -- 5 pages with 4 panels each, plus a title page. Since he's not yet an independent writer, I'd promised him that I would help him add words to his book after lunch.

Writer that I am, I pictured narrative sentences. Comic book kid that he is, he imagined sound effects. He asked me how to spell "whoosh" and "beep" and "aaargh!" and a thousand other things I can't even type because I have no idea how to replicate those sounds with letters.

He became frustrated with me. He retreated to another room. I gave him time and space before settling in next to him on the couch. We tried again. I expected him to hand over the pencil at any time -- "You do it, Mom" -- because he hates writing. But he didn't. This was his book, his story, and he seemed determined to do it himself.

Frame-by-frame, he filled in the words. Sound effects. Dialogue. He asked for the spelling of words he didn't know and I replied -- sitting there, on the couch, eyes closed, sipping my soda.

At times, it took all of my patience to sit quietly and repeat the letters. His frames, after all, went from the upper left corner of the page, down to the lower left, then up to the right and down again. His spacing was occasionally non-existent. A couple of his letters were reversed. And he, intent on his project, was often less-than-patient.

My 12-year-old son, meanwhile, kicked off Black History Month by reading three books about the Underground Railroad in front of the woodstove.

I sat on the couch and did nothing....

...except allow my children to learn in ways that suit their natural learning styles. Boy #2 developed fine motor skills, spelling, handwriting, reading, writing and language skills. His story had a definite plot and two distinct characters. It featured a beginning, middle and end. Boy #1 reveled in historical knowledge -- from books I'd selected on a previous trip to the library and left casually laying around the house. Is it a co-incidence that tomorrow we go see The Freedom Train, a musical about the life of Harriet Tubman? I think not.

Real, vital learning is frequently invisible. Often, the best teachers are as well.

Super Scientific Circus

Today the boys and I saw the Super Scientific Circus with our homeschool group. It was great! Using laughter, music and an uncanny sense of comedic timing, our host, Mr. Fish, and his assistant, Trent the Mime, taught us about gravity, centripetal force, air pressure and more.

The kids were literally jumping out of their seats in excitement. When Mr. Fish said, "Well, according to the clock, we need to wrap up our science exploration," all the kids in the audience yelled "NO!!!" They wanted MORE. The same kids who are more than likely bored to tears in science class at school couldn't wait to see and hear more.

Which just goes to show -- learning can be fun. It's all a matter of finding out what interests your kids. Find out what makes them tick, and you can find a way into almost any subject. In this case, Mr. Fish used magic and laughter -- two things guaranteed to get the attention of almost every child -- to teach concepts that all too often are distilled down into a few boring sentences on a page.

The best part of his show was that it strongly encourages further investigation and learning. As a matter of fact, if you go to his web page, and click on Study Guides and Super Scientific Circus, you can learn how to stick a needle through a balloon (without it popping!), make your own boomerang and more.

Give it a try, and let me know how it works out!