“That’s not failing, that’s just falling!” Yesterday I wrote about a generation of kids afraid to fall. Here’s Part II: The Good News.
The arts teach kids to fall and to get back up.
Piano lessons, choir and band, musicals, plays, dance troupes. Painting, drawing, sculpture. Being involved in the arts means coming face-to-face with falling, repeatedly. The arts teachers I know specialize in giving kids the skills to get back up from a fall and recognizing that falling isn’t failing.
Of course, you will learn to fall down and get up in football and hockey, too. But without the pressure of a coach worrying about winning, you are far more likely to take risks and fall flat on your face.
Parents: put your kids in the arts. The life lessons they learn there will change their lives.
Arts Teachers: remember that what we’re doing isn’t just teaching music, theatre, dance, or art. We are teaching the most important skills these kids will need to live lives of substance.