We live in complicated times. Dueling pandemics of COVID and systemic racism. Historic, sometimes overwhelming, crises in our custodianship of this grand democratic experiment.
So much is broken, so much strained.
These times beg the question, how do we chart a path forward?
History suggests that there is such a path that runs squarely through the heart of engagement with those of divergent views. It is a deeply democratic ideal. but critical that we find a space of such democratic exchange while simultaneously standing firmly in principles of social justice. That is not an easy thing. Its difficult, however, does not diminish its importance.
History has judged either of those things absent the other as insufficient. It requires us to summon what Lincoln referred to as our “better angels.” Recent events have revealed the complexity and importance of communicating with those with divergent views without compromising our principles and the core foundations on which our democracy is constructed. That is a tall order and prompt the eternal question, “But how?”
The arts are a powerful way “in” to these more powerful ways of knowing one another and deepening our bonds of civic engagement.
The task (and opportunity) before us to prepare our young people to be thoughtful and engaged participants in our democracy is ever present.
Schools play a profound role as a great equalizer in our shared social contract. Arguably, public schools are the last place in America where we come together in shared spaces; where the things that divide us give way to the things that connect us. While our history is rife with abundant evidence that we have not always gotten this right, our public system of schooling provides the promise of laying the foundation for a diverse, dynamic and equitable society.
And arts education provides a blueprint for the kinds of learning that our children need to thrive not only as students, but also as human beings and citizens. Deep arts learning provides a pathway to deeper self-reflection, ways of knowing the “other,” and communicating across lines of race, zip code, ability, language status, or many of the other ways that our systems have sorted and selected us. That process demands reflection that is informed by historical context, and grounded in the reality that there are multiple experiences, backgrounds, and truths that define us.
Art has many purposes from the skill-based to the social-emotional to the cultural. It also has profound implications for building the skills and habits of mind of an informed democracy citizenry. It is the latter function that I have been reflecting on of late, as we stand on the precipice of the unknown future of our democracy. This kind of art (and learning) is substantive and requires equal doses of creativity, research, and reflection. It is not for the weak of heart. It is rigorous. It is intensive. It is consequential. And it has never been more important.
It is through painting, sculpture, spoken word, creative writing, drama and digital arts that our young people learn to make sense of our world, their own place in it and share their own unique voice and point of view. The habits of mind that the artist exemplifies — inquiry, reflection, creativity and expression — are not only the skills of good art making, but also are the skills of good students, engaged citizens and inspired leaders.
The arts chart a path to self-knowledge, and that is a good thing. But they also provide the skills that help us better define who we are, and should be, as a people. There is a promise of America that is embedded our shared consciousness as a people. It is the promise of a nation of diverse views, but shared agreements; rigorous debate, but embedded values in our humanity.
We haven’t yet attained that vision of who we might be.
But we stand at the threshold of opportunity.