What have you done in the last week... today... in the last two hours... in the last meeting... to challenge the culture of 'can't do', to cut out the rubbish, to knock down the walls, to focus on the things that really matter and to do the things that will really make a difference! We can all make a real difference, so what is holding you back? …just do it!
We need to work with teachers and schools to create a powerful curriculum offer where every child and young person experiences storytelling, art and design, dance, drama and music! We need teachers and schools that help grow, develop and nurture the designers, coaches, inventors, teachers, storytellers, carers, artisans, artists, dancers, musicians and performers of the future! Strange how in this post-pandemic learning landscape where creativity, imagination and ideas matter, we are still more interested in literacy and numeracy than the arts, which have at their heart the skills and attributes required to thrive and succeed at school, at work and in life. Surely the two should go hand in hand! We need to start by making a series of promises to every child and every young person... a series of promises that ensure they all have access to a rich diet of culture and the arts... whatever it takes!
We know that creativity is an important foundation for learning, productivity, and success.
In an increasingly complex world where colleagues, families, schools and businesses are facing relentless pressure, facing higher and higher expectations and facing increased and increasing demands to do things more efficiently and more effectively, we need to remember that teamwork matters!
"Because of the Department for Education’s school accountability systems, many schools are reducing the numbers of hours, teachers, subjects and choices on offer. This risks strangling the talent pipeline to the creative industries and robbing children of the social mobility and opportunities that the arts offer. There is a real risk that the benefits of studying the arts will become the preserve of only those who can pay for it."
"One of the reasons why we get stuck in education is that our thinking is framed by so many myths.
"Co-Create is a one-day festival produced by York St John University that celebrates the making of music, dance and theatre with, for and by members of the youth community. We are interested in performance as a vehicle to entertain and promote social justice and community empowerment, and in turn highlighting the value of being a socially engaged university."
I hope that everyone who reads my blog has a happy, healthy, safe and successful 2021 and that it brings you and those you love and care about, peace, fulfillment and all the things you really, really want.
Most importantly, after the year we have just had, love what you are doing, love the people you are with and simply be happy! And always remember that when it comes down to it the only things that really matter are faith, family and friends!
