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Author Pearl S. Buck once said, “The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive.” Can you relate to this? The often highly sensitive nature of artists allows them to find beauty and joy in places that others may not. But the trade-off is that they’re...

If you’ve ever wondered what arts integration education looks like, you’re not alone. Sure, it’s something that educators at arts academy middle and high schools are more than happy to demonstrate. It’s more difficult to put it in words though. Even so, we’re going to step up to the challenge. This Is What Arts Integration...

The end of the year is winding down. But the advanced acting students at Arts Academy in the Woods in Fraser, Michigan, are gearing up for an unusual January performance. Well, it’s only unusual if you compare it to other high school acting performances around Southeast Michigan. Because this arts-integrated high school combines literature and...

As a blogger for Arts Academy in the Woods, this is a topic that’s close to my heart. So for this post, I’ll speak from that very place. Being a teenager is no cakewalk. But being an artistic and sensitive teenager is a sports-obsessed culture is even more challenging. Not having an affinity for sports...

Being a teenager is tough. Being a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning/queer (LGBTQ)  youth is much more than just tough. It can be dangerous. At a time in one’s development when conformity is the rule, LGBTQ youth are often ostracized and bullied. They can even be victims of violence because of their differences. In...

Nobody is born a racist. Children only begin to recognize difference in skin color and other physical traits around the age of 3. By the age of 5, however, they’re capable of developing negative biases based on these differences. And if they come from an environment with little to no exposure to other races and cultures,...

Is it possible that the skills mastered in arts education could be transferrable to other areas of the curriculum? It certainly seems that way. But this shouldn’t come as any big surprise. After all, if you’re over the age of 40, you probably still remember the function of a conjunction thanks to Schoolhouse Rock. And...

Creativity has always been a key part of being human. 40,000 years ago, people were making art. Of course, this said “art” consisted mostly of rudimentary drawings of animals or outlined hands of the sort young children fill in with turkey parts during Thanksgiving.  Plus, back then, creativity was more of a necessity. Early humans...

Every year, Randy Cohen compiles a list of the top ten reasons to support the arts for that given year. 2019 has been no different. So who is Randy Cohen? Only the Vice President of Research and Policy at Americans for the Arts since 1991. That’s who. So yeah, Cohen knows his stuff. He’s considered...

Any educator worth his or her salt wants their students to be successful in life. So they work hard imparting to their students the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure this success. Or, at least, success in college and the career world. And that’s the tricky part. Because that success is still largely determined by...