Lessons

Norman's Little League team from 1962, coached by his dad

Today is Friday, the end of a school week for teachers still teaching. The neighborhood kids spend each week boarding a school bus in front of my house with sleepy eyes and heavy backpacks. They all jump off the bus at 3:30 full of energy and excitement. Their day is only half over and they have places to go, lessons to take, and balls to throw.

Back in my day, I walked the five blocks to school, and after-school activities involved a snack and homework. If the weather was nice, I might have gone outside and played with the kids on the block, coming back home when dinner was ready.

I could not have been driven anywhere. My dad worked all day, as dads do, and my mom did not drive. She tried to learn, honestly. She took Driver's Ed as an adult and then drove the car into a snow bank during her driving test. Embarrassed, she abandoned the car and whoever was testing her skills, walked herself home, and that was that. So unless I was old enough to board a bus to Flushing, I kept myself busy with the kids on the block. I always had my crafts and never complained about my after-school activities. It was my time to do as I pleased and I enjoyed having the hours to myself. It was fun. I once got a big box of colorful telephone wires and my friends and I made flower rings out of the twisted wires to sell at school. Even then, if I wasn't dreaming up stories in my head, I was trying to make it as an artist.

Sports was one of the organized activities when we were young. Norman played on many teams with his dad as his coach, just as he coached our own sons after school. I don't always understand the new rules these days with everyone winning a trophy. It is almost as if people are afraid to let kids learn the value of competing in a world that will challenge them to compete all the time. At least sports continues to be a source of exercise and fresh air in this video-centric world. My son Zach learned how to be a team player and how to respect everyone else and the game. He learned the importance of fair play and that life is not always fair, all lessons that will turn any child into a fine adult. And Zach is one of the finest I know.

Music was also a thing back then. My mom hired some lady with too much perfume to give us piano lessons at home when we were young. Not that my brother or I can play (or dance... we were not born with rhythm, it seems), but we did learn how to read music, a skill I find oddly useful. My son, Sam, has a full schedule of piano, voice and ukelele lessons he offers after school for a new generation of kids who are not allowed to be bored. But that's a good thing. Music enhances your coordination, your memory skills, your sense of discipline and dedication, and if you are any good at it, you can make everyone else happy with your melodies. Thank goodness for the musicians of the world and for Sam.

This all brings me to the point of this story. What about art lessons? That was unheard of back in the day. The fact that my dad went to an "art" school was pretty progressive of his parents. As a working artist, my dad supplied me with tons of fun materials in my house and I practiced art all the time. It was my choice of activity. As my daughter Katie could tell you when she used to fill sketchbooks with intricate and beautiful line drawings (a precursor to the Zentangle books of today), art is a calming activity and it eases the stress of everything else. Art makes the world a beautiful place. So does Katie.

In my retirement, I now offer art lessons for those who want to find their creative voice. For a subject that is not considered important in public schools, art teaches critical thinking skills, a problem-solving practice that carries over to all other subjects. It increases a child's imagination and creativity in a world with robots taking over all unimaginative jobs.

Manipulating the tools in the art room enhances your fine motor skills, and art history exposes you to cultural awareness and a better understanding of your place in this world.

I could go on.

I developed the curriculum for elementary school art over many years.

Yet, art still seems to be the last thing people consider when they are raising their families. My kids all grew into better people for experiencing a full range of opportunities. You never know what will turn out to be your path to making this world a better place. Well, I'm your person if you want an after-school dose of culture. So what are you doing this afternoon?