by Jango Sircus, P.S. ARTS Board member
The arts are such an integral part of a child’s life — transformative, therapeutic, and joyful. I believe that they are an under-appreciated cornerstone of a complete education. On a practical level, the arts keep kids in school while letting them work through issues in a very real way that research has shown keeps kids off the streets and creates productive citizens. But it goes much deeper than that. The arts are active, not passive, and they push a child’s brain into creative and lateral thinking, which leads to improved performance in all other academic subjects. There is no better organization so well suited to deliver on this promise than P.S. ARTS.
The arts are such an integral part of a child’s life — transformative, therapeutic, and joyful.
The arts have impacted my life in ways that are hard to express. There’s something so visceral and connective about creating something from nothing. A spark of inspiration fueled by imagination burns bright and everlasting. I’m an accountant, not an artist; I love math and numbers. However, my most vivid and tangible memories growing up often involve the arts. Why do I keep an old wooden camel I built in third grade? Or a piece of chipped pottery I made in seventh grade? Why do I smile every time I hear a song from a musical I performed in? I didn’t have to choose the arts as a profession to understand the importance they have in the very fabric of our education and memories. I can only hope that every child has the same opportunities as I did to find their own personal joy through the arts.
I didn’t have to choose the arts as a profession to understand the importance they have in the very fabric of our education and memories.
If I had one piece of advice to pay forward to our P.S. ARTS students, it would be to always act on that inspiration, no matter how fleeting, to embrace your imagination, no matter how elusive it may seem, and to let art guide you in whatever endeavors lay before you. It will make you stronger, happier, and inspire you to think outside the box for the rest of your life.
