The Muses Go to School: Inspiring Stories About the Importance of Arts in Education

by Herbert R. Kohl (Editor), Tom Oppenheim (Editor)

Overview

Hailed as an “impressive collection of remembrances and commentaries” (Choice), The Muses Go to School brings together beloved and renowned artists—including Whoopi Goldberg, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rosie Perez, and Phylicia Rashad—to share their transformative school encounters with the arts that helped them discover their inner humanity and put them on the road to fully realized creative lives. These autobiographical pieces are paired with interpretive essays by distinguished educators to produce a powerful case for positioning the arts at the center of primary and secondary school curriculums. Spanning a range of genres from acting and music to literary and visual arts, these smart and entertaining voices make surprising connections between the arts and the development of intellect, imagination, spirit, emotional intelligence, self–;esteem, and self–;discipline of young people.

Herbert Kohl and Tom Oppenheim have created “a superbly articulate assemblage of intensely personal, interdisciplinary voices” (Booklist), revealing that creative arts are a critical element of any education.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781595589415
Publisher:	New Press, The
Publication date:	01/07/2014
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Herbert Kohl is a celebrated writer, teacher, and advocate. He is the author of more than forty books, including 36 Children. A recipient of a National Book Award and a Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, he was the founder and first director of the Teachers and Writers Collaborative in New York City and established the PEN West Center in San Francisco. He lives in Point Arena, California. Tom Oppenheim is the artistic director of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. A lifelong New Yorker, he studied acting at the National Shakespeare Conservatory and with his grandmother Stella Adler. He has numerous theater, film, and television credits and is the recipient of the 2009 Laurette Taylor award from Theatre East. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Preface: The Necessity of Art in Public Education Herbert Kohl xi

Introduction: The Arts and Social Justice Tom Oppenheim xxi

1 "Tears in the Dark": The Arts as a Vehicle for the Discovery of the Self 1

Rosie Perez 3

Michelle Fine 16

2 "Communication from One's Heart": The Arts and the Development of Self-Discipline 23

Phylicia Rashad 25

Lisa Delpit 37

3 "An Affair with One's Soul": The Arts and the Development of Cultural Identity 43

Frances Lucerna 45

Bill Ayers 61

4 "Good, Hard Work": The Arts, Lifelong Commitments, Pleasures, and Pains 69

Bill T. Jones 71

Kevin Truitt 79

5 "Teaching on the Bandstand": The Intergenerational Legacy of the Arts 87

David Amram 89

Gary Stager 97

6 "Walking into the Fire": The Arts as an Integrative Force in Learning 101

Philip Seymour Hoffman 103

Deborah Meier 112

7 "I Taste It When I Look at It": The Importance of Arts for Those Who Learn Differently 119

Whoopi Goldberg 121

Diane Ravitch 128

8 "The Only Thing That Will Save Us from Ourselves": The Arts, Social Engagement, and Social Transformation 135

Moisés Kaufman 137

Steve Seidel 147

9 "Enriching Society": The Communal Power of the Arts 165

Mike Medavoy 167

Colin Greer 171

10 "Rebellions, Breakthroughs, and Secret Gardens": The Arts and Imagination 175

Maxine Greene 177

Shirley Brice Heath 186

Afterword Robert Jackson 193

A Note to the Reader 199

Editorial Reviews

"Powerful narratives that put a human face on the often-dry statistical studies…a passionate and personal reflection upon the effects of America's educational policies."
—The Washington Independent Review of Books

From the Publisher