Keynote speaker says arts need to be ‘beating heart’ of education

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The arts need to become the beating heart of education.

That was the message delivered Wednesday by Sir Ken Robinson during the keynote speech for the Governor's Awards for the Arts.

Robinson, best-selling author of "Out of Our Minds," is known for his focus on creativity in education and the arts. A much sought-after speaker, he wowed the packed house with his powerful message, delivered at the Community Arts Center.

"Sir Ken Robinson's work ... has helped a generation of artists and advocates put our work in a broader context that is relevant for everyone who wants to see America thrive in the 21st Century," said Kendria Perry of Pittsburgh, Miss Pennsylvania 2008 and an advocate for arts in education.

Perry said the arts help kids to develop the skills employers value most, including critical analysis skills, reading and language skills, mathematics skills, the ability to think creatively to solve problems and the ability to work in teams.

"And, I truly believe that the combination of a complete education, which includes the arts, with the ability to market oneself as a unique commodity is the best defense our youth can have," she said.

Robinson, who lives in Los Angeles with his family, began his presentation with a story about Las Vegas, where he and his wife renewed their wedding vows two years ago on their 25th wedding anniversary.

"If you think about it, there's no reason for Vegas to be where it is," Robinson said. "The only reason Las Vegas has grown there at all is because of a specific power humans possess: the power of imagination."

Robinson said other animals may have imagination, but they don't build upon it like humans do.

"We go where the ideas go," he said of humans. "Animals sing but they don't write operas; they gesture but they don't write poetry."

Robinson said imagination will take us safely into the future and that society is squandering it, particularly in education.

Perry agreed. "I am shining a particular spotlight on the role that the arts can play in preparing our youth for the future," she said. "I'd especially like to reach out to rural areas of Pennsylvania - Pennsylvanians who may not have access to the kind of large-scale arts programming that is available in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia."

Robinson said he recently spoke at a conference with Al Gore, who spoke about the global climate crisis.

"I think we have another crisis," Robinson said. "The lack of human resources."

He said children are born bright-eyed and brilliant and that something happens to them along the way: They get "educated."

He told a story about having lunch with Paul McCartney two years ago. McCartney and George Harrison both went to a school in Liverpool that didn't think the two had much musical talent.

"One teacher had half of the Beatles in his class and he missed it," Robinson said. "Elvis was not allowed in his school glee club because they thought he would ruin their sound."

Robinson said he was not criticizing educators, only the system that focuses on standardized testing.

"When I saw No Child Left Behind, I knew Americans got irony," he said. "Because millions of children are left behind."

Robinson stressed that standardized testing is not the same as raising standards.

"Kids are treated as units of improvement, not people," he said. "And education is personal. It's about people."

Robinson said the students in attendance had a great teacher to bring them along.

"No school is better than its teachers," Robinson said. "Invest in great teachers."

"This was more than I expected," said Stacy Olexy, an art teacher at Oley Valley High School in Berks County who brought a group of art students to the event. "My only regret is that I didn't have more students come; this was a wonderful experience, one the students will be talking about."

Hillary Lane, a senior at Oley Valley, said there was a lot of truth to Robinson's message and that she realizes she can pursue the arts as a career and not just a hobby.

"I've taken every art class offered at Oley Valley," she said. "Photography is my passion."

"Youth participation in the arts is more important now than ever," Perry said. "And the great thing is, you don't have to force it. Our young people are capable, ready and willing. All they need is the opportunity to develop their unique gifts. An investment in arts education is an investment in our greatest natural resource - it's investing in human capital and we will see the returns."

"Teachers are like great farmers," Robinson said. "They plant the seed and then let the flower grow."