Concerned Citizen

It's hard to feel that the arts are slowly filtering out of the school system when you live in Provo, Utah. Music especially seems intrinsic in the Mormon culture, with every other child able to play the piano or sing angelically. However, more and more arts education is leaving mainstream school systems in favor of more "practical" skills such as sciences or athleticism.
In our reading in class this week, it says "Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefit." It continues on to discuss the progression of cultural rights in general and their ability to allow self-expression in ways that make sense to us. However, if this cultural and media-literacy is to disappear from schools, that ability to express in any particular medium that might benefit one specific person the most deeply will disappear. For example, in this class I often find myself frustrated by my lack of previous instruction and skill, and if I had come into it with more outside knowledge, I might feel more prepared to tackle these projects. However, with my limited arts education, despite extracurriculars all through grade school, I still find myself unable to express the intentions of my mind.
While this is a very concentrated example, and many people are not arts-minded and would be frustrated in an educational system that forces any sort of medium down their throat they aren't naturally comfortable with, the exposure to this kind of culture can only benefit students as a whole. Though perhaps a general knowledge of classical music or historical paintings won't help a surgeon as he operates, it just might allow him to put a family at ease with small talk using such facts that are separate from the medical situation entirely. The knowledge of these artistic pieces can create an empathy that a scientific background alone could not possibly allow.
Our concerned citizen, Daysha Lassiter, speaks about her worries of an ever-shrinking emphasis on the importance of arts educationally, specifically that of music education. As a junior in her pursuit of a Bachelor's degree in music, she speaks of the benefits she sees in musical education on students as an emotional output that would be deprived in an artless education. Multiple scientific studies back up her theory on the benefits of musical education especially, showing increased test and language scores for those who participate in musical endeavors as well as the typical school work. We felt this issue was incredibly relevant, and Daysha's conviction was powerful enough to adequately address this issue.
When we filmed Daysha, we didn't want to focus on much other than her and the little pieces of her through her surroundings. Like with "Rusty" that we watched in class, we wanted the focus to totally on her, and felt her words were more important than any sort of film picture could be. We didn't want to over pack it with b-roll footage that might cause wandering concentration, and felt using primarily establishing personality shots did more towards that than some of the other clips we had would.
Though large scale political movement may not be possible, many people like Daysha are urging for the return to funding and aiding arts programs.  VH1, a cable TV channel devoted to music, has created the Save the Music Foundation which provides educational and scholarship opportunities for children unable to find it in their local schools. Through these movements and those that continue to come with increased passion and public movement, we might be able to bring arts education in its entirety to schools.

Holla @ Hunter, my fellow project skank!