I think in the context of this class and art education and why it is important a key point in the reading is on page 173 when Shana is able to succeed through poetry in a class she usually fails in. The poetry project helped her to see value in herself and her culture. I think this is very important. In cases where there are different classes and races in schools the arts can give them an opportunity to find themselves in different ways. They could not be doing well in there math and English classes but then they can find an outlet through art and gain a new respect from their peers that way.

It resonates with me because I am Finnish American. I grew up in my home speaking English with only my mom. I always struggled in my classes especially English. I still struggle in classes with a lot of reading and critical analysis. I some how feel like I am on an elementary reading level in college and while I have many abstract and conceptual thoughts and am able to make art work from my soul that is something to look at writing a paper or reading a long reading seems like one of the most difficult things to do. So I in the same way find myself finding value in myself through art much like Shana, the girl I wrote about earlier.

This reading is alot of history and I think it is just confusing to think about how things were back then. Having segregated schools..... some people not even being aloud to attend schools. And how it seems to be still the case that there are not the traditional "segregation" in schools but a separation between the well-off white folk and the poor and races. But from all of that and all the historical and political talk which personally is hard for me to read and take in comes to prove how important the art are to have around so I guess then it proves its point.

New questions? Just wondering how there could be a more equal society in general? In an ideal world how would education be changed if every kid had equal opportunity on all fronts in the home also.

I think it deepened my thinking in making me put things into a historical context and really being reminded of how far society has come but also how far it has to go.

I mentioned how it related to me as a learner already. I am not quite a special needs child but I do find my self value through the arts. I really related to the passage about Shana.

One of the key points was how important imagination was. How it provides a safety net for experimentation and rehearsal. Along with imagination sensibility was important, to slow down and savoy things. I think these both could be related to the eight habits of mind. I think Imagination is part of expression and sensibility is part of observation.

Another key point in the reading was representation. Representation stabilizes an idea or image in a material and makes possible dialog with it. This is one of the main parts of art without representation there would be no art. It is the part that connects our consciousness with the material world. When we can take something and represented it in some kind of material for and present it to the world.

Another key point was about how the arts can direct our thinking. Specifically how it can direct our thinking inward and we can observe what we see or feel. There are not many times or things in this world that allow us to reflect on ourselves as people. When we can look at art and be moved, we discover that that is possible. Art helps us discover the emotional contours or ourselves. Parts of our brain and sense of self that we did not know existed.

"Learning how to become the architect of your own experience and therefore learning how to create yourself" I full-heartedly believe in this and I think the arts is a very important thing to have to keep young peoples minds open to really knowing that this is possible and you do create yourself and life is what you make it.