Reading for Treasure: The Arts are Critical

Unless you are completely unplugged, you know that the Writers Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild, and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists are on strike. The people who write, perform, and create our on-screen entertainment are asking for a reasonable, sustainable, and appropriate share of the profits from their creations. Their artistry is critical to the well-being of our nation. I fully support their efforts and strike. 

Similarly, there is plenty of evidence to show that students engaged in art activities in school receive unique benefits. However, not enough students get these experiences. Arts Education is essential to our schools! 

Here are a few articles that prove this point: 

KQED: “How arts education builds better brains and better lives”

“Students with access to arts education are five times less likely to drop out of school and four times more likely to be recognized for high achievement. They score higher on the SAT, and on proficiency tests of literacy, writing, and English skills. They are also less likely to have disciplinary infractions. And when arts education is equitable so that all kids have equal access, the learning gap between low- and high-income students begins to shrink.” 

The New York Amsterdam News: “The Case for Arts Education” 

“Research also shows that children who participate in arts education are more curious, seek out different viewpoints and experiences, and are more socially engaged, says Jamie Kasper, director of the Arts Education Partnership. This means they are more likely to vote, run for office, and volunteer, and they have better life skills, like time management and prioritization.” 

The Washington Post: “How Theatre can teach our kids to be empathetic” 

“Several studies show communication skills are the most essential skills for navigating American adult life — better communicators are hired more often, enjoy happier relationships and marriages, ascend to leadership positions, and possess higher self-esteem. The ability to manage personal emotions and to recognize them in others — also known as emotional intelligence — is a predictor of academic and professional success. These skills are often taught through Social Emotional Learning programs, offered in K-12 schools in 27 states. But they are also a by-product of theater class, according to a recent study from George Mason University and the Commonwealth Theatre Center.” 

Buzz Feed: “14 Ways Being A Drama Kid Can Help You As An Adult”

Public speaking, teamwork, empathy, confidence, humility, reading,  and memorization are some of the skills that kids involved in theatre performance develop! 

Science Daily: “Major benefits for students who attend live theater, study finds”

“Field trips to live theater enhance literary knowledge, tolerance, and empathy among students, according to a study. The research team found that reading and watching movies of Hamlet and A Christmas Carol could not account for the increase in knowledge experienced by students who attended live performances of the plays. Students who attended live performances of the play also scored higher on the study's tolerance measure than the control group by a moderately large margin and were better able to recognize and appreciate what other people think and feel.” 

I am currently reading The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin 

Return to the Comic Cons: Cons Run By Fans and Cons Run For Profit

I attend science fiction fan conventions. Since I was in high school, I have loved their community, conversation, and connection. The first conventions I attended were not-for-profit events run by fans. The folks organizing these conventions were doing it for the love of fandom. 

These conventions featured panel discussions, film, video, and game rooms, music events, art shows, dealers' rooms, con suites (to eat and talk), and countless other planned and unplanned fun. They were immersive all day (and much of the night) experiences. The featured guests at these conventions were usually writers, artists, and, in the early days, movie and television creators and stars. Even when I attended alone, I was pulled into parties, conversations, and made friends I still see at cons today. 

In the eighties, soon after the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I attended some conventions run by companies for profit. These conventions were different than the fan cons. Initially, these pro conventions only had two spaces: a main stage and a shopping mall. Sometimes, there were exhibit spaces as well. The guests at these conventions were almost exclusively movie and television stars and creators. 

Over the years, I had seen all of the original Star Trek series cast and many from the other series at a fan-run convention in St. Louis called Space Trek. However, as the pro cons grew, they became the primary or only way to see the on-screen (or screen-related) celebrities. 

At these pro run cons, I often felt like a commodity. These for-profit conventions were shows. I found a seat in a big main stage room and stayed there most of the day. Many of the presentations felt like commercials. I felt like the Ferengi had taken over the con business. 

To be fair, a few of the fan-run conventions focused far more on literary science fiction than television, movies, or comic books – sometimes with a problematic attitude. I remember a person at a panel sneering, “Haven’t you ever read Left Hand of Darkness?” But this was not true at all fan cons; each one had a unique personality. 

I was introduced to science fiction through short stories and novels and I have always been a reader. I am also an enthusiastic fan of genre television shows and movies. There are fan conventions that catered to all of these interests, even if some had a higher-brow tone. But the pro conventions focused on comic books and media (and related products). The fan cons focused on what the fans who organized and attended them wanted: some were more literary, some were more media-focused, and some included anime, comic books, music, art, and more. 

In the 90s, I was immersed in my career and family, so spending the entire weekend at a convention was impractical. Sometimes, spending a Saturday was a luxury.  I did my best to go to the two local fan-run conventions, Windycon and Capricon, as often as my schedule permitted – which wasn’t as often as I wanted. 

For decades, my connection to fandom was through these two conventions. I did not attend the big comic cons that had become popular or the professionally run conventions focused on Star Trek or newly popular franchises. Since I didn’t have as much time (or money) for conventions, when I went, I wanted to connect with community and have substantive conversations and experiences. The pro cons felt like cotton candy, the fan cons were a sustaining meal! 

As my children and I grew older, I attended a few fan-run World Science Fiction Conventions, which were everything I loved about conventions writ gargantuan. I ventured out and went to a few fan-run conventions out of town. 

Recently, I retired. Now, I have time. I attended my first comic con, C2E2 (Chicago Comics and Entertainment Exhibition). When the folks who run C2E2 announced a major Star Trek convention in Chicago, it felt like an opportunity to reacquaint myself with the pro cons. 

I enjoyed C2E2 and Star Trek Mission: Chicago. However, if I have to make a choice between these stage and store cons and the cons run by fans for fans, I am going to the latter. I had a good time and I met some nice people, but the connections were superficial and commercial. 

All conventions must make money. There are bills to pay. Convention spaces don’t donate their space or resources. However, the commercial focus at C2E2 and Mission: Chicago was prominent. For example, it was very clear that Mission: Chicago’s real mission was to sell the new Star Trek shows. It was peddling all sorts of products and subscriptions connected to them. That was its main purpose. The celebration, exploration, and community were by-products when fans buy products. 

I liked hearing from the stars and creators, yet I missed the analysis and thoughtful conversations that are often present during smaller panels. The comedian emcees at Mission: Chicago did not seem to be fans themselves and often, perhaps unconsciously, took a condescending tone. I sometimes felt like I was at an event for children. 

I met some very nice people and had good conversations with the folks sitting around me. We didn’t walk to the con suite and sit down and talk. We didn’t ask each other, “Where are you going next?” I doubt we’ll see each other at the next con. 

I was pleased to see that both pro conventions had some events beyond the main stage. However, they were few. There were a few costume-related events, a secondary stage, and a panel room (or two); skimpy by even COVID fan con standards. 

The pro cons are not cheap! They want high prices for entry – and all the stuff in the exhibit hall. They also sell products related to their famous star guests: autographs, photo opportunities, and other ways to rub shoulders with celebrities were main items on the menu– for a price. 

Fans created these conventions many years ago. Business people now use them as marketing tools. Conventions, for me, are far more than celebrities and shopping. 

I wonder what all the folks who go to these big productions would think of their local conventions? Would they join a fan group, help with a fan-based charity project, discuss a book, and become more substantively connected to the brilliant, inclusive, and thriving fan family? I hope so. The World Science Fiction Convention is coming to Chicago over Labor Day Weekend. Windycon is in November and Capricon is in February. Join us! 

Reading For Treasure: Schools in the Pandemic

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

As I took my walk, I saw many parents walking their children to our local elementary school. I see signs about opening school and posts addressing concerns if we do. So this month, let’s talk about school. 

Usually, the articles I recommend from McSweeney’s are satire. This one is not. The writer is a high school English teacher who sarcastically says, “I Started School In Person This Week, And It Went Fine.”  Reopening schools does not mean schools as they used to be at all. 

A second piece from McSweeney’s is a masterful parody of the short piece “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid. This one is called “Teacher” and it is a great complement to the piece above. 

I am not sure how I landed at the Des Moines Register’s article, “9 ways America is having the wrong conversation about 'reopening' schools.” But it outlines the issues we are talking about – and those we are ignoring when we discuss going back to in-person classes. 

Education is built on relationships. Starting a relationship through a Zoom class is difficult for adults and extremely challenging for children and teenagers. Mindshift from KQED examines a wonderful solution in this article about looping, the practice where students have the same teacher for multiple years: “How Teacher Looping Can Ease the Learning Disruptions Caused by Coronavirus”

As a retired teacher and former dungeon master, I loved the idea that, especially as we use computers to reach our students, we can use some of the best lessons from Dungeons and Dragons to engage our students! This second article from Mindshift from KEQD provides, “Five Best Practices Teachers Can Learn from Dungeon Masters.”

It’s not only classroom experiences that have transformed as schools moved to remote learning. Students in the performing arts have adapted their work to the screen, too. This short radio story from NPR focuses on one high school’s play, but I have heard concerts and watched performances that have been artfully adapted so students can still create beautiful work, even in this frightening time “Performing In A Pandemic: Taking The High School Play Online”

Three articles from The Atlantic; The first two deal with issues regarding the college admission process. First, a professor from Tufts recommends, “The Easiest Reform for College Admissions.” Then, the president of Johns Hopkins University explains, “Why We Ended Legacy Admissions at Johns Hopkins.”

Lastly, echoing arguments I have been making since last spring, this Atlantic article states the obvious, “School Wasn’t So Great Before COVID, Either” and makes recommendations for improvements. COVID is an opportunity to reimagine and improve education. We should do far more than create an online analog! 

I am currently reading A Promised Land by Barak Obama.

Stolen Performances: The Theft of the Focus

I teach high school English and theatre. I am well aware of students’ sensitivity to their physical and behavioral image in front of their friends. It is not really a joke to say that many kids behave as if a reality TV camera was following them and broadcasting their every move to millions.

Yet it is not only high school students who have a sense that they are performing in public. Their parents and families behave that way, too. And like their kids, they have a very focused sense of audience.

I have always been uncomfortable with the cheering and yelling at our high school graduation. I have written about it. Similarly, I avoid events, especially performing arts events, where there is a great deal of audience screaming of student names. Not only does it make me uncomfortable, it shifts the focus from those on stage (whatever the nature of that stage) to those in the audience.

I have increasingly seen this overzealous cheering as a kind of performance. It is an attempt by non-performers to get in on the act. There are many ways we can show our pride and appreciation for a graduate, performer, athlete, or actor. When the means is screaming their name (often having the effect of making it impossible to hear the next graduate’s name or to appreciate the performance itself), an odd alliance has formed. The performer (or graduate) gets extra attention (which might feel good) and so does the audience member – but the others pay the price for this. It is a kind of theft.

It is that second part that strikes me as problematic. Graduation is not about the audience. A performance, game, or ceremony is not about the viewers. The focus should be on the kids. But some of us just can’t let them shine.

There are many times when people put on a show. They want the attention that actors, athletes, and public figures enjoy. Being silently (or appropriately) supportive is inadequate because they want to steal the spotlight or at the very least share it.

That is what the screamer does. That is what the person yelling, “Yeah, Muffy” at the show is doing. They are joining the show. They are moving themselves into the center, where they don’t belong. They are saying, “I’m on stage, too!”

Kids do this in classrooms: they want to upstage the student participating or the teacher instructing. It is a kind of power play: look at me, they are saying; I am so good that I can steal the attention from the person who had it. I can steal it, even if only for a moment, and even under the pretense of being a good and supportive audience member, student or parent. Aren’t I special? I’m not doing anything wrong. I am cheering on my friend!

We have a lot of kids taking our beginning theatre class. I wonder that we don’t have more. I am not surprised that many of those kids first need a instruction in giving and taking focus, collaborating, listening, and most of all concentration.

Almost daily, I see a student walking down the hall making faces into a smartphone. They are performing for their SnapChat friends. The number of likes that they receive on Instagram or Facebook is very important. Performances are more important if they are for larger audiences.

Why this need to steal focus? Why the desire to grab the camera and be liked? Why the desire to photo-bomb, yell out, or upstage? Are we starved for attention and positive reinforcement? Are we addicted to it?

In the theatre, we call these people stage-hogs. In some sports, they have a similar term: ball-hogs. They may be talented. They may be skilled, but they are not fun to play with. They aren’t team players. They aren’t generous and collaborative.

It is a kind of selfishness. It is a refusal to acknowledge that others have the same worth as we do. It says, “ Me and mine are more important than you! I can steal your center stage time because I deserve it at least as much as you do – even if I am not graduating, even if I didn’t work for weeks on the performance or team, even if I am just here as an audience member, I have the right to step on stage and be the star – even if the only way I do that is to pretend that I am really cheering the star on.”

There are lots of ways to show appreciation and support. Stealing the focus is the lowest and the cheapest. If you want to put on a show, try out or audition.