It was Gary Stager who first mentioned Alfie Kohn to our cadre. This theme, 'education as creativity and independent learning treated as a means for personal pleasure or for enhancing the quality and beauty of life' has appeared and reappeared, in our earlier discussions and in Spring's book, in a dichotomous juxtaposition with the theme 'education as a means of occupational and economic growth'. I believe we are at a fundamental crossroads about the meaning, context, content and value of education. I believe this fundamental examination of education is happening simultaneously in school board rooms, legislative assemblies, ballot boxes, churches, lunchrooms, and family rooms. It is happening in multiple media outlets, conversations among teachers, parents and employers.
Education is the one business that is everyone's business.
There have been and continue to be conversations among our cadre about finding and nurturing the next great musician, painter, or writer in each neighborhood classroom. This seems to follow the patronage model of an earlier age. Music enriches our lives. Music gives us a powerful way of interpreting our worlds. Music, just like any other subject if it is explored deeply enough, can offer the means of delving into any number of inquiries about mathematics, language, physics, history, and art.