Artistic Vision
It’s a right-brain kinda thing.Archive for August, 2007
Disappointments and Opportunities
I found out earlier this week that the teaching job I was hoping to get before the end of the summer was given to the other candidate. This was my last chance for attaining a new position before the new school year. Of course, a mid-year position is still a possibility. In the meantime, I’ve been thinking through next steps for September. I’m fortunate to have a job that, while I don’t relish for many reasons, is still a provision for my family.
Yes, I know that I should have been working through this much earlier than now. It’s true! BUT, I had two positions where I was in the final two for the job, except I couldn’t seal the deal with the superintendent. It was like this last year too. In the end, though, I know how difficult art education jobs are to come by. Many people–even those within education–don’t seem to realize that teaching art is highly competitive; history/social studies probably would be a very close second. I found that out after getting to know a couple of teachers at my current school.
Cultural Health and the Arts
As an art educator, I found this comment by Dana Gioia compelling (and oh-so true):
We need to create a new national consensus. The purpose of arts education is not to produce more artists, though that is a byproduct. The real purpose of arts education is to create complete human beings capable of leading successful and productive lives in a free society. (emphasis mine)
BTW, I borrowed Ken Myers’ title for this post from which I also found the above link.
Difficult Choices
God is truly amazing in how He orchestrates events. Although my wife and I had covenanted at the beginning of our marriage that when we had children she would stay at home (or I would if circumstances necessitated that). However, with being on unemployment for six months and then changing careers (and taking a $28k pay cut), we had come to realize that we needed to do something to help us pay off some debt and start saving again.
Compared to others we spoke to our debt was not bad at all. Nonetheless, we believed it wise and proactive to try to do something about it now instead of later when other things could make the situation more dire. In the end, though, we struggled with what steps to take.
Experiencing the Fullness of Time
Distortions in the shape of our time foster distortions in the shape of our lives and the quality of all of our relationships. Indeed, these distortions drive us into the arms of a false theology: we come to believe that we, not God, are the masters of time. We come to believe that our worth must be proved by the way we spend our hours and that our ultimate safety depends on our own good management.
The above quote is from the book Receiving the Day by Dorothy C. Bass. I came to this book after hearing an interview on Mars Hill Audio between Ken Myers and the author. It was quite providential that I came upon this specific interview because time-management usually is an issue for me. Part of it is my commitment to what I’m doing at the time. Of course, part of it is also just me OCD’ing and not letting “good enough” stand on its own merit. Nevertheless, this book continues to be quite a challenging read. Perhaps convicting would be a better word because I’m seeing the depth of this issue; how much it touches all areas of my life to one extent or another.
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