La Siesta, by P. Picasso

All children are artists.  The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.

Pablo Picasso

One of the more frustrating aspects of teaching school is being party to a system that drives the joy out of learning for probably nine out of ten students.  By the time students get to high school, they have had their “skills drilled” and their “proficiencies assessed” so often it’s no wonder they finish out their secondary education in a cynical haze so thick that neither my most inspired lessons nor my most intimidating deathstare can penetrate it. 

In American classrooms today, there is so little opportunity for personal expression and genuine exploration it is almost laughable.

Except it’s not.  It’s tragic. 

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