🎶 This land is your land… this land is my land… from California… to the New York islands… from the Redwood Forest… to the Gulf Stream waters…this land was made for you and me… 🎶 – taught to me in elementary school by Mrs. Hudson

🎶 Make new friends… but keep the old… one is silver and the other’s gold 🎶 – taught to me and my Brownie Troop by my mother. The details are fuzzy because I was only in 2nd grade. I don’t think there was an actual Brownie Troop. I’m pretty sure I was just lumped into the Girl Scout Troop she led. I was a huge quitter so I never graduated to Girl Scouts. I also quit piano lessons, dancing school, and gymnastics. Even then I was a firm believer in not doing things I don’t like to do. Anyway, I’ll never forget that song!

🎶 I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me… 🎶 – Mrs. Hudson again. That poor lady. The kids in my class tortured her. I remember her throwing herself on top of her piano and crying out in desperation for us to shut up.

And the piece de resistance…

🎶 Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny Ray, South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio. Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television, North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe. 🎶 – taught to my concert choir class by Ms. Seubert in high school. She had us memorize a piece of the song in each class; by the time the concert rolled around we were ready. I remember how psyched the audience was. I also remember how psyched we were to yell out “SEX!” during the “British politician sex” part. Ms. Seubert warned us not to do that but we were very immature and did it anyway. Nowadays, I am still able to impress the world with knowing all the words to “We Didn’t Start the Fire”!

Music and the arts are always on the chopping block when it comes to education; even though I can still remember songs from decades ago that taught me great lessons.

It’s because it’s fun. People automatically equate education with boredom. If it’s fun it can’t be educational.

But ask me about a lesson I learned in 2nd grade… I couldn’t tell you. Wait, I do remember getting the word “pumpkin” wrong on my spelling test because my teacher, Mrs. Thornton, pronounced it “punkin” so I spelled it phonetically. I was one pissed off 2nd grader!

Anyway, I’m not trying to get on my soapbox, I’m just pointing out how fun AND educational the arts can be.

We watched the movie “The Secret Apartment” last night. It’s a cool story, but it also makes you realize how deeply the arts can help people and how it shouldn’t be dismissed as unimportant.