Happy spring equinox, my fellow Northern Hemisphere dwellers. (And happy fall to my friends down south.)
One of the highlights of the last several months for me was a visit to a progressive high school in my neighborhood. The principal gave me a tour of their historic building and introduced me to several teachers. As a tutor, I’ve visited many schools over the years, but this one felt like my version of a utopia. A place where making art is not an elective, but an integral part of the curriculum all four years. Where there’s a buzz of camaraderie in the air. I felt it in the hallways and in the classrooms we popped into, where I saw teachers and students having animated exchanges. Where what's central to it all is curiosity. A part of students’ junior year curriculum is to devise a question and then take a trip to somewhere in the world where they can seek answers.
This is how I want to live the rest of my life. Curious, exploring, and full of people who are doing the same.
My relationship to formal education is a little bit wrapped up in performance, in making the grade, which feels at odds with curiosity. In college, for instance, I was reluctant to visit professors because I was afraid of not knowing enough. I’m shedding that, bringing people in earlier.
I’m in development on a feature film (the working title is "The Joy Project"). I would like to shoot it next year, and I’m excited to share with you what I learn along the way. If you’re on Instagram, feel free to follow me here; I’ll follow you back. And I'd love to hear from you. What's one thing you're excited about this season?
"The Joy Project" started with an image. The one above. (Photo credit: Fred R. Conrad.) I began to imagine the life of the person behind the balloon cart, and I started asking questions, lots of questions.