Don is an approved teaching artist in the Colorado Council on the Arts Art in Education (Artist in Residence) and Aesthetic Institute (classroom teacher training) programs. This year (2000) he is doing one residency, in the Northern Conejos County School District at La Jara Elementary School and Manassa Elementary School. Here he shares his thoughts on the importance of this program, his goals with the students in his workshops, and the specific details of this residency. There will also be posted some downloadable MP3 files of the students musical creations. Check it out!

Why this is important -

The arts to me deal with possible answers to the question of "Why be alive?" So much of society and education is rushing around trying to find better ways to teach "how", how to learn enough science and math to compete in the global economy, how to raise the test scores to get better jobs to make more money so that we will be worthy, etc. But if you don't have a "why", all the "hows" in the world will do you no good. There are many young people who do not buy the messages of society that worth equals money and outward achievement and messages appealing to these values will not reach them. They get the message fed to them that "This is what life is about, so get on board - take it or leave it" and they feel a gut-level reaction of "No thanks - not interested." But kids also tend to agree with or give credence to what their parents and society tell them and they usually do not have enough self confidence and direction to make their way independently. So they choose negation and non-involvement with life. This can mean suicide, drugs, crime - all that good stuff. So how could we present a different picture to this population that might engage them?

The arts deal with reasons why life is worth living. And for those who are so inclined artistic activity and creation is often reason enough. For those who are so inclined, other directions may not suffice, or they may not suffice if art is not added into the mix in a real and substantial way. I want to teach the participants in my workshops that they can create, that they and thus their creations and ideas have value, and to experience the flow and joy of creation. I know that very few will choose to become musicians, and that is as it should be. But creation is creation. If they know they can do it, they can create businesses, educations, good lives, families and societies. I also want them to know their creations will be criticized and ridiculed by others, and that's part of the deal, so get used to it.

I have seen a high school songwriting workshop participant go from sitting in the corner by the door, refusing to take part in this nonsense, to actively leading the class in songwriting in the course of a 45 minute period. Don't tell me there's no power here. I don't know what the long term effects on that young man might have been from that experience, but I know that if he had experiences of being engaged in this type of creation and expression on a regular basis it would change his life. I think kids need to be exposed to someone that can honestly tell them that life doesn't have to be a drag. It can be wonderfully fun, challenging, engaging, and never boring. And they need to hear it from someone who they can tell actually feels that way, and isn't just feeding them a line. They can tell.

Music, and the explorations involved in creating it, can serve as a tool to open up the flow in both these young folks and those like me who are a little further down the road. Music does not have to be or remain the primary form of expression for them, or for me or you. After opening up the flow and opening up your eyes enough to really look at what's coming through, they or you may realize, "You know, I'm not really very good at this - I think I'll find another form of expression that suits me better," and that is as it should be.

Dealing with the creation of art and the endless ambiguity of the choices involved teaches students to be able to handle that ambiguity. Life is not neatly laid out in some linear progression, as much of their lessons in school are. They need to know that a work of art or anything else worthwhile does not spring forth full formed and perfect, and they aren't failures if this doesn't happen. Life is a process of getting started, putting something down, taking a shot, and then refining that, going back, starting over, erasing, rewriting, re-recording, maybe heading off in a new direction entirely. They need to see that even someone who is very good and "successful" works that way, and there is no shame in it.

Address: Don Richmond P.O. Box 825 Alamosa CO 81101

Info, contact and order hotline: 800-689-7786

Email - DonRichmond@worldnet.att.net

Other websites - www.howlindogrecords.com www.hired-hands.com www.rifters.net www.gymptf.com