 Please don't judge us You see a lot of us were the victims of the ones that love us some of us had wayward fathers and uneducated mothers Many of us committed crimes with our cousins for the sake of our brothers, but we're just the victims of the ones that love us, please Don't judge us We learn that this world doesn't make exceptions for kids We've seen too many rough childhoods those children without examples of what success really is and when you look at the circumstances is clear They were never expected to live They were just names and pictures posted upon papers and they barred them all up Throw them in the garbage or all the garbage that they would call us and then lock them up with lopsided laws that they would call Just and swear that they did it for their country and what they call love They never understood this all started as babies Bottles and Pampers we were the sons of fathers as absent some fallen examples if she was a daughter of a mother that suffered She may not know what love is It's a vicious cycle so many of us get caught in its clutches and so many of us will soon have kids that are destined to suffer And it hurts looking in the eyes of those kids horse destiny touches Staring out the back of a squad car when they arrest him and cuff him Fresh out of frying pan into an oven they heat on 400 where raising a fire that aids our destruction will raise in a world Where it's all there is nothing a lot of us were raised by women who always wanted marriage, but they never could trust it You see they were always victims of the ones that love them But please don't judge them They're coming from places where they're not particularly partial to their placement from the bottom like basements Hope's high as the attic underneath gray skies with the Sun is absent We used to go to church and ask the pastor why I have joy when we've never had it The only thing we've ever had were overcrowded classes with teachers never could imagine us passing Whole world looking down on us feeling so stuck Feeling messed up Could you imagine being from a place where you can see where you're going to be before you even grow up? The examples are plain and clear even more plain and clear that we hate it here But we call it home and we'll fight any of those that call it wrong because this is the only thing We've ever had to call our own to a child making it from this the only thing here She should ever be called as strong because this world doesn't make exceptions for kids We've seen too many rough childhoods of those children without examples of what success really is and when you look at the circumstances is clear that We were never expected to live We were just names and pictures posted upon papers and they bought us all up through it's in the garbage at all the garbage and Lock us up with lopsided laws that they would call justice scarred know those rough childhoods from rough vile hoods like us All those victims are the ones that love them As teachers when you look them in the eyes, please Don't judge them Peace It's been said that any fool can be happy, but it takes tremendous heart to make something beautiful out of the stuff that makes us weak Pain is the name of the young poet who asked us not to judge him as he heartfully shared his pain Stuff that makes us weep and although I'm here to present from an academic perspective about the essential importance of arts education dance music theater Visual arts media arts and poetry I'd be reminiscent if I did not share with you that Ensuring access to the arts is just as much a matter of heart as it is academics Maybe even more so As my 13 year old daughter reminds me we can't even say heart without the art bit So while we shouldn't judge pain we should examine our own hearts when it comes to our commitment To ensure that arts education is available to provide students opportunities to make beauty from their pain and Transform their lives 25 years ago. I witnessed firsthand the transformative power of arts education I just finished graduate school with a master's degree in education specialized in risk and prevention and I had this Inter-passion and drive to make a profound positive impact on the world and specifically the lives of students After taking numerous theory-based classes and interning at a middle school. I thought and this is a true story I thought I was ready to single-handedly solve every underlying issue that will cause a youth to engage in risky behavior and Prevent the behavior from occurring in the first place. I see lots of heads nodding in agreement So I set out to develop and implement programs that would help prevent Adolescent youth from engaging in behavior that would raise the risk of them not completing school Entering the juvenile justice system and not being able to lead a fulfilled purpose driven life After graduate school, I started working for an organization called Georgia cities and schools It's now called Georgia communities and schools the state office of a national dropout prevention program And my boss at the time Don Arno Had her doctorate in education administration She had a master's degree in math But Don also had a master's degree in music Georgia cities and schools had hired Don to develop a technical assistance and training program for the newly established governor of Georgia's alternative schools program and these schools were created for youth who weren't Experiencing success in the traditional school environment Youth who had received many suspensions youth close to dropping out of school and youth transitioning into or out of the juvenile justice system and As a part of the strategy that Don developed we selected pilot sites across the state and Don asked me to find Artists to work with students in these schools and I remember thinking clear as day like it was yesterday Artist Where on earth would I find an artist to work in these schools and why I called a family friend? Andrea who was an actress and explained to her my predicament and she said oh I do that I teach theater to students in a school setting and we hired her on the spot. I Traveled with Don doing site visits and small rural schools all across the state of Georgia We observed Andrea and the students in the classroom We interviewed the students about their experiences working with an artist And I saw firsthand how students who were not experiencing success again in the traditional classroom environment discovered a love for learning and a love for life and I was completely blown away by the impact that the arts had on the lives of the vulnerable young boys and girls who Attended these schools and I thought to myself and again. I remember this like it was yesterday I thought to myself if arts education had such an enormous impact on vulnerable students that I Would dedicate my life to ensuring that all students have an opportunity to participate in the arts and To ignite a love for learning and ultimately greater success in life Since my first observation of the power of arts education about 25 years ago There have been so many research studies documenting its impact on students According to a summary of research from many prominent studies included in the National Dropout Prevention Center's 2017 publication the arts and dropout prevention the power to engage Art education's associated with lower dropout rates as well as better academic outcomes particularly for vulnerable students But why what is it about the arts? researchers have found that studying the arts promotes academic self-efficacy a belief in one's ability to succeed in Fact we know the arts are often the place where students experience success for the first time and Studying the arts also promotes school engagement simply put the arts make school a place kids want to be And I'm sure you're aware that according to the National Dropout Prevention Center Both academic self-efficacy and school engagement are predictors of persistence to graduation a Longitudinal study funded by my agency the National Endowment for the Arts also confirmed that arts education Projects better graduation rates regardless of a student's socioeconomic status and after analyzing data of 22,000 students over 12 years Researchers found that students with low socioeconomic status who were deeply engaged in the arts Demonstrator better academic outcomes than students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds who had less arts involvement So when I first read this I was blown away Because the research is telling us that the arts can level the playing field between students from low and high socioeconomic backgrounds We also know from research on arts education that there are certain outcomes for students that are unique to the arts and In fact the National Dropout Prevention Center notes an arts education has been shown to raise students ability to critique themselves Their willingness to experiment their ability to reflect To learn from mistakes and to maintain a positive self-concept Are you thinking about our young poet pain right now? I sure am Both federal and state governments have acknowledged The importance of including the arts and the educational experiences of all students in fact They have made a promise to students across the country that they should receive an arts education the arts were defined as a core subject and no child left behind and The arts are included as part of the definition of a well-rounded education and that every student succeeds act And I don't know if you know this but a hundred percent of states have adopted content standards and the visual performing arts dictating what students should know and be able to do and 86% of states have adopted policies mandating arts instruction Unfortunately, however the current promise for all students to receive an arts education remains a promise unfulfilled Despite robust federal and state policies for arts education We know from US Department of Education data that students who attend school in our country's low-income Communities have less access to arts education and don't have the same opportunities to take classes in the arts and Given what we know about the benefits of the arts on students, especially our most vulnerable students Not having access to an arts education is not only a promise that hasn't been kept for some students It's fundamentally an issue of equity and ultimately an issue of civil rights But there are steps that you can take to move us towards the promise for arts education for all students a New publication what school leaders can do to increase arts education Published by the arts education partnership and collaboration with the National Association of Elementary School Principles Highlights three no cost to low-cost strategy school leaders have found effective That are likely applicable in a variety of grade levels so the first Establish a school-wide commitment to arts learning the second create an arts-rich learning environment and the third examine the use of time and resources I Encourage you to read this publication to access the full list of steps that you can take and to learn more as America's chief funder of the arts in America the national endowment for the arts is also taking really important steps to keep the promise of arts education for all students So in addition to arts education grants the agency awards for student learning and the arts professional development for educators and for systems change and Communities of all sizes across the country as well as our investments in national and state arts education initiatives This year the national endowment for the arts launched the statewide data infrastructure project for arts education in Partnership with Education Commission of the states We will create a suite of tools and resources to help every state in the country extract Analyze and report on arts education data and from data systems that States already have in place and from data that they already collect Armed with useful data, we know policymakers can track the impact of state policies to boost arts education school district leaders can direct resources to schools that lack robust arts education programs school leaders can identify and address in equities and student participation in the arts and Parents and students can find schools or programs whose arts offerings best suit their interests and needs So over the course of our time together, I've shared with you key research and data about arts education I've shared information on the federal and state policy landscape And I've shared ideas of what you can do and what the federal government is doing to fulfill the promise of arts education for all students but however, I Want each one of you to feel like I felt 25 years ago when I was in those rural classrooms in Georgia and Witness the transformational power of arts education So I'd like to end this presentation where we started because the impact of arts education isn't just about Academic thriving for too many young people. It's literally about surviving So no, we shouldn't judge the young poet pain for all of those promises unfulfilled to him But we should do everything we can to fulfill the promise of arts education for all students like him I'm gonna let a young poet named Anaya close out for me. I Want her art to speak to your hearts in a way that all the data in the world simply can't and As you listen know that just as those beats of your heart are essential to your life So is art essential to the lives of our students The arts don't only transform lives the arts save lives, too Anaya if tonight is the last night you plan on breathing If the weight of the world is so heavy on your shoulders The only place you see to lay down this burden is a grave if you are so tired of Existence you want to put yourself into an eternal rest. I'm sorry. I couldn't make this life more livable for you But before you go, can I ask you one thing? When you pick up the pen to write the suicide note Write a poem instead About all the things you love and all the things that love you write a poem Turn the pain into prose and see how quickly the end becomes a new beginning Write a poem like your life depends on it because sometimes it does I too have known nights on Bathroom floors with blood and tears spilling so quickly. I'm not sure which one I'll run out of first No praying to God's I stopped believing in a long time ago that if they were real they would help me No looking death in the face and inviting him home for dinner like a long-lost friend I couldn't wait to get reacquainted with but I have also known salvation Know that if the words of your demons can end your life then words of hope can save it No matter how deep of a hole you've dug yourself into Even when holding on to life feels like grasping for air your lungs can't even keep inside of them Reach your hand out for a lifeline and I'll give you a pen and tell you that poetry is the pathway to Survival that you never could have seen coming and ain't I a testament to that Because I am still standing after depression has brought me to my knees After I have asked God more times to end my life than I have thanked him for giving me it and ain't that a blessing to survive Even when your own body has tried to kill you and it gets hard sometimes because I can't even remember how to be a Person much less a poet but being a poet isn't always about pretty prose some days It is just about being alive hell most days It is just about being alive here in this place where I've seen so many resurrected I almost call it holy call it magic. So let me spellbind you Survival put down your razor. Don't spill blood spill ink Write a poem across your wrists and thighs and show everyone your scars and your story and tell them This is survival. This is hope This is life through language and never forget how hard it was to get here to turn your back on your demons But if the pen is mightier than the sword then it is mightier than any mental illness that has tried to kill you So tonight Don't you write me a suicide note? Put a period Where there should be a comma? Write me a survivor story and I promise I'll see you tomorrow Thank you