FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Keeping our artists alive…

by Marilyn Smith

 “A few days ago I bought an educational magazine. It is one intended for the teachers of the great mass of our Victorian children. As I looked at it I felt a great feeling of the hopelessness of things. There was a page called: "Art for Junior Classes". And there, in little tiny squares, were drawings to be copied by the children. A ball of wool was one, a solitary carrot another. Yet education should provide for self-expression. Education should develop initiative, independence, imagination, love of beauty. The children in our schools today should not be copying solitary carrots; they should not be copying anything. They should be covering large sheets of paper with bright colours. They should be drawing knights riding to battle, fairies, witches, dragons, ships. They should be knowing the joy of creation. Every child is a potential artist but in so many, alas, the artist is allowed to die. The children in our schools should be writing, acting, producing their own plays, writing their own poetry, painting their own scenery, creating their own dances. Art, music, drama are not the frills of education, but an integral part of it; the part, indeed, which helps the soul to blossom.”

This extract is from an address given by Greta Lyttle, the founding Headmistress of Preshil, in 1940. Apart from reminding us of how much has changed since children’s imaginations were peopled by dragons, fairies and knights in shining armour, there are some enduring themes that are worth reflecting on.

Every child is a potential artist but in so many, alas, the artist is allowed to die.

The most relevant for me at present is to do with that mournful lament, “alas, the artist is allowed to die.”

We have come to the time of year when our Year 12 students are focusing on the forthcoming VCE exam period and certainly feeling the pressure imposed on them by a system that puts such store on the ranking derived from these exams. We have students who are looking to pursue tertiary studies in the sciences, in philosophy, the humanities, maths, languages and IT. But side by side with these academic ambitions, Preshil has continued to place great emphasis on all the Arts.

We do not decide, for example, whether a child is an artist or a mathematician – we know that they are potentially both, the one passion enhancing and enriching the other. We want scientists, lawyers and politicians who ‘know the joy of creation’ as surely as we want musicians, filmmakers and actors who relish the pleasure of intellectual rigour.

So it is satisfying to know that Term 4 at Blackhall Kalimna is a time of rich artistic celebration as well as exam preparation. All around us we see rehearsals for performances, curating art exhibitions and finalising films for screening, amply illustrated in this newsletter.

Please take the time to visit the School Production page further on in this newsletter and read the "Letter from a parent” who was a volunteer at the recent Production camp: 

"Above all, the weekend was loads of fun; laughing, singing, dancing, achieving, creating, eating, doing, making and breathing in lots of fresh air. Personally, it was rewarding to be part of such an experience and also see from the inside how Preshil’s values play out."

I am sure Greta would be filled with joy, rather than hopelessness, if she could witness these young souls blossoming!