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Renaissance Kids
By Leslie Wilson
As school starts each year, parents frantically search websites and call friends to get recommendations for activities for their children. Should little Ethan play flag football or take violin? Should precious Katelyn play soccer or enroll in the painting class?
My thought is, why can't they do both? Wouldn't that help make them more well-rounded? Wouldn't it better prepare them for college? For life?
Years ago, I wrote a column about the uglier side of competitive parents -- those who hurt others (or, in extreme cases killed them) over ridiculous things. Like their daughter not making cheerleader. Or an opponent tackling too hard.
To what end? Will our child play Major League Baseball someday? Will he play in the NFL, NHL, or NBA? The chances are slim. Only small percentages of students are awarded college athletic scholarships. And professional athletes are nearly as rare as lottery jackpot winners.
Why then do we push so hard? Our children feel pressure to achieve excellence (known to many as victory) in everything they attempt. Is this really what's best?
Some families are bringing up what I call Renaissance Kids.
Renaissance Kids appreciate the significance of art, music, and literature. And it doesn't have to be an either/or. In our own family, we embrace the arts without abandoning the sports arena. (My husband wouldn't have it any other way!)
Although artistic pursuits may involve competition on occasion, they also challenge children's minds and creativity, allowing them to flex more than just muscle.
Though the goal of rearing well-rounded children stems from the desire for children to experience the treasure that is art in all its forms, some parents have admittedly headed in the opposite direction out of a frustration with what much of professional sports has become -- an avenue for money-making and misplaced priorities.
Many young people esteem professional athletes because they win championships -- no matter that they beat up their girlfriends or were caught with drugs only last year. Children aspire to play professional sports because that is their ticket to big bucks or their way out of a miserable life. What they may not realize is that art can also transform life -- by bringing beauty to it.
To cultivate a Renaissance mindset, children need to learn that the real accomplishment lies in producing or perfecting something, for the sake of that thing. As parents, we can encourage creativity, inspire originality. Instilling such vision in the next generation of learners can lessen brutality, spark imagination and create delight.
Artistic pursuits and athletics are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to play sports and exhibit a Renaissance mindset. Mitchell, age 14, plays middle school basketball and plays the piano. Twin boys, Peter and Samuel, are multi-sport guys, who also sing with a local children's chorus and take piano and violin respectively. Our friends the Walkers encourage their children to participate in one sports activity and one arts activity each season. These families value what both sports and the arts have to teach. Like these parents, we can all help our children dream and reach beyond the next game.
How? By supporting our local arts community with our attendance at events. We can provide our children with lessons certainly, but what about exposing them to museums, art shows, opera, ballet, theatre and symphony? What about introducing them to great works of literature? There can be a balance between the wide world of sports and the Louvre.
It's a world I'd like to live in. Wouldn't you?
Author/Speaker Leslie Wilson blogs at www.lesliewilson.com. Follow her on Twitter @LesliePWilson or like her Facebook fan page: Leslie Wilson.
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