New Mexico WPA project, slow learning, and the arts
(this is a repost/updated)
I'm feeling a little slow today. It's the kind of day that lends itself to daydreaming, wishful thinking perhaps. Everything is so fast these days. No one wants to take the time to reflect or wonder. Correction, we do want to take time but feel we don't have that luxury. This is a world that says if you aren't stressed out of your mind and putting in 45+ hours a week, then you are lazy.
There are a lot of us, though, who know better. Reflection and wonder aren't luxuries; they are necessary to true learning. You can't do them quickly, and you can't measure them with standardized tests.
The Bosque Farms WPA project that I've been researching has led me to reflect and wonder. It started with a question -- how can I use this horse property for my nonprofit? which led to -- what if we could bring this WPA property back to its original glory to serve its original purpose?
I then began to look at the whole state of New Mexico and (I'm jumping ahead) the fact that back during the New Deal days, the arts were supported by the government. The arts were considered good, honest work. Photographers, muralists, and writers -- they were all valued and supported.
I now hope to see not only the return of more local jobs to NM communities but also the return of our appreciation for the arts. I wish that there didn't have to be money attached but if we all have to work to make a living, then let's make sure artists can work, too, and make a living doing something they love and that contributes to the beauty of our world.
New Mexicans are creative, talented, and inspiring! We have always valued the arts. We never stopped. Who cares if we fall at the bottom of every national "good" list and the top of every "bad" list? Are we competing? Are we like other states? Do we care?
Why don't we just concentrate on us and try to make New Mexico a great place for New Mexicans to live? Let's look at what we did in the past with the New Deal and the WPA and do it again! And, along the way, let's reflect and wonder.
I'm feeling a little slow today. It's the kind of day that lends itself to daydreaming, wishful thinking perhaps. Everything is so fast these days. No one wants to take the time to reflect or wonder. Correction, we do want to take time but feel we don't have that luxury. This is a world that says if you aren't stressed out of your mind and putting in 45+ hours a week, then you are lazy.
There are a lot of us, though, who know better. Reflection and wonder aren't luxuries; they are necessary to true learning. You can't do them quickly, and you can't measure them with standardized tests.
The Bosque Farms WPA project that I've been researching has led me to reflect and wonder. It started with a question -- how can I use this horse property for my nonprofit? which led to -- what if we could bring this WPA property back to its original glory to serve its original purpose?
I then began to look at the whole state of New Mexico and (I'm jumping ahead) the fact that back during the New Deal days, the arts were supported by the government. The arts were considered good, honest work. Photographers, muralists, and writers -- they were all valued and supported.
I now hope to see not only the return of more local jobs to NM communities but also the return of our appreciation for the arts. I wish that there didn't have to be money attached but if we all have to work to make a living, then let's make sure artists can work, too, and make a living doing something they love and that contributes to the beauty of our world.
New Mexicans are creative, talented, and inspiring! We have always valued the arts. We never stopped. Who cares if we fall at the bottom of every national "good" list and the top of every "bad" list? Are we competing? Are we like other states? Do we care?
Why don't we just concentrate on us and try to make New Mexico a great place for New Mexicans to live? Let's look at what we did in the past with the New Deal and the WPA and do it again! And, along the way, let's reflect and wonder.
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