Barry Porter on fri 15 jan 10
Since I am still in Kansas City, I volunteer as a visiting artist at Pase=
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Academy from time to time where Rusty taught. It is very sad to see what=
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has become of the school! The place was still a gem not ten years back! =
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really don't think that students that attended 15 years ago would recogni=
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the place. Rusty put her soul into the place all of those years and I wa=
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with her as the place went south.
The article is here;
Artist, retired teacher Rusty Newton plans to open camp for young artists=
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http://www.semissourian.com/story/1602569.html
I have been told that in the past, families would send their children to =
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with extended family in KC, just to get the chance to interview for a pla=
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ce as=3D20
a student at the school! In those days, students came in with a portfoli=
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sold themselves to the department heads (along with their educational che=
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leaders) and ran out screaming like we see on the American Idol try-outs =
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finding that they had been accepted. You could major in everything from=3D=
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Opera to Foundry work, Modern Dance to KC Jazz and many more, including a=
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first class ceramics and pottery department. These students were able to=
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pass ACTs and the like and usually went on to college, many with scholars=
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hips.
Apparently, they were getting a good general education as well as a top=3D2=
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notch arts education. Has standardized testing and the teaching too them=
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killed anything but the very basics?
Why does so much in education seem to be headed south these days? Its li=
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the whole system is on auto-pilot and we have a drunken sailor at the whe=
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(well, I guess in the Bush days, that would have been a drunken airman an=
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his interesting friends - to be more correct) My jury is still out on th=
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e new=3D20
guy.
Porter
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