Inspiring Education

A few months ago I was sharing my BLENDED arts vision with a friend, when she looked at me and asked, “Why do you want to do this?” I instinctively responded “Because I have a passion for inspiring education”. My friend smiled and inquired again, “Why?”

Reflecting upon that conversation, I asked myself: What is inspiring education? Why does it matter? How can it impact our lives? Then I took a trip down memory lane…

I attended a Spanish-Armenian bilingual school in Buenos Aires, Argentina. When I was in elementary school, I had a one-of-a-kind music teacher, Oriort Reina (Oriort - in Armenian - means Miss). Oriort Reina was firm and demanding, but also sensitive and nurturing. She played the piano with passion, always striving for high quality execution and encouraging us to give each song our very best. She set ambitious learning goals for us, but knew how to guide us through the process. In her music class, we each learned to find our individual voice and, more importantly, we learned that a choir is the sum of our collective voices taken as a whole.

More than thirty years have past since my last song in Oriort Reina’s choir and, although I did not pursue a career in music, I have carried her lessons in my heart throughout my life.

I believe inspiring education is about the big picture. It is not defined by subject matter or technical skills. Inspiring education is about passion, motivation and engagement. It goes beyond the classroom walls and transfers into real life.

When I think about my BLENDED arts vision I see a stimulating space rich in content and emotions; a space which fosters children’s creativity, broadening their horizons and their desire to learn. My end goal is creativity, and bilingualism and the arts are my inspiring paths. Creativity unlocks potential, which in turn leads to a more meaningful, fulfilling and happy life.

That is my WHY.