"And this here's the TV. Two hours a day, either educational or football, so you don't ruin your appreciation of the finer things."

Kid1 and the Smokin' Hot Shutterbug Wife are off to an open house tonight at the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. It's got quite a reputation around Big D in that there's some serious talent bouncing through those hallways. Edie Brickell. Eryka Badu. Norah Jones. Roy Hargrove. Elizabeth Mitchell. Drummers for various rock bands. You get the idea. Anyway, tonight is a fact-finding mission. There are many more steps in the admission process, but this is the first one...and Kid1 is exploring her options. I'd imagine she'll focus on the "visual" part and not the "performing" part as the basis for her exploration.

And, I'm thinking about education this morning.

See, I was public schooled from opening day until day 1 of graduate school. I had a very normal experience. I wasn't bullied, but I wasn't on the "A" list of popularity, either. I had good teachers. I had goofy ones. I had bad ones. I took some classes very seriously. I took others for what I thought they might be worth (which was usually more than what I believed them to be). There were opportunities to discover what I was good at and what I wasn't in both the classroom and the extracurriculars. Pretty generic. Pretty normal. At least as generic and normal as Alabama's public educational system can be.

It worked for me. I tend to be a big fan of public education.

And the high school Kid1 goes to is even better than the one I went to if you're looking to find yourself. It's like a small college and about 3,200 kids attend. There are two others like it within a 7 mile radius...with the full compliment of classes and activities to allow each and every one of those kids to figure out a few things and pretty well tailor their schedules like you would at a university. They have their core curriculum and after that there's plenty of variety and good teachers/coaches to help your teen develop in their areas of interest. It seems like a good deal to me...and don't even get me started on the social opportunities.

The art teachers are good, too. Kelsey's been pretty pleased and enjoys learning from them and getting better at what she enjoys doing. No complaints in the department, either. Salutes to the MHS art department!

But yet, Kid1 is considering going to another school.

And, I was thinking through the benefits of such a move last night. A few:

Maybe an artist needs to be surrounded by a variety of ethnicity. BTWSFTVAPA has that.
Maybe an artist needs to be surrounded by the type of people who would enroll in a school dedicated to the fine arts. I mean, we all like to feel "gotten" and maybe the artistic community needs that even moreso.
Maybe an artist needs the "urban vibe." Well, maybe some do, anyway. It ain't all mountains and flowers in the art world.
Maybe an artist is comfy with a working knowledge of math and science without a laser focus on them. BTWSFTVAPA dominates the state-mandated scores in reading/English and is better than the state average in math & science (but not overtly high like the reading/English).
Maybe an artist needs the kind of instructor that would work at a fine arts high school.

I don't know. I'm not an artist. And the "fine arts" to me are represented in the savage ballet that is found in the NFL and NHL...and don't even get me started on the artistry of baseball. Tears might well up.

But I know I'm in a house full of them. Photography. Painting. Ballet.

And I'm wondering if our fair burg is considering a fine arts type of school. My kids can't be the only ones who would benefit from that style of education. I see lots of community benefits, too.

I would think if we could pull 300-500 students from each public high school in our area, we'd ease some overcrowding and make things a bit more manageable.

I would think a fine-arts high school would be cost & space effective as you wouldn't need to build athletic facilities.

I would think that some students would benefit from being "gotten." I saw a kid in a restaurant yesterday all gothed-out in full black, sporting a button that read, "I'm only wearing black until they find a darker color." I think she's benefit from being "gotten."

I would think our community would be inspired and challenged in the way that only the arts community can do.

I would think their test scores would match up well and still let students who aren't all into math/science to flourish in other, equally valuable, areas.

I would think that our community could pay the best & brightest teachers to support our teens.

I guess, in short, I'm guessing it would be a win/win. The community wins. The kids win. We all benefit.

And, I'm wondering if maybe we should be considering it if we aren't already. And if we are already considering it, maybe we should bump it up on the priority list.