(This is a freewrite from my touchscreen phone, so it may not be extremely eloquently written.)
So I'm sitting here in the Blue Lemon bistro in Salt Lake City, and they're playing classy jazzy music as I dine. I am reminded of how classy and polite I had to act as I recently sat in another musical kind of place: my first opera.
Operas, instrumental recitals, ballets, galleries, Mormon Tabernacle Choir concerts... Any performer or attender of such events are expected to be well-mannered and on their best behavior.
One reason I think it's extremely important to keep the fine arts important in schools is because it's one great way to teach kids the importance of developing decent courtesy in life. Schools can provide plentiful concerts, plays, art displays, etc., that students can either attend or supply the entertainment for.
I remember being a young junior high and high schooler. Back then I was a lover of causing mild ruckuses (all in good/non-juvenile detention ways), even as a band and choir "nerd." Even though I was a hoodlum (and let's face it, what child isn't?), participating in the arts in school instilled somewhere deep yet real in me that it's gonna be really important in my future to be a polite and as classy as possible individual.
I say let's keep opportunities to provide and attend artistic events a big deal in schools, because I fear that the art of being courteous is plummeting in society, and the fine arts can greatly help the rising generation improve their world.
