Diversity, Dolly, and Developing Talent
By Jennifer Fisher, Arts Network
At the time I sit to write this blog post, Dolly Parton has been gone from the world for two days. As an ever-present icon throughout my life, Dolly was a fixture in my grandparents’ home during my youth, and I have long admired her music, her songwriting, and her wit. She was a successful businesswoman, a gifted orator, and a generous philanthropist. And if some of you are wondering what Dolly Parton has to do with gifted education, as the newest chair of the NAGC Arts Network, I urge you to read on. Dolly Parton’s legacy exemplifies something that our field knows well: talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not.
Dolly Parton hailed from an impoverished family of 12 children in eastern Tennessee, and she wrote her first song at age 6. She was featured on the local radio station by age 10, and she sang at the Grand Ol’ Opry by age 13, which is often a career-high achievement for many country music artists. Fortunately, she didn’t stop there. She went on to win 11 Grammy Awards, opened her own amusement park in eastern Tennessee, and sponsored global literacy initiatives through her Imagination Library program. Dolly’s own father never had the opportunity to learn to read or write, which prompted her to provide a plethora of opportunities for educational growth in her childhood community of Sevierville, Tennessee. She was a role model to many children who grew up in rural environments, both in Appalachia and elsewhere, and her life is a prime example of the gifts and talents that can grow and be nurtured in even the most remote locations.
The NAGC Arts Network recognizes the untapped potential that exists among students from underrepresented spaces, which is why we are offering a September 15 webinar on identifying and serving musically gifted students in rural and high-poverty areas. Our webinar presenters are both experienced music educators hailing from Appalachia, and one is our Arts Network Chair-elect, Dr. Elizabeth Edwards. By providing NAGC members with the opportunity to engage with working gifted/music educators who are experiencing these challenges firsthand, we hope to provide folks with an expanded perspective of what gifted education is and can be. We plan to continue this theme in the upcoming months by highlighting speakers and offering webinars on the topics of gifted, rural, and arts education.
If you don’t get a chance to sign up and join us for the webinar, please take a moment to watch the recording once it’s posted to NAGC channels. Further, we’d love to continue the conversation on NAGC Engage well after the webinar is over. After all, sometimes the best questions and lines of inquiry occur to folks only after they’ve had the opportunity to digest new information. Even if you are not a music or arts educator, we hope you’ll consider joining the conversation to learn more about all the ways you can assist and support the music educators in your school or school district. Like many other teachers, fine arts educators are often under-prepared to work with their gifted and talented students, and it is important that they feel supported in their efforts to guide young artists, musicians, dancers, writers, and actors.
If those of us in gifted education truly value diversity in identification of gifted students, we must consider the importance of advocating for gifted arts programs in our schools and states. In my home state of Missouri, we have very limited formal identification for students who are gifted in the arts, and as a largely rural state, I can’t help but contemplate how many students may remain unidentified. In the storyline of my favorite book, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, the main character is a gifted visual artist hailing from rural Appalachia. He faces many trials and tribulations throughout his life, including poverty, separation from and loss of his parents, abuse, drug abuse, and loneliness. Through it all his artistic gifts sustain his will to live and to find success, and one art educator who recognizes his artistic potential plays a significant role in his life. Supporting the development of talent in the arts can truly be life changing.
When I sit to consider my own children’s rural, public, Title 1 school district, I am in awe of the work arts educators are putting in to advocate for their most vulnerable, most gifted students. However, I continue to envision a world where these same teachers are adequately supported and trained—at both the state and national level—in meeting the needs of their gifted students. Dolly Parton showed us that poverty, rural living, and limited resources don’t have to be immovable barriers to success as a gifted artist. By working to break down these barriers and support the development of arts talent across all student demographics, the NAGC Arts Network hopes to continue supporting equitable learning opportunities for students everywhere.
