We are excited to be putting a new spin on our blog, Access to the Arts! We chose the Access to the Arts name because that is YPAC’s mission — Giving Every Child Access to the Arts. Through this blog, we hope to show why access to the arts is so important, different ways we can provide that, our own take on what access to the arts means, and more. We are so happy you’ve decided to check out this first installment!
With our #mypacisypac focus, the team has been thinking a lot about what exactly sets YPAC apart from other performing arts centers. It’s no secret that there are a lot of choices in our areas–good ones at that! So why do so many families choose YPAC? And why does the YPAC team feel so strongly that YPAC is the best choice?
Three things we’ve learned from Darren Hardy–a mentor we turn to for advice in many facets of life and business are that you need:
1. Expert counsel, 2. A resource group, and 3. Systems and Strategies (tools & training).
These ideas are easily applied to our adult lives, right? Our expert counsel comes from our family and friends, maybe our pastors, maybe our co-workers, therapists, or neighbors. Our resource group (a group of like-minded individuals moving along the same trajectory) is often times our co-workers, friends, church group, mom group, or professional association. Our systems and strategies to succeed might include our education, the tools and training we have learned to make our job easier and more successful, or the rhythms provided to us by our bosses or leaders.
Why should our kids approach life any differently? We apply these 3 principles to YPAC, and that is why we know that our students will be successful!
We provide them with expert counsel in their instructors, leaders, and mentors. One phrase you have probably heard us say over and over is that leaders unveil leaders. We don’t just say that. We live it. Within our classrooms we equip students to be leaders and then we equip them to unveil leadership in their peers. We teach our students to be successful, but then we also help them mentor others into success.
They have a resource group by default! By building a positive environment within the center, we are creating a group of like-minded individuals – students and adults alike – who are working towards similar goals, with similar values, on the same trajectory to success. When we instill strong values in our students and hold our instructors, parents, and staff members to the same standard of positivity, we are in turn surrounding our students with a resource group. We are setting them up for success!
Finally, we are providing them with the systems and strategies, or tools and training, needed to be successful in the classroom, but also out of it. Of course they are receiving top-notch arts instruction and mentoring, but the bigger picture is that they are learning life skills that they will be able to carry into their education and career. Our students are learning self-confidence, perseverance, dedication, kindness, and generosity. We are not just training great actors, musicians, or dancers, we are training great kids to be great adults.
You might have been a little skeptical that we could apply what we learn from my business mentor and use that advice to make our students successful, but hopefully you’re a believer now! We have surrounded ourselves with expert counsel, like-minded people, and systems and strategies, so that we can translate what we know into success for our students.
So why give your student access to the arts? Why do we work so hard to give so many students access to the arts? Because it isn’t just about the arts; it’s about the future. Although we know your student will be successful in the arts that he or she chooses, we are even more confident that access to the arts is important in life. It means positivity, self-confidence, kindness, generosity, goal-setting, and success.
We are raising world-changers every day in our homes and classrooms, on our athletic fields, and in our studios and on our stages. We know some of the keys to success, and we hope to help our students unlock the door.
Until next time!
Emily
