Restoring Culture through the Arts

By Cathy Jackson

Today I had so much fun being a guest co-host on the show, Restoring Culture through the Arts. What, exactly, does that mean?

Today we were honored to have Vivian Doublestein as a guest on our show. She is the founder and

Dr. Rose Gamblin and Guest Co-host Cathy Jackson

Executive director of The Master’s Academy of Fine Arts, based in Atlanta, GA. Vivian grew up surrounded by music. She said that as a child, she was what one might consider one of those kids who was constantly, “bouncing off the walls.” Her attention span was short, sitting still didn’t seem to be something that was possible. Being around a lot of people was sometimes overwhelming. Does any of this sound familiar? So often our children are diagnosed with ADD or ADHD and then medicated to calm them down. Are we medicating the creativity right out of them?

Ms. Doublestein decided to homeschool her three children and did so right through high school. She said that what she discovered during those years was that “Homeschooling is not necessarily about teaching the student, but instead, it’s about developing the character of the parents.” We should remember the acronym PLUG. Pray – pray for your children. Pray that you as the parent will know how to help your child develop their special traits and talents. Listen – It’s so hard sometimes, isn’t it? But do we really listen to our children? What are they trying to say. I think each child speaks a “different language” and it’s up to us as parents to learn their individual languages. Understand – That’s when “light dawns.” You listen to your child until you understand their language. That is when true communication between parent and child starts to happen. And then comes Guide – Guiding children, in my opinion, is never easy. But with prayer, listening and understanding, it becomes so much easier. Vivian pointed out that PLUG, spelled backwards, spells GULP. It works that way, doesn’t it? We try to guide first, then understand and listen and when it’s not working, we pray as a last resort.  So let’s plug into our children instead of having to gulp!

Do you sometimes feel like teaching your child is like putting a square peg into a round hole? Do you then start pounding on that square peg to try to make it round and fit in the hole, or do you start changing the hole to fit the square peg? I know that from experience I sometimes feel like it would be so much easier to have a child that “fit the mold.” I have two children and still haven’t found a mold that they fit in to. One is very gregarious and outgoing, so it’s easier for her to fit in. The other one is quiet and introverted most of the time. She loves to be around people, but only for a little bit. Then you will notice that she’s off by herself. Someone inevitably will comment that she’s pulling away from her friends and isn’t happy. Or when you talk to her, she doesn’t hear you. She’s then labeled as “rude” and “inconsiderate.”  Now I know my daughter, and I hope that I have used the PLUG system with her. I try to explain to family and friends a little bit about her so that maybe they can understand just a little of why she is the way she is. I find her an absolute joy to be around. My gift from God. She knows that the sky is the limit with the endless possibilities of what she will do with her life.

So how about you? Do you have a gifted and talented child? Give me your thoughts and ideas.

Tagged as: Art, Culture, Drama, History, Leadership, Music