But Van Gogh didn't go to school...

Last night, we were walking around Barnes and Noble. Truly, that store is one of the only bookstores still in our area. I feel like NJ is turning into empty buildings and unoccupied asphalt lots. Still though, we keep building more condos and shopping plazas. We bulldoze buildings, leaving behind towering piles of broken bricks, only to rebuild another shopping center. 

While walking around Barnes and Noble, I overheard an interesting conversation between a boy and his mother. He was high school age and was talking about how his art teacher wants him to take four years worth of art classes. In order to make his course schedule work, he would have to be moved into honors math, although his math teacher thinks he should stay in "regular" math. The boy went on to talk about how he loves drawing: "Mom, if you look on the backs of my tests, it is all drawing and doodling...I have so many ideas and I sketch them everywhere." 

As he continued talking enthusiastically, she began speaking in a foreign language (some form of Hindi, Tamil, or Punjabi based on visual context clues. She spoke emphatically and I quickly sensed that she was not pleased with her son's artistic aspirations, even if they would oddly "force" him into an accelerated math course. He started talking about how he could still draw on his own and how Van Gogh didn't go to art school. 

After the Van Gogh comment, I just tuned out the conversation. The fact of the matter is that this boy will have a rigorous course load; perhaps he will still be in "regular" math, but there is no way that he will be studying art for four years. We'll be taking electives such as economics, accounting, or advanced placement literature. 

Years from now, he'll probably be sitting at some business meeting, bored, uninspired, and restless. He'll start doodling on a sheet of paper and will quickly stop.... because adults don't imagine or "play"--they do what they're "supposed" to do and that's the end of that.