My annotations feel like they are improving, and I found that I am making more connections. I still feel like I need to work on asking questions while reading.

  1. The essay, “Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy and Education” by Yo-Yo Ma was published in January 2014 on the World Post blog. I noticed that Ma’s bio included many of his accomplishments including the fact that he attended Harvard University and won more than 17 Grammy awards. These achievements show that has the experience to be addressing these ideas in his essay.
  2. My purpose for reading this text was to learn more about how meaningful it is to incorporate art with education in general and that it should be done more frequently. In the piece, Ma described how it is valuable to include art because it can help you develop balanced thinking. I agree with Main his stance because I was involved in the band program from elementary school until I was a senior in high school. His stance on this issue is relatable. I also think that it is important to acknowledge that art is involved in many of the topics that we already learn but aren’t directly told that they are related.
  3. Throughout the essay, Ma stressed the importance of how art being integrated into education (STEAM), should be implemented more. It could create balanced thinking and help influence the student’s creativity. By being exposed to art, it could also help people become cultured and want to learn about other countries.

Glossing Words

Virtuosos: Highly skilled in music or another artistic pursuit

Meridians: The center or middle

Lewd: Crude and offensive