After teaching California students for a year and a half, I have decided that my first impression was right. California people are more accepting and respectful of the arts than other places. This results in students that take art seriously and believe they can learn with instruction and practice. Some less confident students i have seen in the past, who come from less supportive backgrounds, give up more easily or have too high standards, which discourage them. I see this support and acceptance of the arts in many places in the Bay Area: support of beginning painters, arts in the schools and museums and patronage of theater and music, as well as a variety of galleries and museums. California leads the country in many ways and I hope this is a sign the rest of the country will eventually value the arts as much as the sciences, business and other pursuits.
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