My new friend YA

I've been meeting with YA, an art educator here from China pursuing her doctorate in Art Education. We've been comparing notes on the state of art education in both our countries. There are many similarities, I would say more similarities than differences. And we share many of the same concerns, such as how to find a practical way to integrate the arts within the arts themselves and within the greater scope of the curriculum, how to maintain teacher autonomy while still addressing accountability and so forth. I find it fascinating that coming from 2 entirely different cultures and histories, so many of our issues are shared. The world is shrinking, it is flat perhaps. And that was another one of our shared concerns, how do we maintain our cultural "identities" our heritage ( much more a concern in China whose heritage is so much older and established) in our new global village.