<p>Thanks Chrissyblu 
I couldn’t find the post where you said that in conversation. </p>
<p>We are not really even at the point of needing that debate yet, as it depends where and if DS gets into schools. The most powerful argument for me is the concept of 10,000 hours to competency as outlined by Malcolm Gladwell in his book “Outliers.” He argues that a person needs at least that many hours to become an expert—in anything—and cites wonderful examples, some related to the arts. It follows that a nine-to-five day will constitute about 2000 hours per year. If the BFA candidate is working those hours for four years, he or she will have 8,000 hours of training by graduation through the program. The last two years many of the programs require rehearsals from 7pm to 10 or 11pm, so a student at one of the more rigorous programs could conceivably graduate with 10,000 hours of training and practice—or close to it.</p>
<p>In my opinion, the BA degree is not as important as whether or not the student is a reader. That habit and practice follows a student throughout life far beyond school, years after he or she has forgotten everything about Tolstoy’s epic except that “It’s about a war.” The middle-aged and older adults I find interesting are those who read, and it always astonishes me to go into someone’s house and see no books anywhere.</p>