NOMINATIONS
HAVE STARTED
20 2
0 Nominate your favorite people, places
and things in the DMV!
The winners are chosen by popular vote, so let
your friends know it’s time to cast their ballot.

As a business, share with your audience to help
you win the title of “Best” in your category!
Nominations close March 9
Voting for the winners starts on April 1. Winners will be contacted in June, and the results
will be in the July issue of Washington FAMILY magazine.

Go to washingtonfamily.com/bestforfamilies
and VOTE TODAY!
washingtonfamily.com Contact Jeni Tough
for more information
jmann@midatlanticmedia.com



— ADVERTORIAL —
WHICH DO YOU WANT How About Both?
FOR YOUR CHILD:
Success or Fulfillment?
BY SUSAN GLAZIER
ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL
WESTMINSTER SCHOOL, ANNANDALE, VA
O ur culture at present overwhelmingly
values analytical thought and practical
achievement. Business leaders and politi-
cians assure us that America’s economic
security and leadership depend on innova-
tion. These combined points of view have
led to the recent educational emphasis on
science, technology, math, and engineer-
ing (STEM). STEM skills are undeniably
valuable to us as individuals and as a soci-
ety, but just acquiring facts and skills is not
enough to solve difficult problems and gen-
erate new ideas. That calls for the creative
application of knowledge and skills.

Human brains are structured to pro-
cess sensory discrimination, imagination,
emotional variations, social nuance and
intuition as well as to perceive connec-
tions among seemingly disparate things
and ideas — all processes associated with
creativity. So while our analytical abilities
have brought us far, creativity is an essen-
tial and underlying part of being human.

To allow creativity to remain undeveloped
is to miss out on reaching our full poten-
tial and strengthening our ability to solve
unfamiliar problems.

One of the most powerful ways to
nurture children’s creativity is through
participation in the arts. Through the
arts, children discover that there is no
single right way to solve a problem and
that each step in the process opens new
possibilities. They learn to accept the
unexpected and respond to new opportu-
nities as a work unfolds. This flexibility of
thought is the secret to innovative prob-
lem solving in any field. It is the difference
between working in a lab and making a
breakthrough discovery, between practic-
ing medicine and heading up a research
initiative, between being part of a business
venture and being tapped to represent the
company in public.

On the happiness side, creativity is a
powerful tool for self-discovery and self-ex-
pression, experiences crucial to a sense of
personal fulfillment. Participating in the
arts builds confidence and a sense of self:
This is my creation, done my way. This is
who I am. Creative activities lead children
to ask more questions, opening their minds,
emotions and spirits to wider possibilities.

At Westminster School, STEM subjects
are taught at an advanced, rigorous level. So
are the humanities. And the arts are empha-
sized and celebrated, considered not just the
icing on the cake but essential to the devel-
opment of a well-rounded, knowledgeable
and creative person capable of solving unfa-
miliar problems and steering their course
toward a successful and self-fulfilled life.

SEE OUR AD, PAGE 7
See how far your heart
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See how far your heart
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Join a community of your
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Volunteer with Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland.

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45 WashingtonFAMILY.com 45