Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra Conductor Stuart Malina/Norwegian journalist on Trump and U.S.

What to look for on Smart Talk Tuesday, January 16, 2018:

Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra Music Director and Conductor Stuart Malina is one of Central Pennsylvania’s treasures.  A Tony Award winner, Maestro Malina had led orchestras throughout the United States and in China and Hong Kong and is respected for his work internationally.

So there may be no better person in Pennsylvania to discuss the arts and how important they are — especially to young people.

Maestro Malina and Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra Director of Education & Youth Symphony Administrator Mark Hunsberger appear on Tuesday’s Smart Talk to discuss arts education.

Today’s public school curriculum place a heavy emphasis on teaching the core subjects of reading, writing and math to prepare students for today’s world.  It also is true that those core subjects are what students are tested in and the standardized tests are important for the students and school districts alike.

With so much attention focused on the core subjects along with tight budgets — art, music and theater sometimes get left behind.  In fact, many schools have cutback or even eliminated arts education.

That’s even though research shows the arts contribute to students’ creativity, academic performance and motor skills.

Arts organizations like Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra are making efforts to ramp up arts education.  We learn more on Tuesday’s program.

Also, last week President Trump met with Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg and discussed several issues including the sale of military equipment to Norway and the Paris climate agreement, which Trump says the U.S. will leave. 

Later on in the week came the meeting with legislators from both parties to discuss immigration.  That’s when the president allegedly made remarks about disparaging countries like Haiti and Africa and added that the US should get more people from countries like Norway.  

So, Norway has been mentioned as part of this controversy.  Christina Pletten is a journalist who works for Aftenposten, Norway’s largest newspaper and she was at the White House with Primate Minister Solberg and later traveled to the Pennsylvania Farm Show.  She joins us from Norway on Smart Talk.