For Mediaplanet's "Empowering Our Educators" issue, I sat down with Lin-Manuel Miranda to discuss art's role in the classroom. The article was featured as the issue's cover story and distributed with USA Today.

Lin-Manuel Miranda photographed by Brad Trent

"I wrote a paper on Hamilton in the eleventh grade and got a B- on it," Lin-Manuel Miranda admits, laughing.

He laughed a lot during our conversation—and rightfully so. Miranda has countless reasons to smile these days — most of which have something to do with "Hamilton," the iconic hip-hop musical about a founding father in which he wrote and starred. Critics widely celebrate the show, dubbing the production the most "unlikely cultural phenomenon of our generation."

Before making it big on Broadway, Miranda studied the arts in college and later worked as an English teacher at Hunter College High School in Manhattan.

"It was one of the most rewarding jobs I've ever had," he explains. "It wasn't about getting up in front of the class and having all eyes on you — that's not how great teaching happens. The finest moments of teaching are when you're not saying much at all, when you're lifting the discussion up and keeping the ball in the air for the kids to draw from each other. Like great actors, great teachers know how to listen. It's not about being in the center; it's about being part of the moment and being present."

Miranda claims that the lessons he learned as a teacher continue to guide him on and off stage.

"Any nerves I had about being in front of a crowd were gone by the first week of teaching," he shares. "It's the old anxiety dream of being in front of an audience and not knowing what you're supposed to do."

He believes he owes much of his personal and professional success to his love for the written word.

"Writing makes you a better reader, and reading makes you a better writer. These things feed each other," he says. "I ended every class with five minutes of free writing. I'd play some music, and the kids would write. My only rule was that you couldn't stop writing. For many of them, it was the only relaxing moment of their day."

“Like great actors, great teachers know how to listen. It’s not about being in the center, it’s about being part of the moment and being present.”

Research shows that students who study and engage with the arts reap many social and academic benefits, yet school art programs are often the first to be axed when budgets are cut. Miranda's advice for parents and teachers? Mobilize.

“Parents will give what little they have if it’s something that their kids feel passionate about,” he urges. “In high school, we didn’t have a huge budget from the school. The money came from us soliciting parents and writing letters. We ran it like a telethon. It’s about mobilizing your community to make up for any shortfalls your school may have.”

These days, Miranda remains dedicated to giving back by speaking out as a strong advocate for arts education. In 2015, he partnered with "Hamilton" producer Jeffrey Seller, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Gilder Lehrman Institute to provide 20,000 public school students with the opportunity to see "Hamilton" live and integrate the play into their classroom studies.

"It's not about making a bunch of artists out of high school students," he explains. "Art is the gateway to so many other professions. It's doing the school play and learning you like to boss people around so you become a manager, or that you really liked being on a tech crew so you go into coding. Art can widen the aperture of a very small high school universe." ■

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