You've got big dreams, you want fame. Well fame costs, and right here is where you start paying; in sweat. And the better you are, the more sweat I'm going to demand.

Debbie Allen from the television series, Fame

I always knew my youngest nephew was bored by school. I mean primary school, where you would think that students learn in an atmosphere of fun and creativity. But this was not the case. Not surprisingly his brilliant, artistic mind failed to be inspired by the way the government school taught mathematics, English or anything for that matter. In many ways, he just stopped engaging with education.

Fortunately, at home my nephew is part of a highly evolved artistic machinery. At five he was already performing on stage, singing, dancing and memorising an entire speech-band monologue (with a pretty decent Tobagonian accent at that). Today, he is comfortable on stage whether in front of thousands of spectators or teaching a drumming class for children from vulnerable communities.

My older nephew is a different, more intense version of the story. He too is bored by our version of education, but that is probably because there are few people on earth who personify music in the way that he does. Proficient in several instruments and musical styles, he has largely taught himself to play whatever instrument he chooses. From jazz to European classical, soca, chutney or Afro-beat - music resides in him in the way dance flowed from Astor Johnson or pan beat out from Clive Bradley.

Last year, four-year-old Coryn Clarke conceptualised and wrote her own book. Beyond the short-lived excitement of witnessing another child prodigy, have we yet devised a way for Coryn to inspire other children on a consistent basis?

What if my nephews and their talented friends could have attended a high school for the performing arts? What if they had an opportunity to nurture their talents in an environment that also supports academic achievement? What if Coryn and other gifted children like her could teach at such a school? What would this mean for TT, where culture and the arts are already woven into the fabric of our communities?

'When I went to school in Jackson Heights, I was just plain ole dumpy Doris...But when I came to our school, I was Doris who could dance, Doris who could sing, Doris who had something that was very special. I never wanted any of that to change.'

In the 1980s, audiences were riveted by Fame. The series showcased the challenges and triumphs of students and teachers from the fictional New York High School of Performing Arts. I recently discovered that Black Panther star Michael B Jordan is a former student of the Arts High School, founded in 1931, the first school of its kind in the United States. I also discovered performing-arts high schools all over the US, across Europe and to a lesser extent in other parts of the world.

I may be wrong, but I could find no high schools dedicated to the arts in the Caribbean.

D