As incoming freshmen were registering for next year's courses at SoHi, they came across a surprise as they were required to sign up for a music class for the next year. Parents and students were concerned and outright angry at this surprise requirement. Information from the school said that this requirement was to save the music program which was in trouble due to the lost music opportunities at Skyview because of restrictions for COVID mitigation. This did not placate those who were raising concerns, and for good reason.
Unilateral decisions such as this rarely go over well. In a time when such unilateral decisions seem to be commonplace, there is bound to be significant pushback when yet another one is given. There should have been a conversation about this prior to students scheduling their classes. The reasons should have been addressed and discussed rather than seemingly coming out of nowhere. In fact, changes in class requirements is something that should be addressed by the school board.
That said, we do not require enough music in our educational system. Ditto for art. Students should be able to proficiently play at least one instrument before they graduate from high school. They should also be able to demonstrate proficiency in both 2D and 3D art. Due to the long-term gutting of education, these sorts of essential programs have often been cut rather than expanded.
Now, some people might argue, "but my child is not good at music or art." To this I reply, "THAT'S WHY THEY SHOULD TAKE THE CLASS!" Certainly there are talents involved in the arts, but these are also skills that can be taught, skills that provide life-long benefits which persist into areas beyond their realms (such as [but not limited to] music's benefits with math and art's benefits with spatial reasoning). Others might argue, "Why force kids to do something that they are not interested in? Think about how hard that would be for the teacher to have kids who don't want to be there." To this I reply, "THAT'S THE CASE FOR LITERALLY EVERY CLASS STUDENTS TAKE!" Are we supposed to use that excuse to leave students without basic proficiencies in math, science, history, physical education, or language arts as well?
Education is about broadening opportunities and futures. While I agree that this should have been handled differently, I certainly hope that our parents and community will stop poisoning our children's minds against music and the arts. Let's broaden their minds, not narrow them.
Unilateral decisions such as this rarely go over well. In a time when such unilateral decisions seem to be commonplace, there is bound to be significant pushback when yet another one is given. There should have been a conversation about this prior to students scheduling their classes. The reasons should have been addressed and discussed rather than seemingly coming out of nowhere. In fact, changes in class requirements is something that should be addressed by the school board.
That said, we do not require enough music in our educational system. Ditto for art. Students should be able to proficiently play at least one instrument before they graduate from high school. They should also be able to demonstrate proficiency in both 2D and 3D art. Due to the long-term gutting of education, these sorts of essential programs have often been cut rather than expanded.
Now, some people might argue, "but my child is not good at music or art." To this I reply, "THAT'S WHY THEY SHOULD TAKE THE CLASS!" Certainly there are talents involved in the arts, but these are also skills that can be taught, skills that provide life-long benefits which persist into areas beyond their realms (such as [but not limited to] music's benefits with math and art's benefits with spatial reasoning). Others might argue, "Why force kids to do something that they are not interested in? Think about how hard that would be for the teacher to have kids who don't want to be there." To this I reply, "THAT'S THE CASE FOR LITERALLY EVERY CLASS STUDENTS TAKE!" Are we supposed to use that excuse to leave students without basic proficiencies in math, science, history, physical education, or language arts as well?
Education is about broadening opportunities and futures. While I agree that this should have been handled differently, I certainly hope that our parents and community will stop poisoning our children's minds against music and the arts. Let's broaden their minds, not narrow them.
RSS Feed
