If you want to see and hear something remarkable, follow the link to the 5th grade choir at PS 22 (Public School 22) in Staten Island, New York. To hear these kids sing is amazing. I would never have thought a group of fifth graders could sing like that. Many of these urban kids have led tough lives. Three quarters of them have family incomes low enough to qualify for the free lunch program.
There was a time when I thought stuff like music, art, maybe even athletics really, was "fluff," not necessarily essential to the academic milieu. I think a lot of people feel that way today. Things like art, music and shop are usually the first things to go when budgets get tight, as they seem to more and more as the public commitment to education ebbs and the preoccupation with taxes continues.
Boy, have I done a 180 on that. Look at these kids. Their teacher, Gregg Breinberg, feels it's a shame that many will go from his school to middle schools where choral music has been axed. He says he is convinced that music has saved a lot of young peoples' lives. I completely agree. Here's why.
Most young people, particularly from tough environments, don't go to school or stay in school for the academics. They need to connect with something. They make friends or they discover an interest. The interest is something they enjoy. It might be a sport, computers, the band, art, drama, cosmetology, ceramics, home ec or working on cars. For some it can lead to a career; for most not. But what it does is give the kid a reason to want to come to school.
I can't begin to list the number of students I've had over the past eleven years at community college who work hard enough to pass twelve units a semester so they can stay eligible to play softball, football, soccer, basketball, or one of our other sports. Along the way a lot of them get a degree or a certificate that opens the door to a successful life. You have to meet young people's personal needs to have some fun in a wholesome and productive way if you don't want to lose them. Our society is losing far too many of them. When we continually slash the activities that keep them connected to school and each other in a positive vein we do not save money. We squander it, for dropouts and gang members cost society enormous sums in lost productivity and the legal system.
It's crucial to support the arts, sports, and school-based activities. It's one of the best ways to save America's kids.
2 comments:
The benefits of "extracurricular" activities throughout school extend far beyond keeping kids out of gangs. The cognition, discipline, comradeship and sheer sense of achievement you achieve through programs such as music, athletics and art are invaluable. This is especially notable considering the environments through which these traits are taught are ones children directly relate to; fun.
What also should be noticed, especially in inner city schools, is the familial environment these programs provide. From personal experience growing up so close to NYC, a lot of these students' parents are separated, with mom working two jobs to afford their astronomical rent while dad is nowhere to be found. These programs provide a camaraderie that these children are desperately seeking, having it so vacant in their home lives.
Having participated in many of these programs throughout my educational career-- from playing 7 instruments starting in second grade to collegiate varsity volleyball- I constantly advocate the continuation of these programs to opponents. I cannot fathom any educational system without them.
You have added many valid justifications to the few I emntioned. Well done!
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