Klarinet Archive - Posting 001326.txt from 1998/04

From: George Kidder <gkidder@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Support for education vs. support for football
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 19:28:47 -0400

At 02:14 AM 4/23/98 -0400, Diane Karius wrote:

>Jason Hsien wrote:
>> Now, I can understand why people can get angry because of my support of
>> athletic programs over music programs. Yes, I love music, but I am trying to
>> be rational. Instead of thinking of schools as simply places of education,
>> think of them as small businesses. Athletics is a great public relations
>> device. So is music, but which one seriously makes a bigger punch?
>
>Although the school boards and voters often like to treat schools
>(public or private) as "small business", as an educator I believe
>this to be a serious mistake. Once one starts to view the school
>from the "small business" point of view, I have found that
>inevitably the focus begins to narrow. Decisions come to be based
>on "short term" thinking - in the statement above the decision is
>based on the public relations and how many people come to the
>respective events (things which shouldn't be entirely ignored
>either). However, the purpose of the school is not
>to "sell" anything, make a profit, or make people cheer. Schools
>serve (at least) two major purposes: 1) to impart a body of
>knowledge (general or specific) that has been determined to be
>required in order to successfully function within society and one's
>chosen profession; *and* 2) the development/nuturing of the various
>talents that people will use to change the world. These are
>long-term events - in the United States we concede that this is AT
>LEAST a 12 year process (and many companies want 16 or more years of
>education). To make budgetary decisions based primarily on the short
>term criteria of "popularity" or "money-making potential" is to
>cripple the entire system.
> I'll step off my soap box now....
>Diane R. Karius, Ph.D.
>Department of Physiology
>University of Health Sciences
>2105 Independence Ave.
>Kansas City, MO 64124
>email: dikarius@-----.EDU
>
Get right back on that soapbox - much of the country is sadly in need of a
reminder of what education is all about. Many of the ills of education at
all levels (K - university) come from the "Education as a Business"
philosophy.

I also believe that what has been missing in the interminable discussion of
orchestra auditioning practices is the realization that the value of an
orchestra cannot ba assessed by examination of "the bottom line", and that
any society which makes this the criterion for success or failure of any
artistic endeavor has already lost its claim to some portion of the meaning
of the word "civilized."

Now who needs the armour/armor? (This spell checker suggests changing the
first spelling to "arm our", but then admits "armour" as an alternate.)
George Kidder
gkidder@-----.edu