Klarinet Archive - Posting 000243.txt from 2002/10
From: Neil Leupold <leupold_1@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Marching band --- not what I expected
Date: Sun, 6 Oct 2002 16:35:07 -0400
--- William Wright <w9wright@-----.net> wrote:
> There *is* a value to breadth of education and participation, whether
> voluntary or compelled; but at some point, specialization does become
> more rewarding.
Yes, and there's a time & place for everything. K-12 is not designed
for specialization, especially not in the public school domain. We're
educating future members of society, a realm in which it becomes in-
creasingly important to provide an effective and balanced primary edu-
cation. There is also a proliferation of private magnet high schools
for all sorts of narrower foci of interest, including places like In-
terlochen and what was immortalized by the move "Fame" as simply "P.A."
(the High School for Performing Arts) in New York. Short of having the
talent and resources to take advantage of such a school, the public
school system -- if it is to approximate its goal of turning out well-
rounded young adults -- can only do so much in terms of providing
"concentrated" experiences for those with specialized interests.
"Band directors are people too." As such, they are fallible, subject to
a whole host of opposing pressures and influences, in addition to their
own opinions on matters of curriculum design. As it stands, the status
of music programs is so imperiled in some quarters that the subordinate
issue of whether marching band is a worthy activity (in the eyes of the
students and their parents) is practically moot. For those who can af-
ford it and want a different kind of experience for their child, they
pay for private lessons and explore other means of feeding the desire
for more specialized mileux. Those who can't afford it are stuck.
That's the way it goes.
Neil
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