 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: kes
Date: 2003-02-03 05:04
Our school is remodelling the staff offices this year. Just last year, our music program took a substantial blow: all our bands have been combined with another school's. We are a large enough school to have enough musicians for a concert or jazz band. Now our jazz band is just huge. On top of this, as I sit here at my desk, I see my spanish book, which is falling apart. This book is from the early 80s. And in our bathrooms, the stalls are falling apart, the sinks are trough-style, and our classrooms aren't so great either.
Now, with their new money, they are re-doing the offices, and giving one of our old student parking lots to the staff, forcing all the students into one small parking lot, which may not be possible to fit all of the cars in that parking lot, with only one exit/entrance.
Why is all our money going to fix the STAFF offices? Since when did school stop working for its students and for its staff? Not only does our music program suffer, but our education suffers.
Our state seriously needs to take a look at where its money is going...
Anyway, thats enough ramble from me. I just had to get that off of my chest.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-02-03 06:01
Go to your next school board meeting. Request time to speak, and voice the concerns you have posted...GBK
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Author: David Peacham
Date: 2003-02-03 08:46
Now, I don't know anything about the US educational system.
But if it's anything like the system the England, there's a shortage of teachers in many subjects. So schools compete to get the best teachers. Problem is, they don't have a lot of freedom about how much they pay them. So one of the few ways a school can compete for the best teachers is by giving them decent working conditions.
What are the teachers' offices at your school like? Maybe they are renovating the offices in an attempt to persuade the teachers to stay. Given a choice between a school with good teachers and one with state-of-the-art water closets, I know which I'd choose. Given the choice of a good teacher and a tatty textbook, or a new textbook and a lousy teacher, I know ditto. I could stick the textbook together with tape; tape doesn't improve teachers.
On the other hand, perhaps your school is just badly managed.
...
As for the jazz band, why not get together with the best musicians in the school and form your own band? The school doesn't have to do everything for you.
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Author: Peter
Date: 2003-02-03 13:11
No, David, the school doesn't have to do everything for them, and there are many students in our school systems who do form their own bands, but I think what KES might be talking about is the fact that as U.S. schools enlarge classes, and spend on other concerns, the quality of education diminishes from an already severely diminished level.
Sadly, here in Florida we voted for a long time not to allow gambling in the state, then finally, the state government said that if we allowed the Lotto (a state lottery,) that the money would go into supplementing the school budget.
Well, we allowed the Lotto, it's making billions for the state, so they not only cut the original school system budget that was funded by from the property tax base, but started skimming off the "excess" Lotto money to fund other state projects. Consequently, that education that was to be improved gets worse every day and the "functionally illiterate" rate climbs at an astronomical speed.
The United States has one of the worst education systems in the world today, and for many years now. Ask an average American college student three questions about world history or geography and they probably won't be able to answer, at least, two, if not all three. Actually, never mind the world, try U.S. geography!]
It's worrysome and a shame, anywhere it happens!
Still, I must say that out of all the places I've been to and lived in, the U.S. is still tops, to me. How long that will continue with our lack of quality in education is still yet to be seen.
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Author: Hans
Date: 2003-02-03 14:57
The same appears to be happening in Ontario (Canada), where a conservative government decided that tax reductions were more important than education and took huge amounts out of the education budget.
The police stations, fire stations, and other municipal buildings are in great shape but the school buildings, which are built and maintained by provincial money, have leaking roofs, broken plumbing, etc. and students usually rent or buy their own instruments if they want to play in the school bands.
Students here often write letters to the editor complaining about having to share dilapidated, outdated texts and the condition of the schools and this might be a way to get the public's attention. Change rarely occurs without pressure.
Hans
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Author: Henry
Date: 2003-02-03 15:38
At the risk of getting accused of being old-fashioned, I believe that there are many things wrong with education, especially in the United States. In a way, we are expecting too much of schools in areas that have little to do with education. If I compare the current system here with my own educational experience half a century ago in the Netherlands, I see at least some major differences:
1. When one enters the "front office" of any typical American school, it is amazing to see the huge staff that is deemed required to run the place, including huge numbers and many layers of administrators, nurses, counselors, psychologists, perhaps even lawyers, etc.... We had none of these types and things seemed to run quite well, thank you.
2. The role of sports, and the associated high cost, is getting out of hand. And in spite of all that, American teens are getting fatter and fatter! I'm all for a healthy life style but sport can be done outside the confines of schools in private clubs. At least in my past, the cost in dues for such activities was minimal.
3. Music, art and other cultural activities are unfortunately the first to suffer in a budget crunch. I believe that that part of education is essential in the building of balanced individuals. The basics of music and the other arts should be covered in elementary and high school. However, I do not necessarily agree that this must include free distribution of instruments or, even, having all sorts of bands and orchestras as part of the school program. As with sports, this can all be done away from school for those who are truly dedicated. Except for my mother, everyone in my family (four kids) was extremely active musically but we learned our instruments through (inexpensive) private lessons and/or membership in marching bands and other types of ensembles. We usually got our instruments free on loan through these channels.
These are just some random thoughts. Excuse me for this nostalgic rambling! Henry
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Author: Henry
Date: 2003-02-03 16:01
Mark, you're right, of course. But I assume/hope that Peter voted against gambling in Florida (post above). See what good that did!
Henry
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Author: Peter
Date: 2003-02-03 18:31
Not only that, but as soon as politicians get into office they all seem to develop a somewhat different agenda than that on which they became elected, and we are so complacent and tuned so strictly to ourselves, that when we see this happening we might complain, but we don't react in a productive way that will eliminate further abuse by any or all of these politicians.
Voting has resolved very little in this country over the last 100 years, or so, other than to keep electing the new bad ones to replace the old bad ones. (Not that I'd like to do without the vote, at least it helps keep democracy alive.)
Then you have the old, tried and true elected politicians' system of, "If you vote with me on this issue, I'll vote with you on that one..." They do this regardless of whether it's good for the "people" or not. Then you also have to consider influence peddlers, lobbyists and "campaign contributors," all with their own agendas and everything goes to hell in a hand-basket!
If you don’t agree, it costs a small fortune to “fight city hall,” so people are discouraged from even trying and. Consequently, turn back to their own personal issues.
Unfortunately, it's true that the programs that benefit our children most are usually the first to shrink or disappear, and I don't just mean music, I mean just plain old fashioned "book-learnin'" as well.
In places like Japan, when the scope of world knowledge expands, so do school hours and days. Here we choose what to leave out of a child's education so the teachers and the administration can have more days off from an already short yearly work schedule, or whatever else they may do it for.
Who says that students need to have four months off from their learning environments every year, when there is so much more to be learned than what the school system has time to teach them during the yearly school schedule? The American school system says so, of course.
In spite of the billions of dollars the state Lottery is bringing in, supposedly for education in Florida, there are, and have been major teacher lay-offs across the state during the current state administration, which, much to my chagrin, is presently in it's second term.
If the politicos hadn't gone back on their word and kept their grubby hands out of the education till, we could likely hire enough teachers to fill up all the schools they could have built, but didn't.
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Author: larryb
Date: 2003-02-03 19:16
Mark,
I didn't undersand your post ("We get what we vote for"). That's not really how the system works in the U.S.. I'd like to hear more about the electoral experiences from the democratic nations of non-U.S. posters to this bulletin board. It is my understanding, however, that in the last presidential election, a majority of "we" did not vote for the candidate who ended up seizing power. In addition, 16% of the U.S. population elects 50% of the U.S. Senate. Close to 10% of African American males in Southern US States are disenfranchised because of prior felony convictions (most other non-Southern Strategy states allow felons who have served their time to vote). But perhaps this discussion belongs to another web-site (you, Unelected Webmaster, brought it up though).
Yes, Kes, your education is being screwed by narrow minded, greedy adults. Fight back (but don't just vote).
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Author: Peter
Date: 2003-02-03 19:51
Larryb,
You forgot to mention that most Americans who vote today, vote, not for the issues which concern them and their candidate addresses favorably during his/her campaign, but for the lesser of the two evils...A method that is often all there is left to us, but which often comes comes back to bite the voter in the rear end.
Either way, you're damned if you do, and damned if you don't.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2003-02-03 20:12
Political discussions stops. Now. Before it gets out of hand. Already the words being used are "loaded".
No further entries are allowed on this thread.
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Author:
Date: 2003-02-04 21:04
[Please read! this thread is closed permanently]
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