Last year, the local school district recruited a new superiintendent. She seems to be very enthusiastic and a big supporter of the arts.
However, she's gotten this idea into her head that what the disttrict needs is an "arts" high school, where the emphasis will be on music, dance, graphic arts and video editing (I'm not kidding). While she's obtained some support from some of the arts booster groups, I've let her know that I'm not in favor of it, for two reasons:
* While it may increase the exposure of a select group to the arts, it will do so at the expense of decreasing the expsure of the student body at large. In my opinion, we don't need more musicians as much as we need audiences who can appreciate music.
* It will lessen the exposure of the arts students to much of the lhigh-school experience and actually make it more difficult to get training in math and the sciences.
This whole business of breaking up general education into little islands of charter schools seems to be all the rage today and I think it's a mistake.
I'd like to hear about others' experience with this sort of thing. Perhaps I can bolster my arguments--or maybe you'll demolish them altogether. Either is fine with me.
It seems to be working in our town. Like any community, we have pockets of both success and failure but I would judge Durham School of the Arts (DSA) as a success. They schedule an extra period each day so the students can take and extra arts class without taking away from the academic classes. They still manage to have state contenders in sports (no football team though), great fine arts options (as you would expect), and the very best test scores in the whole school system (I'm not kidding - the best). My son attends a different High School, also with an excellent band program and a football team. My daughter attends DSA.
I can't say that this will work everywhere, and I'm not disagreeing with anyone elses posts, but the "Arts" High school is definitely working here.
This is not our school district, but rather one in a neighboring city (pop. 60,000) which my wife and I support. The population is decidedly middle-class blue collar, yet the high school managed to fund and build a performing arts building not long ago. Their facilities are very good and support orchestra, concert band and marching band as well as a very full choral program. The teachers are dedicated and think that theirs is the ideal job.
The district turns in remarkable performances, particularly when contrasted with neighboring "white collar" districts. The teachers regularly visit middle schools in the same district to inspire the students. One BD invites 8th grade students to participate in the HS marching band on certain occasions and rewards them with HS band T-shirts.
All in all, the current program seems to be working very well and I wonder about the wisdom of changing things around. Bear in mind that this is not a major metro area, so recruiting students to attend the arts school would most likely deplete the regular school programs.
I attended the Hamilton High School Academy of Music, which is the main music and performing arts public school here in Los Angeles. It was a brand new program when it began back in 1988 and was something special. We had grants from Westwood One, Fox, and many other industry leaders in town. With 19 music teachers it succesfully competed with the best high schools in the nation.
I was able to play some some of the worlds best musicians during my three years there from '89-'92. There were some rough times, because the rest of the 4,000 student body, minus 800 magnet kids, was a gang-infested, morally corrupt war zone. Putting that aside, the school was great.
The big problem is that it isn't any good anymore. Last time I visited there were only four music teachers on staff and they lost many of their best grants. When public beauracracy gets involved in anything, they can't help but mess it up. The public schoold are a serious reliablity now, especially here in CA where illegal aliens who do not pay taxes sit in classrooms getting taught leftist bullshit on my bill. Hamilton only took about five years to go from a state-of-the-art big city music school right back to a sick and twisted birthing ground for morally corrupt parents to send their children for free daycare.
What can be done about these things. Nothing. The end times are quickening every day and our nation and our world is a ticking timebomb of terror. No government is going to fix things. No program is going to make your kid be a better person or get the bums off the streets. Only by setting an example ourselves by living the Ten Commandments and having Jesus live in us can we defeat the evil od this world, weather it is terrprism or public schools and tax draining social programs.
Grooving for Heaven wrote:Why the cut down for video editing? I've done some, and it IS an art, and takes as much or more talent to do well than playing a musical instrument.
I've been playing tuba for 20 something years, and it might take me that long to learn Adobe Premiere....
Try it sometime before you insult it,
I'm a software nut... and a design engineer fairly versed in several CAD programs including solid modeling titles such as Solid Works, Unigraphics, Origin, and AutoCad. I think it would be easier to become proficient on tuba because the tuba doesn't have a new release every six months!!
Dan Schultz
"The Village Tinker" http://www.thevillagetinker.com" target="_blank
Current 'stable'... Rudolf Meinl 5/4, Marzan (by Willson) euph, King 2341, Alphorn, and other strange stuff.
I think that is a dangerous situation. Here in Seattle we have a few High Schools/Middle Schools with phenominal music programs and the majority have little or none. Yet, when folks gripe about it the "bean counters" can point to the few great programs and claim that we don't need to worry. I fear that the magnet school scenario might present the same problem.
All of our students should have an equally good and welly rounded education. While not at all an egaltarian, I worry about these sorts of situations.
Please keep us posted.
__
Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra and Auburn Symphony Orchestra
Grooving for Heaven wrote:Why the cut down for video editing? I've done some, and it IS an art, and takes as much or more talent to do well than playing a musical instrument.
I've been playing tuba for 20 something years, and it might take me that long to learn Adobe Premiere....
Try it sometime before you insult it,
I think you're misunderstanding my reasons for picking on VE.
Is VE a suitable subject for high-school study in a district that can barely afford to float a decent music program? Wouldn't it be more suitable to get some grounding in the basic graphic arts and take up the technical stuff at the university level, where it's more likely to reflect the current state of the art?
I wouldn't be in favor of a high school offering courses in cinematography either for the same reasons.
This ain't Beverly Hills. The reason for forming the "arts school" given is that it should be easier to get more grants. Of course, no one dares utter what will happen if the grants fail to materialize in sufficient quantity.
Please don't trash Video Editing, It's my day job!
The big problem is students should learn how to edit the old linear method of tape to tape,
once you master that, then you move
into the great zone of computer non-linear editing!
Adobe Premiere is okay,
I own an Avid, much more professional!
I have to laugh sometimes, I go on the Avid-L and there are
people complaining about bugs and missing features in the software and hardware issues, then I come here and
read about having to pull slides so a certain note lands right on the "beezer" or why its hard to find the right mouthpiece to match your horn!
In our area, we have a new charter school for the performing arts, starting it's second year of existence.
In fact the Fine Arts show I produce and
edit for did a half hour on it recently. It has students from
almost forty different school districts, and in Allentown, one of the high schools has a Arts track for students, both have interview and/or auditions for entry into the schools.
Luckly since its Allentown, PA, there is no issue of Gangs.
