Foreign Language and the Arts: Basic Education?
So following up on yesterday's thread, is foreign language instruction and/or arts instruction part of basic education?
Kids could live without having either and could be educated without either. But that's not really the point (I know it is for Tea Party people - the "basics" and nothing else).
But I would say for 21st century learning, a foreign language is going to be very useful. And not just learning the language, but the learning that comes from finding out where a country is on the globe, its culture, etc. are all part of a 21st century America.
Arts. Well, how do we live without them? The world and the school experience would be so much less without music, theater, video production, painting, etc. Arts like sports is something that keeps kids in school.
But it's a cost. So should the state help at all?
Kids could live without having either and could be educated without either. But that's not really the point (I know it is for Tea Party people - the "basics" and nothing else).
But I would say for 21st century learning, a foreign language is going to be very useful. And not just learning the language, but the learning that comes from finding out where a country is on the globe, its culture, etc. are all part of a 21st century America.
Arts. Well, how do we live without them? The world and the school experience would be so much less without music, theater, video production, painting, etc. Arts like sports is something that keeps kids in school.
But it's a cost. So should the state help at all?
Comments
Arts education is harder -- because unless you are going to an arts college (Berklee, RISD, etc.) I am not sure that arts classes are required. I would argue that they are still part of a "basic" education, for two reasons. First, artistic expression and appreciation are part of what it means to be human. Second, I think that we would "lose" artistically minded kids completely (either they would fail, or just become bored and drop out) if there was NO arts component to school (and their parents couldn't afford to fund it outside). I realize that for some (many?) kids, it might not be a huge loss, and for others, their parents would find it outside, but that still leaves a group of kids whom we would fail in a big way, if ALL access to art was denied in public schools.
I also think that we should be spending some time on the canonical art works not only as part of art studies but also as part of our history lessons.
And, as the world gets smaller, and the US loses some of its dominance in the business world, there are good practical reasons to speak other languages. It works better to teach them earlier, so we should be doing that.
I wonder if in this new high tech world kids are just not interested in trade or handy classes? Or is it us? Are we so hyper focused on college requirements that we have done away with these other interesting options?
I wonder what part, if any, they play in basic education?
However, I think that as the states disperse funds to the districts, that the districts adjust the mode of instruction to the needs of the community- as long as the standards can be met.
I don't think a foreign language needs to be required as part of a national standard, although some states/districts may opt to make that an additional standard, possibly by obtaining outside grants.
I think that the arts are important and I believe that they can be part of the standards- but as a history/sociology piece, not studio accomplishment.
We can't even insure that our graduates have high school writing comprehension or are able to prove their knowledge of algebra & geometry, so I think worrying about if Bessie has a chance to try a suicide print or if the Mandarin choir class is full, is not seeing the larger picture.
If we were more flexible we would allow artists in the schools & volunteers to teach after school courses, when we have limited funds, instead of simply demanding water from a stone.
When thousands across the state are getting very basic needs cut, isn't it a little self indulgent to speculate about our idealized wants?
Karin Youngberg
Oh well, back, to college entrance planning.........
It's amazing what you can learn if you don't have the money to hire someone to do it for you.
Not to go off topic too much, but you can change the radiator/tire/oil/battery without needing a diagnostic code scanner & you can buy a ODBll code reader for less than $100 that can save you hundreds if you then buy a Chiltons manual that tells you what to do.
If we could be more self sufficient, we wouldn't need to buy our furniture from Chinese factories & fight wars to insure we had oil to ship it to our house on the hill.
Math/physics/chemistry can be taught in a science lab, or an auto body shop.
Some kids might learn better if they can see direct application of knowledge.
Some kids might learn better if they can see direct application of knowledge."
Did anyone else hear the fabulously heart-warming story of the Andy Swapp, the Milford, Utah shop teacher and his "WindKids" on KUOW a couple of days ago.
The story was fascinating. Mr. Swapp, the shop teacher saw some wind generators going up near his farm. He thought the construction looked like something he'd like to teach his kids, and walked up to the site and asked if he could volunteer. The construction boss offered him a job on the spot (after asking him if he knew how to tighten a lug wrench, or something else I don't know because I'm one of the "young" people who has no practical skills). Swapp said -- of course, I'm a shop teacher.
The summer job for Swapp evolved into a full fledged wind tech based curriculum for his students, involving putting up test towers for wind "prospectors." Swapp talked evocatively about being at the top of wind towers looking up at the night sky, and his student talked about having a job, one away from the hogs that's the main (smelly) opportunity in Milford. It was a truly a beautiful story, on so many different levels.
(I don't have the link, but will post it if I find it).
You must not know any real Tea-Party "people" since I am one and I don't believe that "just the basics" is right. Then again, having leftist teachers is not something that we should have in the schools indoctrinating our students. (That was said partially with tounge-in-cheek to match your sweeping, political generalization).
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/cte/citycampus/autoyes.xml
( As too hard/too white/too " elitist")
Even so- blue collar work, has gotten to be MUCH more complex and technical and it is just as critical IMO, to have attained writing & reading ability as well as math & science competency to be a successful plumber/electrician or even to work in the factory at Boeing, as it is to apply to college.
In a perfect world, I think that a 2nd language should be introduced & supported in elementary school, as well as enough time in the day & the year to cover the arts, music/drama/painting..., but those things can/should also be introduced cross curriculum, instead of stand-alone.
I am not that familiar with schools of education in WA, ( although I was a little horrified by some of the resumes I saw sitting on hiring committees for both teachers/principals), but I am following my older daughters MAT program with great interest. ( Her undergrad degree is not in education)
Sometimes, however, you need it to move further from the people if the local control could be swamped by a single strong voice. Think of all those westerns in which the sheriff and the town magistrate are under the thumb of the local cattle baron. Could you imagine City of Seattle officials standing up to the Boeing Company? Could you imagine Redmond officials denying Microsoft a variance?
By kicking the decision further up the ladder, making it a county, state or federal issue, the idea is to rise above the undue influence of the strong local voice. The Marshall and the Circuit Court bring order to the lawless Western town when the sheriff and the magistrate are corrupt. The EPA requires Boeing to clean up their hazardous waste and the Department of Justice charges Microsoft with antitrust violations.
We have a bit of a problem in education right now in which there are some strong local voices, such as those who oppose teaching evolution, but the strongest and loudest voices are national - Broad Foundation, Gates Foundation, etc. - so going national doesn't rise above the undue influence. In addition, the federal edcuation authorities have no enforcement authority. For these two reasons, there's just no benefit to a federal education agency.
The DOE collects and distributes funds, and they distribute them for specific uses, but they distribute them to the states as block grants for the states to re-distribute. They leave the policing to the states. The state education authorities are part of the whole culture of public K-12 education - a culture of no enforcement and no accountability. So there are a bunch of rules but no penalties for breaking them.
The problem with the DOE isn't that they do too much, it's that they do too little. Or too much. They need to decide if they are in the game or on the bench.
Smaller, less intrusive government. No, I don't support getting rid of the DOEd, and yes, I support strongly the teaching of foreign languages.
Your assumptions and generalizations of the Tea Party activists (since there is no official Tea Party as there are Democratic and Replubican parties) come stright from the pages of the New York times. Time to start displaying the tolerance that is so highly touted by your side of the aisle. Again, don't generalize. You wrote a few weeks ago about having the facts before making statements. I would suggest you follow your own advice.
But, this is your blog, and, of course, you are certainly free to express your opinion (albeit misguided IMHO). And, I will keep reading this blog.
Two, you said it yourself
"Since there is no official Tea Party as there are Democratic and Replubican parties.."
Yes, so it's okay to make assumptions about the Tea Party based on news items because there is NO organized group to tell me I'm wrong.
Three, I do most of my research about education, not politics. That said, I do try to get it right but that was just an off-hand comment.
Arts and Education