"Provide school districts the option of allowing extracurricular activities to serve as partial credit for Physical Education and Fine Arts. This change could free up students’ schedules – allowing them more flexibility during the actual school day."
What a nice was to dismiss, what even according to NCLB, are Core classes. The Fine Arts should not and cannot be allowed to be taken out of the school day. Before and after school is already congested for students because of sports and other activities, to move band, orchestra and choir as an extra-curricular is unthinkable.
In a time when our nation needs a workforce to think outside the box, taking away art and music from the school day is incredibly naive. How many more studies need to be published until legislature realizes the Arts are not extras, but are indeed Core classes. Noted Psychologist Howard Gardner (Multiple Intelligences) and Neurologist Oliver Sacks (Awakenings, Musicolphilia) have both written extensively on the importance of Music and arts education.
What is learned from a Photo club is NOT the same as what is learned in a classroom photography course. What is learned in band and orchestra is NOT the same as what is learned in the school musical. What is learned in Basketball is NOT the same as what is taught in a PE course.
As professional educators we cannot allow this double standard of courses to occur. We MUST fight this and not allow this horrendous piece of legislation to pass.
It is too bad that people are considering substituting the extracurricular activities for the Physical Education credit. The word education has a different definition from the word activity. Participation in any extracurricular activity is great, but should not be confused with the education part of a Physical Education class. Physical Education has national and state standards just like the core classes.
2 comments:
"Provide school districts the option of allowing extracurricular activities to serve as partial credit for Physical Education and Fine Arts. This change could free up students’ schedules – allowing them more flexibility during the actual school day."
What a nice was to dismiss, what even according to NCLB, are Core classes. The Fine Arts should not and cannot be allowed to be taken out of the school day. Before and after school is already congested for students because of sports and other activities, to move band, orchestra and choir as an extra-curricular is unthinkable.
In a time when our nation needs a workforce to think outside the box, taking away art and music from the school day is incredibly naive. How many more studies need to be published until legislature realizes the Arts are not extras, but are indeed Core classes. Noted Psychologist Howard Gardner (Multiple Intelligences) and Neurologist Oliver Sacks (Awakenings, Musicolphilia) have both written extensively on the importance of Music and arts education.
What is learned from a Photo club is NOT the same as what is learned in a classroom photography course. What is learned in band and orchestra is NOT the same as what is learned in the school musical. What is learned in Basketball is NOT the same as what is taught in a PE course.
As professional educators we cannot allow this double standard of courses to occur. We MUST fight this and not allow this horrendous piece of legislation to pass.
It is too bad that people are considering substituting the extracurricular activities for the Physical Education credit. The word education has a different definition from the word activity. Participation in any extracurricular activity is great, but should not be confused with the education part of a Physical Education class. Physical Education has national and state standards just like the core classes.
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