As someone who loved music and theatre in high school, there is a special place in my heart that hurts whenever I hear about arts programs getting cut. However, I was also a member of the Scholastic Bowl team. To find out that a science classroom ran out of money to do experiments so now they just watch videos of the experiments, is equally heartbreaking. My brother was a football player. He gained a lot from his experiences there. Knowing some of the teams we played didn’t have enough money for uniforms requiring the starters to swap out their sweaty jerseys with the second string is appalling. What we fail to realize most of the time is that all knowledge and all experiences are valuable. With the current economic climate, we have to prioritize. I get that. What I fear is that we’ve become so accustomed to cutting programs that we forget to look at the benefits of what we cut. By defending our own little corners of the world, we turn others’ into enemies when, in reality, they are just like us.
The biggest examples of this lie in the extracurricular activities. Television shows like "Glee" and, well, anything on Disney Channel perpetuate the victimization of arts programs. No matter how much better the marching band is than the football team, the jocks always seem to be at the top of the social pyramid. However, there are countless movies about both the historical and current importance of sports teams. Of course, the coaches and teachers of these will no doubt launch into a moving speech about the importance of what they’re doing here and how the things they have experienced will change them for the better. I’m sure it’s true. There is so much to be learned outside of a classroom. Teamwork, time management, patience, and all those specific skills regarding the nature of the activity. This is all great. I have no problem with people getting involved or with coaches giving pep talks. The issue arises when the groups begin to feel entitled, like they are better than every other group. That’s where bullying starts, and maybe even worse, that’s where self-victimization starts.
And it’s not just outside the classroom. English, math, science, social studies, agriculture, home economics, every subject under the sun has its place in this world. So why then do science teachers say their subject is more practical than math, math teachers say they’re the only subject teaching problem solving, english teachers say that english is the most vital of all subjects, etc.? Of course if someone is teaching a subject, it’s probably going to be the one that that person is best at. The bias is reasonable, I mean, it’s the teacher’s job to care about what they do and spread enthusiasm to the students. But by pinning the different subjects against each other, a specific message is sent: if a student is good at one subject but not another, that student will fail at a certain aspect of life. It’s not necessary to say one subject is more important than another to emphasize its importance. Why do we do it then? For the same reason we pin theatre against football and scholastic bowl against FFA. There’s simply not enough funding to go around. English needs books and science needs lab materials.
All this animosity may be a natural reaction to being downsized, but it’s not healthy. It creates a tense environment which can detract from students’ focus on things that really matter. It can also create divisions in the student body. In my own experience, teachers of Advanced Placement courses would talk down regular level courses or things like art, shop, or home economics. If a student mentioned struggling in a foreign language or other elective, teachers of core classes would look at them in disbelief, assuming the student must be joking or have some out-of-the-ordinary explanation. The effect could be nothing but harmful. Making students feel like they have to classify themselves into advanced, or artistic, or hands-on is a huge step backwards in education. We encourage diversity in students, well-roundedness, yet tell them that one of their interests is not as important as another. How is that any different from the discrimination discouraged in those tear-jerker semiannual assemblies? It honestly isn’t.
The worst part is, there is no easy solution. Ideally, schools would get more funding for all aspects of education, and no one would feel inferior or uncomfortable because of their interests. That’s not happening any time soon. Really the best solution would be to be aware of the issue and to value every aspect of education for what it’s worth -- a lot. If it wasn’t, no one would be fighting for its preservation.
