Twelve Indictments of the U.S Education System (Series)
Number Nine — Abolition of specials
This article follows on from an article I published last week, titled “Twelve Indictments of the U.S Education System: Number Eight — Lack of political training,” where I discussed the eighth of twelve indictments. Here is the ninth.
As time goes on, the classes we’ve deemed “specials” in schools are being cut. Art, music, gym, theater, recess, all of the “fluff” as some call it. Anything that isn’t a core subject is being thrown to the wayside, but those courses are where our students thrive. It’s where they find the things they like to do. It is the exploration they need to find out what they want to do with the rest of their lives. Every time we cut funding to these subjects, we are taking away another bit of creativity from our students.
Personal Impact —
Do you remember when you were in 2nd grade and you liked school? When you did art projects, and you played outside, and you did fun writing assignments? You might have even woken up early and you were bursting with energy. But as you got older and the years went on, you spent less time outside, you stopped taking art, and the only thing you wrote was research papers? If you were to pinpoint the time that you started sleeping in late, slowing your step, and dreading the day, it was probably around the time that this shift happened. By the time you’ve made it to high school, you started hating school and learning.
Do you also remember when you used to ask questions about anything? You would ask why the sky is blue, why the leaves fall down, and why are dandelions not considered flowers? You were curious about the world and you were excited to learn about it, you were engaged. But then, you stopped asking questions. In fact, you even stopped answering them. Teachers spend their days with you and your classmates just pulling teeth and trying to get someone — anyone — to say the answer to the problem on the board.
Teenagers get so much heat for being lazy and depressed, but has anyone ever questioned why we are seeing that? Because it isn’t really that teenagers are lazy, in fact, they cannot afford to be. Teenagers are some of the busiest people I know.
Throughout the years of our education, we are slowly removing everything fun about school. Some students find Math to be their favorite, and that’s a good day for them. But what about the students who love to draw? Sing? Act? Be an artist in any other numerous mediums that we cut the funding from as they grow? We are so focused on the test scores that we often forget we are dealing with multifaceted individuals with interests and passions that should be explored.
These are the things that make us happy, they help us recharge our batteries, reduce stress and anxiety, improve moods, and even boost our immune systems. When we cannot be happy with who we are on the inside, how are we supposed to be happy with what we see on the outside? How are we supposed to thrive in society if we cannot even thrive within ourselves? How can we have strong, meaningful relationships if we are constantly working towards things we don’t actually want? At what point do we stop being individuals and start being manufactured robots?
Our education system is draining the life out of our kids. We all experienced it, and yet we let it continue.
Professional Impact —
These days companies are looking for creative individuals when they interview someone for an open role, but it can be quite difficult to find these skills in adults. Our schools slowly pulled us away from them by hogging all our time with homework, cutting funding towards the classes aligned with our passions, and you cannot forget the constant reminder that “that won’t make you money.” As children, we are pushed away from these interests, then as adults, we ask where all the creative people went.
These skills…this passion we have…they are not constants in our lives if we don’t give them the attention they deserve. You can like drawing, but if you don’t keep it up, it can fade. We practice skills to keep them permanent fixtures in our lives, but if we don’t practice them they will get rusty over time. Until eventually, you aren’t completely sure you could do it anymore. Then one day you might even forget you were interested in it. You might look at your old color pencils, feel nostalgic for childhood, then move on.
We align drawing, painting, writing, building things for fun with childhood. We are pushed towards being “mature, responsible adults”, and mature, responsible adults aren’t supposed to finger paint…unless they are entertaining a kid.
We go from having our artwork put on the fridge to having our priorities questioned when we practice art. We spent hours every day living in the lands of make-believe, creating masterpieces, only to grow up and tell others we are not creative. We lose the spark that lights up our life.
The people we look up to the most are the people who have embraced their passion and made it their main thing. Stephen King (author), Michelangelo (sculptor), Fleetwood Mac (band), Denzel Washington (actor), Beyoncé (singer), the list goes on. We are so worried about finding a job that will help us live, that we forgot to live.
We got so focused on making sure everyone was at the same level with Math, English, History, and Science that we forgot the real meaning of education: the journey. Education is a gift that some don’t get, and we don’t even appreciate it because how could we with a system like this?
What to do —
We need to remind our schools that the “specials” are just as important as the other classes. They need funding and support to thrive, and that comes from us.
This funding isn’t just connected to paying for supplies, but also paying for teachers. If we don’t have the teachers to run the classes, then we don’t have classes. So, not only do we have to reestablish funding for these departments so they can thrive again, but we also need to make them desirable to teachers again.
Teachers who would usually run these classes don’t want to give up but if the money isn’t there and we’ve convinced everyone to no longer be interested there is only so much they can do before it is time to pull the plug.
We need to stop telling our kids that what they love won’t make them money.
This problem isn’t like the rest in this series. This isn’t about preparing kids for society or fighting disenfranchisement. This is about allowing each other to embrace who we are and be happy with what we are seeing. Our country is surrounded by issues and problems that we need to fix, and we are so busy letting ourselves drown in that that we forget self-care.
These aren’t fluff courses, and they aren’t unnecessary add-ons either. We need classes that help us escape our stressors for a while, we need to figure out our “happy places” and we need to explore all the options that life has to offer. Not everything should be about how to make money, some things should be about how to be happy.
We need everyone writing to your local politician demanding more funding for our schools. Every time the budget cuts cross the political spectrum it’s the schools that get the cut. While you’re at it, write to your local school boards insisting that we maintain and improve the availability of these resources. I want you to find your inner child, pick up that pen, and start writing.
For more on this topic please check out: Students Need “Specials” by Dan McConnell
