Actually, I didn't read the article. In music class, no problem.

But my fluff argument still stands.

Take out your avatar and signature and you would be Alex's best friend!

Just to clarify, do you think courses such as music and art are "fluff" classes? And if so, why are they but not phys ed.?

No, no, no.....not at all. As a reminder, I was a music theory/composition major on a scholarship. There is plenty of evidence that those who excel in music often excel in mathematics, and I think the training is well worth while.

I don't think phys ed is fluff, either.

I could go into what I think is fluff, but it would take a while.

The problem is, where does the music class end and the fluff begin? Who's to say how much we should teach of any subject? The teachers and administrators battle with this every day.

Very true, CP. My wife is a teacher and we understand this very well.

The MAIN priority of school is the three Rs. So much other stuff pushes its way in that often times those are not treated as the priority. After I throw in history, the priorities are somewhat less clear. Music and phys ed are not as important as those others.

I keep starting writing various rants, but I find them to be endless. They have numerous tangents that I cannot seem to organize in any rational way. So....until I can figure out how to put all of my educational rants into something short of a voluminous tome, I will hold off. I would post one at a time, but I don't necessarily think one is more important than another.

Maybe this is too far of topic but I'm in a ranting mood.

I do agree that the "three R's", along with History, are probably where the priorities should lie. However, I can't help but reflect upon my own educational experience where there was no problem teaching these subjects effectively AND also requiring things like music, phys ed., art, and home economics. The "three R's" didn't suffer because the other subjects were taught. Rather, we were all given a well-rounded education.

It saddens and worries me that more and more students don't seem to be learning much of anything in school. I don't think that cutting out the "less important" subjects is the answer, but rather a quick fix that doesn't address the real problems. And I truly feel that one of the main problems is a lack of parental interest in their childrens schooling.

I hate to see that we don't seem to be able to offer a well-rounded education anymore and have to decide which classes are more important than others. In the grand scheme of things, they all seem pretty important to me. We can cut thing like music classes, which many schools have done, but the fact that the kids still can't read, write, or do simple math, seems to suggest that the problem isn't the diversity of subjects but the failure to teach any of them successfully.

I can't answer for him, of course, but while I would consider P.E. more of a fluff class than music, but I would consider music class second tier in importance. I certainly never learned anything from elementary school music classes beyond the words to "The Battle of 1812" and "This Land Is Your Land"* (and I never took any in high school so I don't know if their value increases).

When I was in elementary school, music class was one hour a week, as was P.E., so I don't really feel that was a waste of time. Don't know if that is different in other places or has changed over time.

But I do know that my younger sister managed to get to sixth grade without being able to multiply beyond the most basic single digit numbers or read a non-digital clock (and this was after two years of being in a "gifted" program) so I don't think schools failing kids is anything new.




*I'm sure we sang other songs and did other musically things but for some reason those are the only things that have stuck in my mind from elementary school music classes.

I can't imagine how boring and uninspiring school would've been for me without things beyond the 3R's. I never would've made it. I'd probably be just another high school drop out.

I think it important for schools to give kids a chance to explore and discover their talents and interests, physical, musical, theatrical, intellectual, etc. Yeah basic math and langauge skills are probably primary, but the other stuff often becomes a place you can actually apply those "basics" and better retain them.