In yesterday's "Your LowCountry" section of the Post and Courier, the big story is the new Step Team being implemented at CC Blaney Elementary. Evidently the town of Hollywood's Education Committee "initiated" this new team.
Oh, I don't know where to begin. Yes, I think dance is great. But CC Blaney's current overall rating is Below Average. How many of these children are reading at grade level, or better yet beyond grade level? Why isn't the town of Hollywood's Education Committee initiating a reading program providing incentives for students to improve academically?
I was speaking with a friend a few weeks ago regarding our frustration over the afterschool WINGS program at Memminger. No offense, but we don't need you to teach our kids how to Step. We'd prefer if you'd help them with their reading, writing,and math skills. Our kids are excited when they perform better in school. Don't you get it? We're tired of you dumbing down our kids!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Oh, but it's all about preparing these kids for the future and teaching down to them is all part of that. What Charleston needs is a few more singing bus boys and dancing chamber maids. That's why "high tech" in high minority schools is always paired with minimum wage jobs. Step shows are fine...for college frat boys...but shouldn't we be preparing these kids to make it to universities and colleges first? Where's the story on how the community is helping these kids to reach those goals? Instead they are being labeled before they're out of kindergarten as minimum wage slaves by the school establishment.
All this is OK, because those white people really look like they're enjoying the Step Show. White people really don't think black kids can appreciate all that boring academic stuff. I guess rich white people believe black kids are just natural born entertainers. Who needs the other things? It might just prepare these kids for advancement, but that would only get in the way of the vision we have for them. Street people who entertain tourists. Gee, I'm really looking forward to the "arts infussion" scheduled for Sanders-Clyde, too. Can you see it? Just like how I remember the old plantation. Thanks, Dr. Goodloe, for reminding me what it's all about here.
Ghostryder here,
Ya'll are old school and apart of what is wrong with today's boring school and ya'll obvious have no understanding how the arts can enhance, improve learning. If ya'll have not noticed. Some of the best schools in the tri-county area are arts school. Rollings Middle, Jeanne Moore, Ashley River Elementary, School of the Arts in Charleston County, and is it Howe Hall in Berkley County. The arts require, demand a student to work in the higher order thinking skills. It is a know fact that the arts improve student achievement, not take away. The arts faction at a higher level than the average class. If you look at Bloom's taxonomy(Bloom's is divided into categories{comprehension, knowledge, synthesized, analyze, application, and evaluation})a regular education class usually functions in the knowledge and comprehension based area which is the lower two areas of Bloom's. The arts are always asking students to evaluate, analyze what they are learning and then synthesize what they are learning. It is not just enough to know the dates of important historical events, but understand why they are important. What impact they had on the human experience? I do not think dancing will take away from students, but instead it will help; if the class is taught by the right teacher. Its time jump into the new century and combine old school with the neu skool thoughts so our kids will be even more creative and better thinkers than the generations before them and that is all I have to say for now. Later.
I agree that children learn best by doing. What concerns me is that CCSD isn't consistant. There is too much knee jerk reaction to everything coming down the pike. The Sanders-Clyde arts infussion plan was offered as a reaction to questions about demolishing the school and CCSD's committment to rebuilding it. (Notice that construction on the new Sanders-Clyde has yet to begin.) There has been no mention since then of the math theme for S-C that was central to the parent/school committee's recommendation in the 2004 Reconfiguration Plan. And let's not forget that Dr. McGinley cut out the 4th and 5th grade hands-on interdisciplinary field trips to Drayton Hall & Patriots Point in order, they say, to spend more time in the classroom to get ready for the standardized tests AND to save $120,000. Wow, how low a value we place on true quality and contectivity for children who might not get much of this at home...or even for those who do. Might every child benefit that much more from the opportunity to share their enthusiasm for learning by experiencing life beyond the traditional 4-walled box. CCSD still sees the world as PACT scores and statistics, not real children whose passion for life hasn't been snuffed out yet.
I believe that students should be intune with the arts. Start funding programs with arts in them. It makes a kid feel happy in their school. They can express themselves artisticly but I think that there should be a condition.
If you have below a C average you should not be allowed to participate in theese extra things until you bring your grades up. This will encourage them to learn theese things. Make theese kids work.
I wish that CCSD would offer more arts programs though....
Post a Comment