News Herald – Juliann Talkington
With the brightest US kids years behind college bound children in Europe and Asia and many high school students struggling with basic math, reading and writing, one has to wonder what has gone wrong.
One of the big culprits may be something quite insidious – on campus activities.
In most other parts of the world, academics and extracurricular activities like athletics, band, and politics are not available at school. Children attend class to focus on reading, writing, math, science, history and foreign languages (the arts are generally integrated into the curriculum and children get physical activity in outdoor spaces or inside classrooms) and participate in sports, advanced visual and performing arts, leadership training and political programs in non-school related clubs.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I am a big supporter of extra-curricular activities for children. Not only do these programs improve health and wellbeing, but they also teach art, leadership and teamwork skills.
The problem is money allocated for facilities construction and maintenance, salaries, uniforms and supplies and travel for athletic and other extra curricular activities pulls resources from academic areas.
In addition, there is intense pressure to make extracurricular activities high profile, because of the cost.
Interestingly, many of the world’s best athletes, musicians and politicians did not grow up in the US, so they did not attend middle or high schools with costly extracurricular programs. If our schooling approach was the only way to greatness, there wouldn’t be a Dirk Nowitzki (German) playing in the NBA, Keith Urban (Australian) making millions in the music business or Mahatma Gandhi (Indian) leading a resistance movement.
According to sports commentator Garret Zevgetis, “The Dominican Republic is . . . arguably the birthplace of the world’s best baseball players.” This small, island nation develops baseball talent through clubs, not academic institutions.
To match international competition, more and more US children are spending time in non-school extra-curricular sports, music, theater and leadership activities. Local club sports and community sponsored arts and leadership development programs offer children outstanding options at a fraction of the cost of programs held at schools.
So why can’t the US use a combination of club sports, programs sponsored by professional teams and community sponsored arts and political programs? This approach would reduce the financial burden on schools and taxpayers, would allow schools to focus on academic subjects and would still provide young people with many ways to expand their horizons.
Thoughts on comments (11/14/10):
Thank you for commenting on my article. Your feedback provides some interesting and thoughtful perspectives.
However, I am concerned some of you overlooked one of the paragraphs near the beginning of the piece. “Please don’t misunderstand me. I am a big supporter of extra-curricular activities for children. Not only do these programs improve health and wellbeing, but they also teach art, leadership and teamwork skills.”
I am NOT suggesting that children only learn about math, science, language arts and history, but that there may be more cost effective ways to provide children with high quality arts, athletic, leadership and political extra-curricular activities. I also feel strongly that kids must have a strong grasp of math, science, language arts and history if they are to find employment in our highly technical world. For example, 21st Century graphic artists must understand arithmetic, geometry and algebra and be comfortable working with computer code.
In addition, I’m struggling with the suggestion that a child has been told he/she isn’t bright enough to handle math, science and language arts. Unless this child has a severe learning disability, it may be a matter of making sure the child understands the basic principles so he/she can succeed in these subjects or a matter of expectations.
Also, I think it is important for us to dig beneath the surface. Although it may appear that boosters are paying “all the costs” for sports or band activities, there are hidden financial obligations associated with salaries, stadium and building construction, insurance, facilities maintenance, etc. The expenditures associated with these items cost millions each year, even for small school districts. You should be able to get a complete listings of the costs from your school district office.
In addition, I find it interesting that one of the respondents assumes that my suggestions are based on a bad experience with the arts and lack of social skills. When I was in in middle school and high school I was involved in a wide variety of extra-curricular activities including music, athletics, visual arts, culinary arts, science, leadership and politics. I thoroughly enjoyed these activities and felt quite comfortable in social situations.
With all the challenges we face in ensuring our kids can live fulfilled lives in the 21st Century, we need to be more opened-minded.
Instead of reacting to different ideas with attacks, we should encourage new ways of thinking and listen to each other so we can find effective ways of providing higher quality education at a lower cost.
Thoughts on comments (11/15/10)
Thank you for your interest in the topic and taking the time to provide your viewpoints. I appreciate your thoughts, critiques and perspectives.
However, I think some of you may be reacting to issues on which we agree.
I strongly support extra-curricular activities for children. I love sports and the arts and believe that leadership training and political exposure are critical. I think we should have bands and football teams, art competitions, fashion shows, theatrical productions, choirs, ballet recitals, student leadership programs, etc.
I am not suggesting we eliminate any of these activities, but that schools may not be the right place for them.
Like many of you, I also grew up in a small town. As was common in many small towns, we had few athletic and art options. For example, we did not have a track team. To fill the gap, the Exchange Club sponsored a team. The fees were nominal and there were scholarships available for anyone who could not afford to pay. The same was true with music and theater.
So what I am suggesting is that we might want to look at other ways of providing the same or better options at a lower cost. This would allow districts to allocate more money for teacher compensation and less money to things that could be handled well in the community.
I am also concerned about some of the comments regarding reading, writing, math and science. In today’s global world no one can have only one interest. To find fulfilling employment, mathematicians and scientists must appreciate the arts, history, reading and writing AND artists, historians, writers and orators must understand math and science.
In addition, I think it is important to give children options. When I was teaching at the University of Southern Mississippi, I had a former New Orleans Saints player in one of my classes. He did not finish school, because he thought he would make plenty of money in the pros. After just one year, he was back in the classroom finishing his degree.
Again, thank you for your comments and the lively discussion.