David Brauer wrote: > Because there's more to life than standardized tests - such as > music and art.
Standardized tests shouldn't represent much more than a day or two a year of a child's life, but the failure to receive a basic education can impact an entire lifetime. Just ask the tens of thousands of African American males who are currently incarcerated in this country. As a high school dropout I can tell you that the importance of art and music is over-appreciated compared to the ability to earn a living wage. The percentage of people making a living wage through art and music is probably on par with that of those making a living in professional sports. > This is the insidiousness of the test-performance culture: > anything you can't measure that way gets obliterated. The insidiousness of poverty is that you CAN measure its negative effects. > I know test-measured skills are critical. But more critical > is a well-rounded education for the whole mind. Well-rounded don't mean squat when you're sitting in a jail cell. This perspective seems very class-centric. Maybe we should have a parent exchange program and let middle-class parents live in poverty for a while to make them more well rounded. > One of my biggest fears for the Mpls schools is they won't be > able/allowed to educate all expressions of intelligence. "All expressions of intelligence?" Drug dealing is an expression of intelligence, should the Mpls schools be able/allowed to teach it? > Not to mention that music, especially, is an excellent way to > learn math. Music is not an excellent way to teach math, math is an excellent way to teach math. The mathematics you can teach with music is very limited. and WizardMarks wrote: > The reason kids are given music and art opportunities in schools > ties directly with how the brain develops. Art develops hand/eye/mind > connections. Music is important to mathematical brain development. It > cannot be optional, no matter the circumstances of each particular child > vis-a-vis the language school is taught in. It's probably more important > to those for whom English is a second language. Well great here we are in an area that I actually happen to know a little something about, it just happens to be my area of research. Music and art don't tie more directly to how the brain develops than any other type of specialized perceptual or motor activity (and I'll be able to refute any reference you come up with). Music has some very indirect effects on mathematical ability, but it is certainly not *important* mathematical brain development (whatever the heck mathematical brain development is). If you want children to perform well on musical activities teach them music. If you want to perform well on mathematical activities teach them math. My wife and I are continually astounded by the overemphasis on arts and music in Minneapolis. It seems like living on the Prairie has instilled a cultural sense of insecurity in mid-westerners. Go on a tour of a public school in Minneapolis the first thing they show you is their art, music, and theater classes. Ask them where there math lab is and they'll stare at you blankly. One of the most amusing features of this insecurity is that people somehow have developed the belief that creativity is somehow intrinsically related to the Arts, i.e. that if you teach children art you are teaching them to be creative. Pretty silly, no? Michael Atherton Prospect Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
