Everyone has an opinion about public education.
Ask your Congressman, your local news media outlet, or your dry cleaner -- every one of them has the answer to better education in Florida. We need more online classes. No, we need more STEM class requirements for high school students. No, we need to stop paying teachers so much. No, we need to cut back on extra-curricular activities and focus more on core classes. We need more remediation classes. We need, we need, we need...
We need to start listening to what students want and need in the schools they attend every day.
Unfortunately, just about everything in Florida schools -- funding, teacher evaluation, student tracking, school ratings -- are tied to standardized tests. Anything that is not reflected on those tests is either axed or given lowest priority.
Combine the testing obsession with budget slashing, and Florida has seen some deep cuts in music education. Not just in Hernando, but in Pasco, Sarasota, Broward, Jacksonville, and all around the state, music programs are being reduced or cut.
This article is not about how music makes kids smarter. It's not about how performing in a school music ensemble teaches kids teamwork, discipline, and responsibility. It's not about how music performance enhances creativity and gives kids an outlet to express themselves. It's not even about music keeping kids off drugs. Let's face it: We've heard all of those songs before, probably a hundred times each. And yet, more and more programs are being slashed.
Perhaps part of the problem is that we are thinking about the consequences of budget cuts all the wrong way. Sometimes, they are perceived as a good thing because they might save a few tax dollars. Meanwhile, people on the other side of the fence are terrified by the very idea, because budget cuts necessarily mean at least a few people will end up in the unemployment line. It's very seldom that anyone actually asks the students who are affected by these cuts how they would feel.
Some of Hernando's brightest and most talented young musicians want to have a say in the matter, too, and here's what they have to tell us:
"Music is important because it is a worldwide tradition that can be heard and understood through any ear, and is a passion of mine." -- Patrick Prentice, 14, 8th grade, Powell MS
"Music is important to me because it's a way of expression that words just can't explain. Music speaks when words fail us. If it was cut, I would feel a huge emptiness in my heart. Music is always there for me when nothing else is and I would be heart broken if I couldn't express myself in such a beautiful way." -- Allie Zelakowski, 14, 8th grade, Powell MS
"If music was cut, it would make school boring." -- Ben Hughes, 17, 10th grade, Hernando HS
"Music is important because it is the one way everyone understands one another. We can all relate to music, no matter how different we may be." -- Diane Keenan, 14, 9th grade, Springstead HS
"When I'm playing music, I'm in my own world, free from all the stress of reality. Music is my life, so I'd probably go absolutely insane without it." -- Anika Thoopthong, 17, 12th grade, Nature Coast Technical HS
"School music is important to me, because it gives me the freedom to express myself along with others to create a beautiful statement through something that anyone can listen to, and want to listen to. If it were cut, my life and education would be different because music is what gets me through the day, and without being a part of something school music related, I wouldn't have half the heart at school as I do." -- Caroline Lafountain, 16, 10th grade, Nature Coast Technical HS
"It keeps me wanting good grades and is one of the reasons I like going to school. If band was cut, I wouldn't want to go to school any more. Band is a place where we can have fun and make friends." Alexandra Phipps, 15, 10th grade, Springstead HS
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