Arts and Physical Education in the Schools

By Mel Thompson

It's important to keep arts and physical education as part of the school curriculum.

Locally we have managed to keep some arts and physical activities in our elementary schools over the last four years, but its been a continual struggle as we've experienced continual drops in attendance and funding.

I've argued for continuing elementary level instrumental and vocal music instruction, as limited as that is. We need eight music teachers for the sixteen elementary schools to have a proper music program and were technically funding four, although in reality we had fewer teachers than that.

Our past history clearly shows that eliminating 5th grade instrumental music has a large negative impact on middle school instrumental participation levels. Again, we've been able to continue this program with the help of financial donations from the community.

Some persons will argue that the arts are "frills" and don't belong in education and certainly don't belong in elementary or even middle school education. I strongly disagree with that idea.

Research has clearly shown that individuals learn in different ways, and visual and auditory styles of learning definitely exist. More to the point education, and particularly elementary education, involves providing a wide range of experiences that enrich their mental and emotional growth besides providing the child with a basic set of tools for learning ("reading, writing, arithmetic and history").

There are many ways that we can work to continue or expand the presence of arts in our schools. Some involve increased targeted community financial support, some involve creative thinking on the part of the District. For example, Millbrae and San Bruno share the cost of a music teacher who splits their time between these two smaller districts. This is intelligent thinking.

The ancient Greeks and Romans believed that the complete person was healthy both in mind and body. In elementary school I believe that it is desirable to have regular physical exercise be a part of the school day, in addition to recess periods. In middle school I believe that after-school intra-mural sports such as basketball, track and volleyball offer all students alternative ways to succeed in school.

I am deeply distressed that we have had to reduce the $88,000 we have been spending on middle-school after-school sports. The community has once again helped out with contributions and the after-school program has worked hard to make their program work with even more limited resources. But I'm not comfortable with this situation and want to keep working to figure out how to improve the situation.

MT