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Imagine a house without music. It would be horribly dull! Your TV would be painfully boring. If I had to live like that I would lose my sanity. My living room where everyone plays their instrument would be the worst place ever. The only practical use we have for it is to practice our instruments. The whole house would feel dead. It would still be working, the people inside would still be moving around, but the house would be like the living dead. Or a vegetable—a broccoli, maybe. I hate broccoli.
Now think a bit bigger. What if you don't have music in your neighborhood? The ice cream man wouldn't play music. His ice cream truck would pass by and the kids won't get their ice cream! Sometimes I like to go outside to play my violin but if there were no music then I couldn't play. From time to time when I'm biking I can hear people singing outside and sometimes that is the only reason I'm out biking, to hear people sing. If there was no music, I wouldn't go out biking so much. I would be at home. Which would be a dead home. Like a broccoli. Did I say I didn't like broccoli?
Now think a whole lot bigger. What if you can't hear music in the great glorious Earth. It wouldn't be so glorious anymore. The churches would be silent. Without singing, all you have to listen to is the priest's sermon. I'm willing to listen to the priest, but only if I can sing afterward. Otherwise, church would be like broccoli.
During CASH's football games, we would have to recite the national anthem, not sing it. How about half-time? The cheerleaders would be two left feet without music—no offense, cheerleaders. They would be jumping and waving their arms quietly and it wouldn't be as fun. People will probably still go, but it wouldn't have as much team spirit, it wouldn't be as alive. Like broccoli.
Those street singers in New York would still be sitting in the streets, but not singing. The karaoke clubs in Tokyo would be replaced by something a whole lot more boring, like maybe banks. The techno and peppy disco parties would be more quiet. Everyone would be depressed, or doing something else—reading. Well, probably not. I like reading, but most people I know don't. They would be watching TV, or texting on their cellphones, or playing with their DS games. I do these things too, but without any music there's something missing. The whole world would be one big green boiled broccoli, without salt. Yuck.
Now imagine they take away the music program in our schools. Maybe we would have more kids spending time learning math or science but they wouldn't be smiling as much. They wouldn't be as happy. Many of them would feel frustrated. If you're good at math or science you wouldn't be as motivated to study hard—playing music is the dessert after a meal of math and science. It's the salt that adds flavor to dull vegetables, like broccoli. If you're having a hard time at math or science you'd be even less motivated to study hard—sometimes playing music is the only reason you put up with math or science.
We wouldn't have any practice classes. We wouldn't have any concerts. We wouldn't have any bands. On Veterans, Christmas and Thanksgiving Day parades there wouldn't be any school bands playing music, just people walking. It would be like a funeral march. Actually, even a funeral march has music. If there were no music in a funeral march, it would be even MORE dead.
Music is everywhere. It should be everywhere. It's even inside you. If you put your hand on your chest, then you would feel the music inside. Try it. What do you feel? If the school board ever took THAT music away, you'd be in big trouble.
But it can't stop, right? You don't want the music inside you to stop. You want it to go on. You want music in Chambersburg schools to go on. Don't let the school board stop the music!
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Hi, my name is Evan High, and I am a student at CAMS. I play percussion in the band and jazz band.
Here is the poem that my mom just talked about.
"I Play My Instruments"
I play the drum long,
I play the drum long,
Dum-ditty, dum-ditty
Dum, dum, dum.
I play the bass strong,
I play the bass strong,
Boom-bitty, boom-bitty
Boom, boom, boom.
I play the cymbals with brawn,
I play the cymbals with brawn,
Csh-chitty, Csh-chitty
Csh, csh, csh.
Some of my instruments
are as light as a feather.
Some of my instruments
are as heavy as an elephant.
My music marches to the beat.
When I am happy my
Music is a cannon.
I played so much
My arms fell off.
Dum-ditty, boom-bitty,
Csh-chitty
Csh, csh, csh.
I think that taking the arts out of the schools is a bad idea because kids will not be able to show or express their feelings and emotions. For my birthday, my mom & dad went out and bought me a drumset, that I love to play everyday.
By being in band, I met more friends than I would have met in just my classes. If I didn't try percussion in 5th grade, I probably wouldn't have tried it in 6th grade. And I wouldn't have met my friends. That is why I love the arts program.
Thank you for your time.
Evan High
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Thankfully most children will never experience in life what my son has had to in his twelve years. Born with many health issues, all manageable now, but nevertheless daunting to a child.
In spite of obstacles, my son now in the sixth grade at CAMS, has maintained good grades and has always made honor roll. Last year his PSSA results were all in the advanced level, except one, which was proficient in writing.
My son joined band in fifth grade as a percussionist. This year, in sixth grade, he is in band and jazz band. He loves it. It is the only class that has NEVER had a mark below 100%.
In English this year, he had to compose a poem. He used all his band experience to accomplish this. Much to my delight and surprise, and probably his teachers', he got a perfect score on his poem. He was also told to enter it in the poetry contest online. The pride on his face when he got home and told me, was priceless.
You never know what will reach a child and spark that light bulb moment. Band has been the light bulb for my son.
I have two more children at home, ages 4 and 3, anxious to be able to attend school. They love to sing, dance, draw, and play music.
My niece is in band, indoor drumline, chorus, county chorus. My nephew a 2009 CASHS graduate, was in band and was instrumental in creating the indoor drumline. They both loved that aspect of school and received good grades. My niece aspires to be a music teacher.
I graduated from CASHS. While there, I was in symphany, chorus, took Spanish and was in Spanish club, and was on the tennis team. All electives are important. They give an outlet. Without an outlet for expression, I dread to imagine what a day at school would be like for a student or a teacher.
I ask you to please consider all children and possibilities before making any decisions. Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts.
Amy Clemente
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Delivered by Carlos Vera to the CASD School Board 4.14.10
On January 13 the people of Chambersburg were devastated by the decision to eliminate or reduce the music and arts program. Why would you want to do that when music is the heart and soul of almost every youth? I hear the biggest cuts will begin in the fifth and fourth grades. If fifth and fourth graders will suffer the most, then the next generation of students will be worse off.
Music gives people benefits and advantages in the classroom and in life. Music is glorious to the ear and mind. Every bit of mind is used to produce and enjoy music. For starters, math skills are used because you have fractions and you add the value of the notes. Reading skills are used because you're reading music which is a language all its own. Social studies skills are used because you study the history of music and its culture. Science skills are involved because you need science to create better sounds and better ways of recording and hearing music.
Music is worth fighting for, and if it is, then it's worth keeping. I know you have to sacrifice something for these tough economic times, but removing music is not going to help students academically. In fact it might hurt them. Music is needed, please don't remove it. If music was not important, then there would be no one fighting for it. We're signing petitions and wearing t-shirts and spreading the news as much as we can.
Why, we practically have a band playing in the parking lot! We have a saxophone playing and a chorale singing and we even have a bagpipe! I was going to play my violin only I came late! We will NOT give up music!
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The following was shared at last night's board meeting by yours truly, Rey. I also cross posted it at my site.
Ladies and Gentleman of the board—thank you for giving me this opportunity to say some words.
Words: developed from language because we, as people, thought that conveying information was valuable. Words, which I wrote (and am now reading) because we have assigned value to the process and product of transcribed language: information conveyed textually.
Reading and writing, as you know, was not always valuable. We can thank Hammurabi, Moses (or God) for informing our estimation of that value.
But with the rise of logical positivism, only that which can be quantified has been assigned value while that which elevates quality has been pushed aside as optional, unimportant, or an ideal. That philosophy collapsed when she couldn't be quantified—yet her jaded ghost haunts our current decisions.
I'm here, therefore, asking several things:
- First, that the administration and the school board assign value—real value—to the arts and music program here in the Chambersburg Area School District. Not because of some peripheral statistics but to enrich our students, schools, and society. At this point in history we wouldn't dream of going back to a pre-literate world. In like manner, in an increasingly flat world, the arts are one of the few currencies that are globally accepted, transcending language barriers and cultural differences: we dare not see them as an optional ideal.
- Second, that you lead the charge in stopping the slippage. I believe Chambersburg is slipping into the grip of that aforementioned philosophical failure. A class of 9 students might be just as valuable as a class of 30.
- Third, that the school board revokes their request to “curtail” the unified arts program.
- Fourth, that the school board and administration fill all positions of arts and music faculty who leave their positions with fulltime, appropriately certified professionals.
- Fifth, that the Chambersburg Administration examine curricula like Saccardi's Art in Story which integrates English, history, math, science, art, dance, music, and social studies.
- And last, that the School Board takes a heavy look at other areas for fat-trimming. Maybe responsibility doubling. Maybe administration. Who knows? One of the earliest hits at my last job was management. It worked for them; it might work here.
Thank you.
Rey Reynoso
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