Reply to "Teacher of the Year" quits over Common Core tests

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]Also, adding more reading class means taking away electives and fun and inspiring activities like art, music, etc. Those activities do a lot for the overall well being of a child (but they certainly don't raise reading test scores which are so important).

I suspect it because in my experience I have seen a lot of watered-down elementary reading programs, for example overreliance on sight words, weak phonics programs, et cetera. And while yes, I agree that it's good and important to have kids do art and music, [b]this really needs to be in balance [/b]- if you think [b]it's more important for kids to do finger painting for most of elementary school [/b]then indeed they will be struggling for most of the rest of their school experience - and not just in reading, but also history and other subjects that rely on good reading skills. Literacy and math need to be more of a priority. Not to mention, kids will have a better chance of life success and earning potential via good literacy skills than they will through good art and music skills. You frankly have a better chance of being struck by lightning than you do of being able to support yourself as a professional artist or musician.[/quote]

Most people don't expect their kids to become artists and musicians based on taking those courses in grades K-12.  However, they do understand that those classes help children learn self expression and enjoyment of life.  If a kid is struggling to read, it may be nice to give him some pleasurable and uplifting experiences in school.  If the other kids get to go off to music and art while he has to go to remedial reading, what does that say to the kid?  Hey kid, you're not going to be a professional artist or musician anyway and that's what those classes are for?

And, just an FYI, art is not about "finger painting for most of elementary school".  Some of the skills learned in art (how to see something and draw it on paper using your imagination) are incredibly related to literature and math (proportion, perspective, etc.).  a person who is "educated" has been exposed to all of this.  [/quote]

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