Governor Schwarzenegger has vetoed a bill that would have allowed students to opt out of art and/or foreign languages and take voc ed classes for graduation requirements, has vetoed a bill that would have created "green tech" academies in schools with funding coming from an electricity "surcharge" (tax), and has signed a bill that requires kindergartners to be 5 years old by September 1st.
Joanne has more details and direct links.
Okay-I have to say something here. I understand the need for some students to access vocational programs to survive. But, we also have a need to share a common culture. While it may seem superficial, most good art classes take and use higher order thinking skills on a level that is not attainable in other classes. I think there could be and should be levels of graduation credit that would allow some students to opt out of programs they did not need, but I have an issue with removing arts from the schools. Art is what humanizes us-in a good way. And art can be used to enhance and enrich other courses. I think writing stronger curriculum for arts that incorporates writing, reading, history and observation would actually improve comprehension. I guess I will get to prove that soon. I am tutoring a flock of at risk kids, in English, using my skills as an art teacher who happens to write. We will see how it goes.
ReplyDeleteBoo, yay, and yay.
ReplyDelete5 yrs old by Sept 1! My whole life would have been different had I gone to school w/ that rule in place. damn you arnold!
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