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[A Budgie she/her]

1 hour ago, ShadowLord_Lith said:

There was a time when almost anyone you picked up off the street could play (or would be willing to learn how to play) an instrument of some kind. Now however, especially with youthful children, those musical, artistic, and dramatic talents are being ignored and, in some cases I suspect, suppressed. For example:

Most kids at my school are impressed with the ability to whistle or play the drums. Yes I admit that keeping consistent rythem with the drums becomes difficult, if not an outright struggle, once other instruments join in, but still. And almost none of the kids in my school can sing. They can't even play-act!

Most kids in my drama class don't use anything but a monotone voice in their script reading. I know that kids voice act when they're younger, or, most do, so why is it difficult to talk like your actually speaking instead of just reading the lines in a robotic monotone?

It scares me to think that so many kids are willing to forget and suppress their history and culture simply because it's difficult. I understand that there are those that are musically or artistically or dramatically un-inclined, but surely that wouldn't be the case with the majority of my school, would it? 

Uh...not always. Regarding music, many primary schools (this refers to my area, by the way, and may not be a good indicactor over larger regions) learn music as a subject, and here we have a program where children get the opportunity to learn an instrument if they are doing well in music and enthusiastic about it. And as for high school...I go to an acemdemic school, but we have quite a good music program. While not everyone is an amazing singer, we are mostly tuneful, and it's not really anything special unless you're really good.
What year does this refer to?

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

@A Budgie, almost the entire population of my high-school. At least, the the population I'm able to interact with on a regular basis. I can't honestly speak for the whole school, but from what I've seen... I just hope that the fine arts become more appreciated by the time I have kids in high-school.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

10 minutes ago, ShadowLord_Lith said:

@A Budgie, almost the entire population of my high-school. At least, the the population I'm able to interact with on a regular basis. I can't honestly speak for the whole school, but from what I've seen... I just hope that the fine arts become more appreciated by the time I have kids in high-school.

Many high schools are definitely focused more on sports, treating the arts like a red headed stepchild much of the time. When it comes time to budget, if the school is short, the arts will see their funding slashed while the football team won't even be touched. 

[Orlion Blight he/him]

Here it is what it is like to be an independent adult:

"Ah, finally! I am free at last!" 

*after initial ectasy, thinks about it*

"Oh dear god, I am free! AHHHHHHHH!"

[Elenion he/him]

My school has the opposite problem of some of your guys': we are required to take three trimesters of fine arts to graduate. That doesn't sound like a bad thing, until you get into one of those fine arts classes and find it filled with people who don't care about the art, only the credit. That's how you get drama classes full of people who can't read from a script, for one. Some of my best friends are actors, and it makes them very angry when they can't take a class without it being full of unmotivated jocks. (No offense to sports teams. Not all sports players are unmotivated jocks, but some are)

[Arraenae]

7 hours ago, ShadowLord_Lith said:

@A Budgie, almost the entire population of my high-school. At least, the the population I'm able to interact with on a regular basis. I can't honestly speak for the whole school, but from what I've seen... I just hope that the fine arts become more appreciated by the time I have kids in high-school.

My school, which is in California, has a really good art program. Several people from it have gone to art school and have jobs in art.

[Hemalurgic Headshot he/him]

My school has a really great fine arts program. Pretty much, if you want good arts programs, go to my high school; if you want the advanced classes (and stuff) go to the other. The other high school has a really good marching band, better than ours, but my high school's drama department is the best.

[Guest]

My daughter's school has an art program offering a partnership with the museum of fine arts: they even expose some of the kids work out there. Sure it is an elementary school, but I wouldn't say High Schools over here are mistreating fine arts. Those are rather popular programs, probably nearly as popular as sports ones.

Back in my day, arts, music and theater were more popular picks than hockey and figure skating. All the kids within the class actually liked the topic, they all participate and none lack enthusiasm. Sure there weren't specialty programs, but single classes but there are schools which offer concentrations in fine arts. One of the most sought after school in town is one offering a extensive art program: people line up to inscribe their kids there in hope they will be call back.

Maybe things are different in the States with the need to get scholarships to get higher education.

[A Budgie she/her]

My school does classes for visual art and drama etc, but I don't know many who does them. We have a huge focus on music though, and in fact we used to be a music school.
I wouldn't say the arts are being in any way mistreated here.

[Erunion he/him]

@maxal - I've noticed the same on this coast too: without the drive for scholarships (and the money made from high school/college sports) there's much less of an emphasis on sports in high school, and a much greater emphasis on art.

You see, in Canada, when we cut funding we cut all funding equally  

[Mestiv he/him]

Ok, my curiosity has been satisfied. You just have much more music/art in general in schools. In Europe kids have some basic drawing and music lessons, but not enough to actually teach anyone how to properly play an instrument. 

Also marching/school bands are a thing. We don't have those. 

[Sunbird she/her]

Re: music in schools, I was in marching band 3 out of 4 years in high school and by Harmony, after that experience I will fight anyone who says marching band isn't a sport! I have never gotten as much exercise in my life as I did the 2 years I was on the drumline.

Also I find it very sad that the arts are so often discounted as not valuable and are usually the first thing to go during budget cuts.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Erunion said:

@maxal - I've noticed the same on this coast too: without the drive for scholarships (and the money made from high school/college sports) there's much less of an emphasis on sports in high school, and a much greater emphasis on art.

You see, in Canada, when we cut funding we cut all funding equally  

I am not sure we are cutting anything these day, more like spending like crazy  It is completely insane to see Quebec cut down all of its expenses, get massive surplus while Canada does... the opposite  The world has turned upside down.

Our schools have sports, but never as in the States, we aren't as... patriotic. Higher education also is ridiculously cheap.In the States, I get the sad feeling if you aren't born rich, then you never truly have a chance. Over here, at least, even if you are downright poor, you still have the same access to the same Universities. Expensive private schools also aren't a must.

[Darkness Ascendant he/him]

2 minutes ago, Sunbird said:

Re: music in schools, I was in marching band 3 out of 4 years in high school and by Harmony, after that experience I will fight anyone who says marching band isn't a sport! I have never gotten as much exercise in my life as I did the 2 years I was on the drumline.

Also I find it very sad that the arts are so often discounted as not valuable and are usually the first thing to go during budget cuts.

oh nice  

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

35 minutes ago, maxal said:

I am not sure we are cutting anything these day, more like spending like crazy  It is completely insane to see Quebec cut down all of its expenses, get massive surplus while Canada does... the opposite  The world has turned upside down.

Our schools have sports, but never as in the States, we aren't as... patriotic. Higher education also is ridiculously cheap.In the States, I get the sad feeling if you aren't born rich, then you never truly have a chance. Over here, at least, even if you are downright poor, you still have the same access to the same Universities. Expensive private schools also aren't a must.

The US might be a mess in many ways, but we aren't a storming dystopia. 

Edited April 1, 2017 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[kenod]

6 hours ago, Mestiv said:

Ok, my curiosity has been satisfied. You just have much more music/art in general in schools. In Europe kids have some basic drawing and music lessons, but not enough to actually teach anyone how to properly play an instrument. 

Also marching/school bands are a thing. We don't have those. 

I don't really agree with this, at our school, if we chose music as one of our subjects (it's mandatory for the first three years) we learn quite a lot about playing instruments, especially the piano. In the final year we even do an entire show, were everybody needs to do play at least two instruments (voice counts as an instrument). We also get a lot of theory, and if we wanted to we could even join in on an composer contest.

Edit: the country I'm talking about is The Netherlands.

Edited April 1, 2017 by kenod

[Guest]

9 hours ago, TwiLyghtSansSparkles said:

The US might be a mess in many ways, but we aren't a storming dystopia. 

I need coffee.

Edited April 1, 2017 by maxal

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

6 minutes ago, maxal said:

Not what I meant, you are extrapolating my words over one topic of discussion up to every single sphere of the American life. I never said you were a dystopia, you did. 

I would also like to point you (the Americans) are the ones always complaining over your schools putting too much emphasis on sports: this hardly is the first this topic comes around. Why do you need to act offended because people living elsewhere tell you things are different and, from their perspective, perhaps better elsewhere? 

Well. I was ready to discuss this with you, but if you're going to be so rude, I see no value. 

[Guest]

Just now, TwiLyghtSansSparkles said:

Well. I was ready to discuss this with you, but if you're going to be so rude, I see no value. 

That's too much angst for a Saturday morning, I haven't even had my first coffee yet  We appear to have run into a misunderstanding as see I read your post as rude, hence I responded in a rude manner. I honestly didn't know how else to respond: it is too early to come up with great line openers, but I might better as I keep working on this coffee.

Since I seem to have gotten it wrong, allow me to start again by erasing my other post 

So huh, I am still left with trying to answer to other one... I really didn't say anything about a dystopia and rest assure our schooling system has its own problems up in the North, but there are different. I understand however the desire to prefer dealing with known problems than another country's problems. 

[Clockwork he/him]

Yesterday went just about as badly as possible.

First, before I even got to school, my brother crashed our car. Third accident I've been in in the last 6 months.

Then, I get to school, find out when I lent my school laptop to someone else, they put it on the the admin network. So I got chewed out for something I hadn't even known about.

And to top it off, my laptop was taken because of said thing, and I couldn't print my homework and couldn't turn it in.

[Erandeni he/him]

3 hours ago, Clockwork said:

Yesterday went just about as badly as possible.

First, before I even got to school, my brother crashed our car. Third accident I've been in in the last 6 months.

Then, I get to school, find out when I lent my school laptop to someone else, they put it on the the admin network. So I got chewed out for something I hadn't even known about.

And to top it off, my laptop was taken because of said thing, and I couldn't print my homework and couldn't turn it in.

*hugs*

[Darkness Ascendant he/him]

5 hours ago, Clockwork said:

Yesterday went just about as badly as possible.

First, before I even got to school, my brother crashed our car. Third accident I've been in in the last 6 months.

Then, I get to school, find out when I lent my school laptop to someone else, they put it on the the admin network. So I got chewed out for something I hadn't even known about.

And to top it off, my laptop was taken because of said thing, and I couldn't print my homework and couldn't turn it in.

eesh, that sounds terrible.

*hugs

 

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

5 hours ago, Clockwork said:

Yesterday went just about as badly as possible.

First, before I even got to school, my brother crashed our car. Third accident I've been in in the last 6 months.

Then, I get to school, find out when I lent my school laptop to someone else, they put it on the the admin network. So I got chewed out for something I hadn't even known about.

And to top it off, my laptop was taken because of said thing, and I couldn't print my homework and couldn't turn it in.

Three accidents in six months?  That must've frayed your nerves. 

[A Budgie she/her]

So.
This morning, my budgie died.

[Darkness Ascendant he/him]

1 hour ago, A Budgie said:

So.
This morning, my budgie died.

 Oh dear

*hugs*

It was a lucky budgie to have an owner like you

-------------

I got a haircut.
I will miss you hair.