>Music in schools is fundamental.

Like Christian values? What do you mean by fundamental?

>Not everyone is on the
>path to education = career
>= success.

And most of those folks end up broke. Hence the term starving artist.

Some people
>NEED a reason to be
>there

If providing for yourself and a future family is not reason enough, they don't really need to be there. They do not have their priorites straight.

Are the members of Okay Activist more down with teaching kids to play the clarinet (cause we're talking about public schools), than teaching them how to write effective communication?

Am I the only one that lives in the real world?

and like someone further
>up said music classes provide
>that. I know cats
>that would skip math class
>but would never cut art
>because they wanted to put
>in work on their portfolio.

We're talking about music.

> Different paths. I
>do disagree with the person
>trying to dis schools for
>forcing sheet music and organization
>on music students.

So you're okay with Columbus Day and Occam's razor?

What I am saying is, teaching orchestral style music in choirs and bands is another way that the elite power structure controls your mind.

Any turntablists in this piece? When's the last time you thought A-trak's scratch notation as a good idea for turntablism? Often those things provide more of a barrier than an aid to learning music.

> I agree whole heartedly
>that the school music programs
>could be much more open
>minded

No doubt. But again, music just like sports, is really only for a small percentage of folks at school.

but let's not get
>so anti-estab that we push
>to "free" ourselves from learning
>fundamentals from which we can
>build into better improvisation.

What are you talking about? The establishment, particularly in regard to minority students, is the problem. When's the last time you looked at curriculum, and asked yourself what could the student gain from it?

>On top of all this I
>would like to add also
>that education starts in the
>home

Yeah, but how many of the parents in our communites know anything about what children need to be taught? Ask your typical minority parent about what their children need to learn, and they will invariably say computers. But then you ask them do they have a computer in those home. Some might say yes, but most will say no. But of those that say yes, do they actually know anything about that box in Jamal's room?

and if it hadn't
>been for my parents encouraging
>and nurturing all my exploration
>of many talents I may
>not have found them at
>all.

You are not typical. For effective encouraging and nurturing the parents have to know what is going on. Many stay at home parents don't know, much less the typical middle class minority family of 2 parents working. Even college educated minority parents aren't always well equipped when it comes to planning for and augmenting their childrens education.

>But we
>can't depend on the struggling
>school system to educate and
>encourage our seeds that falls
>into our own laps and
>we cannot forget that.

Are you going to devote 8 hours a day for 18 years to educate your child?

Think realistically.

>I'm all for working within
>the system but we have
>to examine the home program
>right along with our criticism
>of the current situation in
>schools.

So you suggest we return to the days of landed privilege. Many 2 parent/2 income homes often do not make enough to get by, so how would they then give up one job to focus on children's education?

peace.

k. orr