Theatre Arts should not be cut from WCHS curriculum
TO THE EDITOR:
Do you think it is important for your children to study music or other arts? These are being taken out of the high school curriculum.
Chorus has been dropped. Art II, Art III and Art IV are gone and now Theatre Arts is being canceled. All the curriculum has left is general music and visual art. These are state requirements.
AP History of Art is for those who are college-bound. Instrumental Music is band. Dance is basically for the Pioneerettes. There are not electives for the students who prefer to do art-related classes.
Studies have shown students who study the arts make higher scores than students who have no exposure to the arts. In a study done by The San Antonio Arts in Education Task Force, it was found that skill levels, comprehension, and test performances improved significantly in all curriculum areas.
?Dance, music, theatre and visual arts are vital forces in a comprehensive education.? This statement can be found on the Web site www.saysi.org/artsdynamic/arts.pdf.
Another Web site is www.connectforkids.org/cnlib/pub. Howard Gardner, originator of the theory of multiple intelligences, said, ?If we omit the arts from the curriculum, we are in effect shortchanging the mind.?
When I learned Theatre Arts was to join chorus and Art II, III and IV as missing from the WCHS curriculum, I tried to learn why. I was told the teacher is retiring. Another source told me there are qualified applicants. There has been no move to hire a teacher.
I was told all the students who had signed up have now completed Theatre Arts. It is hard to believe that with the number of students at the high school, not a one was signed up for 2007-08. I know several were signed up for the next year, 2008-09, including my daughter.
I have not received a satisfactory reason for the removal of Theatre Arts. I suggested a survey of how many students would be interested in these courses. If you and your child are interested in Theatre Arts, call the school, education board and director of schools and express your wishes. I am still awaiting a call from the WCHS top officials.
Nila Patton
Chandler Road
Rock Island