- By Dan Veaner
- Opinions
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Lansing as a town has a good record of doing more with less, and the music and theater programs in our schools is an example of that. Concerts and plays are generally much better than the average school performances. As a former theater teacher I can attest to that with some authority -- I've seem some really dismal high school performances elsewhere that couldn't hold a candle to ours in Lansing.
I also took the tour during school hours, and saw for myself how crowded the hallways and the band room are. Kids who are not playing in a particular piece have to leave the room to make room for those who are. And I have serious concerns about the band's ability to get out of that room quickly in case of a fire alarm.
Some have suggested that because music and theater are not part of the core curriculum that we should make due with what we have and cut back on those programs. Fit them into the existing space by making participation a condition of good grades in other classes, some have said. Or just don't offer more than the State mandates.
That would be a very bad idea. Principal Michelle Stone put it well. "There is a mandate for fine arts for one credit in high school," she said in a presentation Monday. "Many of our students take more than that. They're competing with students who take more than that. If we don't keep pace, those students are losing ground. We need to be able to provide programs that will give them the experiences that will make them viable in the next phase of their lives."
But that is only part of the story. Kids in performing arts are better spoken than most others, and more confident as communicators. This translates into getting and keeping jobs and being able to communicate effectively in them. I used to know an English professor who had quite a lucrative side consulting business teaching executives how to write and speak effectively. Our Lansing kids are getting that in high school.
On top of that, go to a concert or one of the musicals. There is an enormous amount of enthusiasm in the audience, largely earned by those on stage. Lansing kids do these things very well, and they should have the opportunity to do them. Their teachers go beyond getting the kids to do their best. They get them to do better than their best, and for the money you can't get a better experience than that.
Proposition 2 will cost eleven cents per thousand of assessed value, so if your house is worth $100,000 it will cost you eleven bucks per year while the capital project is being paid off. You can't even go to the movies and get a snack (or take a date) for that. Isn't skipping one movie worth giving our kids the competitive edge they will need for college and life? Would you really rather give that money to Tom Cruise or Mel Gibson than to invest it in your own community?
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