SEPTEMBER 20 - 2&, 1 17 THE ICHIGAN CITIZEN
5
Opinion. (·Ollllllelltar�. Lct tvr-; \,il'\\S ,
sad t e Det olt schoo stri e
me
inter .
One immediately noticed
that tea rs 0 were foo­
ball coa were on the job,
They indicated that despite
the strike they felt the need to
continue coaching because stu-
dent -athlete scholarship
depended on game perfor­
mance.
I wonder how many English
teachers convened their young
writers clubs to maintain stu­
dent skills?
How many dance or
theater teachers held rehears­
als?
How many art teachers had
drawing workshops?
While arts instructors
doubtlessly will say they love
their field as much as athletic
coaches, my question is, how
do they show it?
ext, do they get as many
sc olarships for their students
as do athletic coaches? Do as
many arts students go on to
"compete" in college?
While the TV media rarely •
focuses on student artists, the
public would still like an ac­
count.
Another Question that the
trike brings into focus is the
quality of the arts instruction
in Detroit public schools. Do
tudents/artists have supplies?
Are the art classes over­
era ded? Do the students
have seats? What cultural
heritage in the arts is taught to
a ninety percent Afrlcan­
American student body? Is
the cultural heritage depicted
in the curriculum derived
from Europe or from Africa?
The athletic coaches caucus
to continue the sports
program. have the arts instruc­
tors caucused to continue an
arts program for students in
the community?
An alleged group of Blaclc
community leaders is meeting
to get the teachers to go back
into the classrooms. What
does this group say to arts
teachers? Are their any . ts
in this so-called le ership
group expressing artis ' inter­
ests in these talks?
The City of Detroit ad­
ministration has suggested
that city government ought to
run the schools. What then,
has been the quality and ac­
countability of the city
directed Detroit Council of
the Arts? What leadership is it
showing?did it show in this
labor/m conflict?
What l it shown
in arts education in the
Detroit Public Sch001s?
And for the school board
itelf. What pecial arts schools
exist at the middle school
level? There should be at least
six for the entire system which
has about seventy middle
schools. Students would be ad­
mitted to these schools by
audition, talent or supplemen­
tal instruction. A higher level
of parent or guardian support
would be expected. Graduates
of these middle schools would
be placed in continued arts
education at the high school
level We would be serious
about the development of our
young talent.
Since this isn't the case, I
suggest that even the limited
resources aren't being used ef­
fectively to obtain significant
or efficient results for the in­
dividual student, or for the
community.
While the demand for more
pay from the union, a wage
freeze from the school board,
and end to the strike from self­
appointed "leaders capture
the headlines, there exists a
more subtle complex of needs
and issues. These cross cur­
rents must be analyzed and ad­
dressed.
Cultivating curiosity
Every child comes into the
World riding a wild stallion
called Curiousity which takes
them into places where they
don't belong makes them listen
to conversations whi h they
shouldn't hear, and pull op n
things which should b kept
closed. As on as they can
talk Curiosity t e them gal­
loping into a never-end in
stream of questions.
This urge to a question
is the same gift whi h lead
people to discover new lands
make new inventions design
new art forms and find solut­
ions to old problem. People
who u thi gift well often end
up being called Geniu .
But for most people me-
where between childh d and
adulthood, the gift of curiosity
chnges from a ild stallion
into a subborn old mule whi h
has to be pushed, pulled and
prodded toward anything resum­
bling knowledge. What in the
world happens to that magni­
ficent learning gift which can
take the child as high and as
far as they could possibly want
to go?
Critics blame the loss of the
curiosity on the educational
system. eil Postman and
Charles Weingartner, in Te ching
As A Subversive ctivity Dell
1969 , write that the clas r om
environment ha been arranged
in such a way that ignifi ant
question- ing is n t valued'
and that the hool environ­
ment is chara terized by the
pr cess f memorizing me-
b dy else' an er to some­
body else' que tion .'
The s me criticism is m de
by John Holt in Ho Chil-
dren Fail Dell 19 ,wh
states that 'the hools kill
not only hildren' curiosity
but their feeling that it is a g od
and admirable thing to be
cud us." He goe on to ay
that mo t children by the
ge f ten will not a quest-
ions nd will show a g d deal
of om for those wh do."
Of cour it' ea y t y
that curiosity ught to be
encour ed in the cl r om,
but maybe the la room just
BY MARlETTE FOR THE CHARLOTTE OISBMJ
Opinions expressed here belong soley to the author. Readers are encourged to share
their views. Write: The Michigan Citizen, 16032 Woodward Ave., Highland Park, MI
48203. All letters must be signed
Dorothy
Robinson
Reading
Together
isn't h pia to
unbridled curiosity. 1m gine a
classroom full of hildren a in
hundred of questions b ut a
million different things. Les-
n plans would go awry
learning goals would n t be met
and students ould m e
mighty p r showing at testing
time. Though it may be a
onderful learning to I urio-
sity c le d a cIa r om . to
ch !
If
turning int