I’ve always been troubled by the ending of the film, Mr. Holland’s Opus. (Warning: Spoilers ahead.) The story is about a would-be composer who became a high school band director. Mr. Holland’s time and energy were so consumed by his calling as a teacher that he put his dreams on hold. Early on, his school principal gave him a compass, to remind him that teachers should provide a moral compass for their students. Mr. Holland was challenged by raising a hearing-impaired son as well as balancing the demands of family and work. Yet, he changed the lives of many students. Upon retirement, he was honored with a special concert in which many of his former students joined in to play his only opus – the composition he was trying to complete throughout his long career.
The disturbing thing was that the music program to which Mr. Holland had devoted his life was defunded anyway, even after the Governor herself played in the Opus concert. Apparently, the arts are important, but not important enough to preserve, no matter how revered the teacher(s) might be.
I’m raising this issue now because the arts are on the chopping block in my home state of Indiana. It has become obvious that to provide vouchers for “school choice,” which are the latest magic words for shifting resources from public to private schools, the money must come from somewhere. God forbid a slight tax increase. In the past, our culture valued musical instruction for children who wanted it. I was part of that apparently dying culture. Many of my friends, as well as my students, got their start in public school music programs.
Let’s face it, the rich will always have experiences in the arts – or anything else their families can afford. And they can provide such experiences without government help. In the Musical, “Annie,” Daddy Warbucks offers to hire the famous tennis champion, Don Budge, to tutor his young ward. On the other hand, a major benefit of public schools is that the rest of us can (or could) have instruction in something other than the “three R’s.”
Further, the arts, sports, and other “extra-curricular” activities are often the reason many kids stay in school long enough to graduate. Many graduates say things like, “my band director/coach saved my life.” My father told me that several of his bandmates went on to successful careers in business. The experience of playing trumpet in front of thousands of people makes speaking in front of a room full of people seem easy by comparison. And those who study music develop strong aural skills – they remember what was said by whom, and they comprehend what it meant. They also learn the importance of personal discipline and collaboration. I could go on. The benefits are well-documented and there is no point reciting them all here.
Still, we have politicians and pundits who claim that the arts are expendable. Maybe this is understandable given that many of these people did not have the same experience in the arts as I did, or they believe their agenda is all that matters. But, what if someone in a high position in fact had a positive experience in the arts and lets them go regardless? In Mr. Holland’s Opus, the Governor did not save the program.
I know. Anyone can become a captive to expediency. Our best intentions are sometimes not enough. Our efforts can be diverted to the battles of the moment. We can lose our moral compass.
If the objective is to improve the quality of education, there are many ideas available. Most private and “charter” schools are not required to admit all students and many of these demonstrate no better outcomes than public schools. It seems to me their main claim to quality is that they can select children from more advantaged households. In Indiana, most communities do not have any other option than a public school within range, and many of these are already under-resourced. I know this first-hand. I’ve played a lot of concerts in rural areas. Add to this the impossibility of lower-income families providing transportation out-of-district, and it becomes clear that vouchers are subsidies for the rich and do not provide “school choice” for everyone. The best choice would be to improve public education, not defund it into oblivion.
We need to ask the question, “Who are we trying to serve?” What are we going to accomplish by serving the rich at the expense of the poor? Like the governor in Mr. Holland’s Opus, we must ask, “Where does our compass point?” If it’s pointing to political expediency or profit for the few, it’s time to get a new compass. If it points to “all children,” it’s pointing true north.
MurrayWorks 