The Grinch

Fri, Feb 5, 2010 : 10:18 a.m.

Mr. Smith: My post says nothing about opposition to arts education. This is pandering to teenage pop-culture obsession. Indeed, if this young man had visited one of HHS's many very fine arts classes to talk about his art (as musicians appearing for the University Musical Society routinely do) rather than having a noontime concert that appears to have had zero academic value, I would not have voiced any concern. Under those circumstances, his visit would have had clear educational value. Nowhere in my post can you find an advocacy of a scenario like that in Mr. Holland's Opus (A work of fiction, BTW). My children attended AAPS, graduating from PHS. Two were in the band program there and one of them deeply involved in the theater program, as well. The music (voice, orchestra, band, jazz) and drama programs in that school are among the crown jewels of the AAPS. Nowhere in my post did I suggest that these subjects are inappropriate for a high school. So do not charge me with something I did not say. I am saying that having a pop concert in school during school hours is inappropriate. Students are in HS roughly 6.5 hours per day for 180 days. I don't think it too much to ask that we try to keep them focused on academic subjects (INCLUDING arts classes) for those 1200 hours per year and to let them feed their obsession with pop culture the other 7500 hours they're not supposed to be in school.

PhillyCheeseSteak

Fri, Feb 5, 2010 : 9:59 a.m.

I think it's terrific that Jason Castro performed at the school, during school hours, for free! What fun! School shouldn't be completely 100% educational drudgery or every student could just learn online with a "sergeant at arms" present to make sure the students were "learning". And hats off to creative, enthusiastic teachers like Michael Smith, who get kids excited about learning!

Michael Smith

Thu, Feb 4, 2010 : 8:14 p.m.

Did you ever see the movie "Mr. Holland's Opus?" The character I referred to says the same things about schools, time spent in schools and arts education as in the comments from "The Grinch." My post was a comment on his position not a personal attack. I thought it was a cultural allusion. You guys are interesting. You let the most mean spirited stuff about teachers and public schools to be posted yet my comments are offensive?

mljh

Thu, Feb 4, 2010 : 8:03 p.m.

I was there also, but I'm a student. It wasn't intruding in anything, everyone went on with there day afterword, or before. But it was cool to see him, he was a great singer and it was different then the everyday school thing, whats the wrong in that?

Michael Smith

Thu, Feb 4, 2010 : 7:45 p.m.

So I want to know why my comment was removed. I don't think it was immoderate. It was funny. Whoever moderates this group must have an interesting compass for flagging what is appropriate or not. There are more crackpot comments per capita here than there used to be in the A2News and that appears to be okay. I still think my reply to the educator from the 18th century was pointed and funny. As a teacher, I'm always amazed you pretend journalists sanquinely publish the remarks of the public education haters so readily. There was a reat friend of public education who once described the pretend precess of fairness in the newspapers as discovering 100 people who were in favor of an important issue and publishing the opinion of one crackpot on the other side in equal proportion then calling it "balanced." Keep up the good work.

The Grinch

Thu, Feb 4, 2010 : 10:36 a.m.

Glad to hear that, Lon. Thanks for the update. I still wonder about the efficacy of this. I think it sends the wrong message about what is supposed to go on for those few hours we expect (hope?) that students might be separated from the all-too-pervasive popular culture and actually expand their minds in other areas. "Mark" apparently thinks this experience valuable. I think that experiences like this are a dime a dozen, readily available live and on-line, and teenage students don't need more of them, especially while in school.

Lon Horwedel

Thu, Feb 4, 2010 : 9:22 a.m.

Maybe I can shed some light on this event, since I actually was there. Castro played three songs (very well, I might add) and then met with some of the students who stuck around wanting an autographed CD and some pictures with him. There was no "commotion" that I saw. The students were polite - Castro was polite. When the bell rang, another group of students came in to repeat the whole process. The Huron administrators even let the kids eat their lunch in the auditorium so they wouldn't starve the rest of the day. And it's not like the auditorium was jam-packed with crying teenage girls peeing their pants. I'd say less than a 100 kids were there to see Castro perform, and I'm sure, went on with their school day after it was over, just like normal.

Dixborodad

Thu, Feb 4, 2010 : 8:36 a.m.

What's wrong with bringing music and arts to the students? Close minded people like you should not be in education. An educational environment should be inspiring and engaging and I would only see this as adding to that experience. So what it they were excited about it (because it happened to be an American Idol contestant)...shouldn't kids be excited to go to school or allowed to enjoy themselves a little bit?

The Grinch

Wed, Feb 3, 2010 : 9:57 p.m.

Yeah. I'm certain that all the commotion that went on with this started only the moment lunch began and ended the moment lunch was over. Having been in education for more than 20 years, I'm telling you that this likely was a lost day for most HHS students. The low quality of rebuttals here continue to amaze me.

Blerg

Wed, Feb 3, 2010 : 7:24 p.m.

I love that The Grinch is interested in the "academic environment" during an activity that was clearly during lunch. The high quality comments on AA.com continue to amaze me.

The Grinch

Wed, Feb 3, 2010 : 7:08 p.m.

OK, I'll ask the question. This added to the academic environment at HHS... how?