Education Op/Ed

Letter to the editor: Education is more than just reading and math

At a recent public forum, the Bristol Republican candidate for Vermont Senate stated we should only pay for reading and arithmetic in our schools in order to cut down expenses. As the mother of three professional musicians, two of whom are educators, I have to call out this statement as irresponsible for the future of our society. My oldest son learned to read before he entered kindergarten, but floundered in public school because he could not sit still. By 7th grade, he was failing due to inattentiveness and poor self-esteem. ADHD was just coming on the scene as a diagnosis, so he had no help or chance of success in school until his music teacher put a pair of drum sticks in his hands.

He had been told by his English teacher not to bother applying to college, but he found a percussion program and made dean’s list every year of his college career, graduating with a double major in performance and education. He taught public school music for 20 years, taking his students to perform at Chicago Symphony Hall, Lincoln Center, and Boston Symphony Hall. He is now a university educator.

It just so happened that his music teacher was coach for the Nordic ski team and encouraged my son to race. He found a second outlet for his excessive energy and at 17, was 6th at the Empire State Games in Nordic competition. He still uses skiing and biking to cope with life challenges — skills he learned from public school educators.

My second son taught music at an inner-city program where students came to school from extreme poverty, without food, and with drug addicted or absent parents. His principal told him his main job was to keep the students in the building — he developed guitar and recording programs and steel drum classes, teaching them to read, both the written word and music scores, as well as math skills. Numerous studies have shown a direct correlation between music programs and math scores — I challenge you to investigate. He also started a track team and worked with his colleagues and students to plant a school vegetable garden to supplement student meals, thus promoting the health and welfare of these disadvantaged children.

These personal examples are why communities need to support the arts and sports in public education. When you lose a child, you lose our future. There is lots of talk these days about the bleeding of young families out of Vermont (actually not supported by recent statistics) but one way to attract families is to provide opportunities and excellence in education with creative solutions. A new resident of Bristol with 30 years’ experience in government in Ohio recently stated “complex problems do not have simple solutions — never have and never will.” I believe we do not have to abandon essential elements of our culture and society — we can work together for acceptable, affordable solutions.

Like my son, I refuse to sit still for demeaning, uninformed rhetoric. Chris Bray and Ruth Hardy who have 18 years of combined experience working for Vermont’s future — and I will carry that tune to the polls on November 5!

Patty Lewis

New Haven

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