Public Schools And Resources

I am reading several articles recently that reported outrage in unfair distribution of resources.  About how the obscure modern musicians keep saying, ""the schools do not have enough money; there are not enough resources,"" etc.

But wait a minute.  We did not have tons and tons of fancy "resources" back when I was in school.  The most state-of-the-art technology we had in grade schools while growing up was... overhead projectors.

We did not have fancy laser disc players, temperature-barometer scales with glass beads, or any of those other little fancy expensive glamour-curiosities you see on the mail-order shopping catalogues on airplane flights.  You know what I'm talking about, those privileged luxury items like mechanized electronic bird feeders or something.

Other than the overhead projectors, we had chalkboards.  In some classrooms, there were dry-erase boards that used markers to write with in place of chalk.  These showed up as an upgrade in fifth grade.  That was the extent of the technological marvel that teachers had at their disposal, and to which us kids were exposed.  And if I recall correctly the overhead projectors only appeared in high school.  They did not exist in elementary and middle schools.

Hmm...  Wait, maybe the commentators are on to something.  Now that I recall, we did have computers in grade school starting from way back in first or second grade.  We had the little Apple II computers with the green screen!  They were awesome.  We wrote and bound and print little books on them.  I remember now.  They usually displayed a very dark green screen with a neon green text in line-item format.  Once in a while we could go to a different mode/setting and obtain little pictures.  These were on a much lighter shade of green.

It had a separate disk drive thing, now I remember.  It was basically a word processor with a screen.  I don't remember if it had a mouse or not.  We had a unit of Creative Writing in which each student had to write and "publish" a full-length book.  We had to plan pages, illustrate the cover, and illustrate the story.  The stories were then bound and printed like actual books.

In almost every single elementary school I attended, this was the case regarding the computers.  There might not always have been a computer right in the same home classroom, but they were there on campus, perhaps in a computer lab.  (I recall middle and high schools.)

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Some people are complaining that some school districts receive more money than other school districts, and that this is somehow unfair.  Some school districts are able to spend tons of money on new lockers, freshly painted hallways, new desks, new textbooks.  Whereas other school districts do not have enough computers in the schools or something.

But a small, obscure, hidden-away rare article told the whole story.

This article told of high school football players' parents who were actively involved in their kids' education, in one school district.  So it was a community-wide effort, not just solely the responsibility of the teachers.

Parents of those kids did tons of work to help the teachers and the greater district.  They did not just content themselves with letting the teachers do all the work.  They did volunteer work for whatever the schools needed.  Pitched in with their own efforts if ever the schools fell short.  They spearheaded fundraising efforts.  And if there were still requirements that needed to be met, the parents donated their own hard-earned money towards the schools' needs.  School supplies, classroom supplies, athletic supplies

This was a tucked-away unearthly gem revealed the whole story.  I am guessing the other districts that cried "nofair!" probably did not have nearly as much involvement or contribution from the parents and families.  So, no.  It is *not* "unfair" that that particular school district got more money than other surrounding districts.  Said district did not "get" more money.  They *earned* the money themselves through hard work and determination.

I recall that my own high school district offered AP exams for free.  That meant my district was very well-funded.  Well, who funded it, the fairy godmother?  No, the surrounding communities and neighborhoods which the school district served-- they were the ones that funded and supported the schools.

How to Value Creativity

Wait, what makes you think I don't place great worth in art, music, creativity?  (Because you don't encourg people to study in college.)  Uuh, ok, this is art, music, etc. we are talking about, correct?
The point that we are not [[[corroborating, seeing/meeting eye to eye__]]]] is this.  Sigh.  It is art, music, creativity.  What exactly is there to study?  You like art?  Go do art, then.  You just draw and paint, that's it.  You want to sculpt?  Go sculpt.

Some people might pipe up with the point that there is “technique” to learn.  Ehh...

In terms of covering basics like color blending, shadow, proportions, line weight, these "techniques" are not complicated.  I was blending crayons and colored pencils in pre-K.  I've blended paints.  No one had to teach me to do that.  I simply observed that the palette did not have a color I wanted; therefore I was going to have to make my own.  That's common sense.  I first sculpted pottery using clay in seventh grade.  It was a lot of fun.

Shading, texture, using different surfaces to produce whatever effect you want; a smooth, rough, or burlap feel.  There are methods to add sparkly, brittle-gritty surface to a sculpture.  Yeah, I learned that in elementary school.  It was a lot of fun.  I figured out a lot of other stuff on my own.

This is not particularly difficult to learn.  Even so-called “advanced” techniques are not difficult to master.  There exist art supply stores.  The materials have use-and-care instructions on them.  Modeling clay, too, can be found in art supply stores.  So can pottery wheels.  You just shape it into the shapes you want.  For the pottery wheel, make sure the clay is pliable and wet and squishy enough.  That’s it.

There is an introductory course in studio art, which probably mirrors the Advanced Placement- Studio Art course offered in high school.  They learn pottery-making, sculpture, something like that.  Again, not complicated.  Hmmm... I suppose art students have access to certain equipment that is not available outside of designated art class, like... a kiln.  That’s about it.

You want to write something?  Just write; that's it.  I learned how to be a writer from reading.  All the important aspects of learning how to write were already [[taught, trained instilled in me back in grade school -- elementary, middle, and high school.  In all honesty, college hasn't really taught me anything about writing that I did not already know.  In even more honesty, only about half the [[[stuff, pphhhtt use a fancyr wd, use $1 wrd]]] I learned about writing while growing up was gleaned inside the classroom.  I imbibed the other half of how to be a good writer by being a good reader.  I devoured, consumed books.

It is a creative outlet.  It supposed to be a time to relax, to let out your frustrations with the world.  Let off some steam, express yourself, all that good stuff.  A way to relax___
I think this is my main [[disconnect no concern no___]]]].  As strange as this might sound coming from me, I do not place great importance on "learning" art or music in a rigid and structured setting such as school.  You’re harshing my game, yo; you’re cramping my style, cuz.

It is pure self-expression.  The purpose is to dance and daydream and imagine and be silly.  There is no need to place ((impose) arbitrary rules on a [[purpose?? function no establisent no]]] that is not meant for [[[[rules]]].