I know I promised more info on my school, so here it is. For those of you following my comment on SwitchedOnMom’s post “Discordant Notes,” sorry for the extra info. I’m sure you can work around it.
I go to a fairly sized middle school about 7 miles from my house. Literally. The shuttle bus takes us to the nearby high school (and when I say nearby, I mean you could walk there. Easily. In about 5 minutes). You see, This is a magnet school, with the county humanities and communications magnet program. In the mornings, 6:23 in the mornings, actually, I hop on a bus at my neighborhood elementary school, along with students from my school, the nearby math and science magnet school, and the extremely close high school. There are even a few from another middle school nearby. That bus makes a few more stops, mostly at elementary schools, to pick up before dropping off the high schoolers at the high school. We then go to my school, normally arriving at about 7:07. The kids from the other schools get off too, hop on a shuttle to their school, and after that I have no idea. I sit in the Cafeteria – as the school isn’t officially open yet, it’s not 7:30 yet – to wait for my friends, who live in opposite parts of the county from me. But before doing this, I have to put on my student ID card, on a lanyard, as this is required as soon as you enter school grounds – at least, that’s what the security guards say. In reality, only once in a blue moon do the teachers actually check for them, and nobody ever gets the supposed punishment of lunch detention. The high school nearby recently got rid of their ID policy – why did we just start? Anyway, once the school day is over, we get our stuff and get on one of 5 shuttle buses to the HS, some of which have students sitting on each others’ laps because there are no seats left. I have sat – actually, more like squatted – in the aisle because of this. everyone is grateful during outdoor ed, the New York trip, or anything that gets one grade off the shuttles for at least a day. There are 5 buses for 3 grades of students, about 300 kids on the 5. which is about 60 kids per bus, as an average. We then travel to the nearby high school and wait there, sometimes in the cold and/or wet, for the buses, and wait until about 3:00 p.m. when all the – I’m not good at estimating, maybe 30, 40 buses? – go out the one exit to the 6-lane Boulevard and send everyone home. Depending on how far away from the school you live, you may get home in 10 minutes or maybe an hour, which is about the range for my bus, depending on the stop.
As you can tell, I’m not happy with the busing. But I can tell that it’s the most efficient way of doing things, even if those involved have to wait a little. And there are nice days, when the sun is shining and you can wait outside for a while before getting on the bus.
I am a “magnet” or “humanities” kid, as the “nonmagnets” call us, as we call them. There is much social separation, not on purpose, but because generally, we have different interests. They value black everything, cussing, disrespect to authority, texting, YouTube videos, rap/hip-hop music, and gum-chewing in class. We value intelligence, kindness, dry wit, Abercrombie/Hollister/Aeropostale clothing, randomness (like a game of scarf-limbo after school at the high school waiting for the bus), and our futures. Needless to say, there are few friendships between the groups, and only between non-snobs like my friends and I and the nice, friendly nonmagnets, who are truly diamonds in the rough. We have 4 classes together, the 6th graders have 3. The magnet classes are English, World Studies, and Media Production. 6th graders have Reading. Our health/PE classes, math classes, science classes, and elective classes are together. The 6th graders have no electives. Which is half of the reason of our notorious music program flop, another being media class, another being the need to take at least a year of a language before going to high school. (“Discordant Notes” followers, this is where you get what you came for, unless you were trying to find Personal Profiles, which will be in a future post about the 7th grade magnet program.)
So, here’s the deal:
Last year, we had a block schedule. There were 8 classes, and we alternated odd or even classes in a day. There was always at least 2 days to finish homework. Everyone was happy, except the 6th grade world studies teacher. But we didn’t know that until later. Anyway, 6th graders had an elective. 7th and 8th graders could take language for high school resume niceness, and a music or art class for fun. About one-half of the chorus, as far as I could tell, was 6th graders. There were more art classes of 6th graders than any other grade. Then, they cut funding. We heard about the possibility of it, but no one had time to protest it in a PTSA (Parent Teacher Student Association) meeting. We then-6th graders composed a petition and passed it around, hoping to persuade those cutting our budget that none of us who were going to be affected wanted it, it was worth it to spend the money, and that there were other things that could be cut, like that high school sports field. I remember signing it in the cafeteria before the Newseum field trip. We all knew what would happen. We had realized, with horror, that the incoming 6th graders would have no elective. We would have only one elective ourselves next year. Some of us were more aware than others – I had no idea that you needed to needed the language to go to the magnet high schools. A very good friend of mine (for privacy purposes now nicknamed “M”) told me that at the end of the year. I auditioned for honors chorus, as did my friends. I thought it was going to be ok, because the 6th grade world studies teacher told us how it was unfair to the teachers, they would be paid more per class period, and electives were unimportant. We’d have less homework. We’d never be bored in class again. (Not true, by the way). Anyway, when my friend told me about the language requirement, I saw how drastic the situation was. But the main point is: there are 9 golden girls (second period choir, non-auditioned) and less than 20 of us in concert choir (the auditioned one, 4th period). That makes less than 29 altogether. There are 35 band students total, where there would have been almost that many in a class before. Our chorus teacher only does half days, leaving right after 4th period.Why? Because of this: 6th graders like music and don’t need to worry about language classes just yet. The largest classes in music and art were of 6th graders. and most of those who cared were magnet kids, the others sat there, chorus chatting during rehearsal, percussion chewing gum, etc. so when those who cared stopped caring enough to stay, the music program fell flat on its face. 3 choruses went to two choruses. Two bands and an orchestra fell to one each. Every grade – or both, i should say – in a class. Most 6th graders going into 7th picked a language, concerned about their futures, and almost all 7th graders going into 8th took a language. Non-magnets took the new website-creating one, I’m not sure if any others stayed afloat. And it won’t get better. The nature of the problem requires more money. And there is no money. Stupid recession. It’s been scientifically proven that people in chorus have dramatically increased levels of self-esteem, and everyone knows that art and music are good for the soul. And languages are required for school, so why do we need to sacrifice an elective? Electives are supposed to be the least stressful, least homework-y; they’re the only classes that make school fun. Don’t they realize that by taking away an elective, they are taking away the energy, the happiness, the lifeblood of the student population? All work and no play makes jack a dull boy, everyone knows that. Ugh. I hate those stupid corporate-like school board members who go on and on about the way “this school uses too much money so let’s cut funding,” when they don’t know what it’s like. They don’t realize what that money is used for. They don’t realize that the money is put to good use. Now they’re cutting bus funding. That will increase traffic, increase the carbon footprint, increase parent frustration, decrease diversity at the school, decrease the accessibility of the quite good program. I am one of those who sing its praises, while many of my friends realized after coming that it’s just something they put here to raise test scores. I know that, but that doesn’t make it a bad program. But it will be soon. And as far as I know, the NY trip in 8th grade is only going to extend to those who are currently attending eastern, not the incoming 6th graders or anyone after them. They’ll have to rewrite the entire 8th grade magnet curriculum, they’re robbing students of an opportunity they might not get otherwise, and they’re de-stimulating the economy – that’s almost $100,000 less that NYC gets a year from tourism.
anything else about my frustration at budget cuts?
nah, I think that’s it.
more about the 6th and 7th grade magnet programs later.
Stephanie
