Letters to the Herald

For the May 27 issue.

Music is part of curriculum; not an extracurricular activity

To the editor:
   
I want to thank the mayors, the councils, the board of education and superintendent for all their efforts in regard to the school budget. Clearly, all parties put in much time and thought.
   I’m especially thankful that they recognized the music part of our curriculum as deserving of renewed resources. Perhaps some people are still unaware that band and choir are actual classes in which students enroll, not extracurricular activities. Curiously, the very fact that they take their course of study beyond the classroom walls and into the public eye probably perpetuates this misunderstanding. Indeed, every music student must attend class regularly, do homework (practice their instruments) and the equivalent of projects (perform at football games, concerts and competitions). Their report cards include grades reflecting their effort and attendance. And these classes are open to all students!
   As Mr. Bolandi indicated in his vision presentations, if resources are absent, the result is frustration. How true this has been in the area of music study. Every discipline has need of resources. Without them, students and teachers would be frustrated and the doors of opportunity would slam shut in the face of students of limited means and be open only to those with money. This is not public education.
   Fortunately, many students in the band own their own instruments. This means there are fewer resources that the district must provide for this course of study. In some cases, however, if the school didn’t provide the resources, the door would indeed slam shut in the face of students who couldn’t afford to buy or rent equipment. Such was the point being made by the young lady who spoke of some musical instruments costing upwards of $3,000. Contrary to what has been implied, she was not trying to take this money out of anyone’s pocket for her own personal use.
   Just as certain power tools are necessary for an industrial arts class to function properly, microscopes for science, paints and brushes for art, and so on, so are tubas, sousaphones and bassoons (to name a few) necessary for a band to function properly. And remember, many of the resources provided by the district (power tools, language labs, musical instruments, choir risers, and sports equipment, for example) last for many years, serving numerous students.
   For those people who erroneously thought band and choir were extracurricular activities, I hope you now see that they are part of the curriculum and deserving of school funded resources. For anyone who feels they shouldn’t be, I urge you to attend board meetings and initiate a change. This is your right and that is the arena in which to do so.
   While I’ve spoken mostly about the music issue, I truly care about our community as a whole. I’m sorry the budget was cut; I wish it hadn’t been. But I’m pleased that my daughters could observe and participate in this whole budget process. I’m especially glad that everyone was patient and respectful while people of differing opinions spoke at the various meetings.


Marianne Nicklaus

East Windsor



Middle class would suffer under new Social Security plan

To the editor:
   
In the most recent federal budget just approved by both the Republican-controlled House and Senate, Medicaid and other low-income assistance programs (housing, food stamps, and so on) have been extensively cut. Bush’s previous tax cuts favored the wealthy. He ruled out a more progressive tax cut to help middle class and lower income people, arguing that would be class warfare.
   Now, Bush proposes to allow low wage earners to maintain their Social Security benefit growth rate. It would remain the same as currently, that is, indexed to wage growth. Higher earners, including middle class, would suffer a severe decline (up to about 50 percent) in their benefits because they would be indexed to inflation. Over the 40 year period from 1960 to 2000, wages have grown considerably more than inflation. The administration’s proposal appears to be not only class warfare and hypocritical but would be detrimental to the middle class.

Bernard Wright
East Windsor