Good points, Pat, but the thing we need to focus on is this. I know about sports building the sense of teamwork. I played football and baseball. One short season of hockey until that unfortunate incident with the stick... But I digress.

The issue is the opportunity to BE exposed to these extra curricular activities. Had there been no baseball for me, I would not have finished high school. There would have been no reason for me to go there every day because I did not care when the Battle of Hastings was fought (1066) or how much a gallon of water weighs (8.34 pounds). Baseball was my ticket. Until a knee injury. (Catchers can't catch if they can't crouch.) Some kids think their way out is tenor sax.

The point is that the expertise and experience comes outside of school when you apply the P word. I practiced my music as much as my baseball. The discipline to do so comes from inside. Martial arts, another good example. Studied 9 years. Rarely went to classes so it took me 5 years to reach black as I was starting over too often.

Daniel Tosh did a bit about giving the commencement address and how he refused to give the generic speech. "As I look out, I see doctors and lawyers". He gave the real speech. "There are felons here. Some of you will die in a DUI accident TONIGHT." Now of course he played for comedy, but how much truth was there in that comedy?

It's more a matter of the kids having choices than what they do with those choices. Baseball kept me out of jail. Music made me a living. While I have been unemployed, music has literally kept me sane. Between my dog, who could not go on without me as I am her whole life, and music, it is not an exaggeration to say that they possibly kept me alive. I don't know what I might have done without that dog giving me a reason to get up in the morning. Music, art, choral, drama group... the kids need something they are interested in, and with budget cuts taking that away, how many will go to school until the state says they can quit (16 in Ohio) and then become a bum? Probably more than we care to say.

We need arts in the schools.

I am using the new 1040XTRAEZ form this year. It has just 2 lines.

1. How much did you make in 2023?
2. Send it to us.