This is what, 5 years old now?

What is more astonishing to me is that school districts look at music programs as the first thing they cut. I have a high school in my neighborhood. A couple of years ago, if you took the number of victories the football team had, add to it the number of wins the boys basketball team had, add to that the number of wins the girls basketball team had, add to that the number of wins the boys baseball team had, add to that the number of wins the girls softball team had, the total is ZERO.

When budget cuts came, guess what got cut?

Band and choral.

The enrollment at that school is so low that they had to walk the hallways asking kids if they wanted to play football so they had at least 22 players to have an offense and a defense without playing kids both ways. There was a player on the baseball team that, by agreement, was there only to go into a game if one of the 9 players who really played was injured and could not continue. Several of their games were called in the 4th inning when the deficit was 25-0 or worse.

They cut band and choral.

Okay, I will give you that the players on those awful teams learn to never quit and all that yada yada, but I have to ask what he ultimate value is of taking part of something that is doomed to fail. (They were not even CLOSE to a victory. Ever. None of the teams.) I have to think that the psyche of the average kid in the middle teens would be better served by taking part in a concert band that CAN get to a successful level. There's no opponent in music other than yourself. I mean, I went past that school on a football game night, and the parking lot was almost empty. When it's so bad that the PARENTS didn't even attend.....

Why is it that music and art are usually the first to go? We have some former teachers here who may have an opinion.

Know that I was a 3 sport athlete in high school so I have been on both sides of this topic. I also went to a football factory private high school and my group did not lose a game in my 4 years in the building. Also the demographics have changed and the population base is not like it was 40 years ago. The best athletes in the city WANTED to go to my school. We had more boys out for football than the male enrollment in the nearby school. Still, why cut music? Sports is not a revenue event when nobody attends the games.

I remember the old adage.... "A frill is something the neighbor's kid does."