Seeking Opinions: Lack of Creativity and Culture in Schools Due to Cutbacks?

It's your job to ensure that your children enjoy music, dance, theater, and art, etc. No one else's. Take away their IMing, their texting, their PSP and XBox and Wii. Make them interact and help immerse them in the arts and the cultural activities you want them to experience. You're their parent. Parent, and don't them them make the rules.

I think its a major concern. My son is just a toddler but he has been listening to all varieties of music since he was born (ultimatley since he was conceived since so do I and my husband) His favorite is Reggae, Jerry Garcia and the Jack Johnson Curious George Song (see, balance!) He's been given endless opportunities to play with crayons from the minute he could hold them, he's had books to look at since he was in the bassinet, and he play with all sorts of musical instruments, mostly "toys" but he loves my mom and my sisters real pianos. I think its important for parents to start their children out young with balance and exposure to everything from arts & crafts, reading and even sports b/c you have to burn off all that energy too and thats a part of health and well being. I believe kids also need to just have time to be free and be kids...FREE play. I also try to keep some of my sons toys basic, not to many lights and sounds or electronics so he has the chance to use his mind. Don't get me wrong, he watches Sprout and Noggin channels like a champ, he's already learned how to use the mouse on a computer and some of those lights and sounds electronic toys ARE fun...our hope is to plant a seed. I'm sure he'll get away from it at some point as he gets older, maybe he won't but even if he gets away with it and gets caught up in his teen years, we hope that he goes back to it...then again we also hope he just gets really serious about it and never lets it go b/c my husband I both wish we played a musical instrument or I wish I had become a singer )my singing career ended wtih the high school chorus. ; ) LOL. As far as the schools, I think its ridiculous to take away programs that emphazise arts and culture - but then again, the schools aren't the parents, we are, so its up to us! Sometimes we expect the schools to provide EVERYTHING our child needs, when I feel that as the parents, thats our job.

I understand and agree about the big picture, but you have to work with your kids in your home and in your community. My daughter is very creative, beyond my beliefs. I did begin guiding her as a toddler. I took her to museums and parks and played outside with her. She still rememebers at twelve. She quides herself now, but she has no cell phone and she doesn't watch tv - that helps. She is always cutting and pasting, building diaroma's or making witty funnies strips. She is also an only child. That doesn't always helps, but sometimes. She did ballet, but quit. She does violin, chess, and choir. She loves to make cards and write poems.

I think you have to take each child as an individual and guide according to their personality.

I also think you have to start young and self esteem comes from even the smallest accomplishments.

First of all, I agree with the first post that we should not look to our school system to do everything for us. In general, when we look to government sponsored programs to fill in for us in any capacity we end up trading freedoms for service.

If you are leading a creative lifestyle it sets an example. You know, I became interested in things my parents never exposed me to. AND I became interested in things my parents did expose me to just by hanging around them.

I have to admit I cracked up laughing when I read your post. My first thought was...."There is the generation gap my friend". I refuse to get my daughter text messaging on her phone and I refuse to get her laptop fixed because it changed her personality in one month flat when she had it. I now thank God Almighty that he made her laptop croak mysteriously :) Dam is he smart!

I also told my soon to be 16 year old daughter that the phone is a homing device for ME and I did not buy it for her social status or social life. Make NO mistake, I bought it for me to keep tabs on YOU. :)

Get rid of stuff and they will squawk but so what? Who is the boss?

I have the laptop on the kitchen table, and they can use it and share the internet.

My 17 year old son does have texting and internet in his room but other than not cleaning his room I have no problem with him. the other two children can't handle it and are too young in my opinion.

We also don't have cable in their rooms so they can't watch TV in there (poor reception since 911) so the boys only use the screens for video games and an occasional movie if they are home sick. So we watch TV once in a while as a family. Usually excluding me cuz I am not a TV watcher.

Life is different, and things change. Just remember, we sound like our parents did to our youngsters. The only problem I have with this stuff is that is sometimes makes children less active which is not healthy. But then again with all the dam child molesters and nuts out on the street sometimes I give God prayers of thanks that they stay in and don't run around. Isn't that sad? I never once told my children to go outside and play. I dreaded it and forbade it unless either one of us (husband or I) were outside. The little one is a real 50's - 60's kind of active bicycle riding, baseball playing kind of kid, so that killed him for a while. now he can walk or ride his bike to a friend's house cuz I have a cell phone planted on him and he is a little happier.

Do what you can. Sometimes if you shove too much culture down their throat they resent it, reject it, and do the opposite.

I bake and sow and do crafts and decorate and design clothes and my daughter hates most of that but likes putting outfits together, crafts, and has developed a real love for photography from a photo class in High School.

Chill, you are a wonderful parent, and I am sure something fantastic will rub off! And if not from you from someone else.

L.

We didn't have a computer when my sons were little boys and I was mindful of their TV intake. I realized that my babies were only going to be little for a short time, so I played with them both often and every day. My husband and I would both get right down on the floor to play with them, we'd build things with them with blocks and Legos and Lincoln Logs, we'd set up the matchbox cars and race tracks and get all the Hess trucks out to play with. We'd toss the kids into the air and twirl them and run around with them outside and push them on the swings in summer in our yard and build snowmen with them in winter. We'd take them to the park or just go for bike rides with them. We read to them every day and said lots of I love yous. We sure do miss those days now, but we still have lots of fun with them as teens too. Of course all the technical stuff is in our lives now, but we do take time out to play a board game or card game together too. There is a happy medium to life.
D. xo

Limit screen time, this means TV, computer, video games. I allow my kids some of this, so they know what other kids are talking about so they can fit in. But mostly, kids want to fit in with their mom and dad. I started young with playing classical and opera music. My husband is Irish, we play alot of traditional Irish music. We bring them to cultural concerts in our area. My girls both used to take Irish dance, now only one does. But both girls play flute and my son is going to learn piano (he's almost 5). It has to be a mindset that parents want to introduce their kids to culture. I also make sure that plenty of art stuff is available. Plus we have tons of books. All these things will hopefully contribute to a well rounded child. As my kids move into teen years, I expect they will lose interest, but I think that it will come back one they get into college and adulthood.

Hi A.,

To get children into a different mind set, whether it be creative or just plain conscious of the real world, parents need to unplug them! No computer, no phones, or at least strict limits on both.
My professional opinion is that children should be given the proper environments during early childhood so that they are less likely to "need" or depend on these devices when older. However, as a parent, I am not there yet since my oldest is 6. My kids do not have video games, they do not have tv's in their room (and never will), they have been forewarned that they will not have cell phones for recreational use (safety perhaps in teens, but for socializing & texting, NO WAY), and although I allow them on the computer it is only once or twice a month. When they need to be on the computer for educational purposes it wll be strictly monitored and websites such as youtube, myspace, and facebook are banned.

Cultivation of creativity and instilling a sense of culture in our children is our responsibility as parents, NOT the school's responsibility. I have an appreciation for the arts as well as sports, but during the school day I prefer that my tax money be spent teaching children academics they will need to suceed in this world. A main reason the US is behind in math & science is because we spend way too much money on things that could be learned in an extracurricular setting and with private money from those who choose to want it. Look at the education model in Europe and Asia, you'll notice the focus is predominently on academics. Yes, there should be room for some creative and vocational classes, but if parents really want these for their children there are plenty of resources available to find them for minimal costs if not 100% free.

Pouring more money into schools is not the answer. The more money they get the more they waste. I have seen it first hand. Parent involvement, in and out of school, and community participation is crucial to giving our children a whole education and allow them to discover the wonder our world has to offer.

And having more people like you in the community to allow these things to become a reality is also crucial. Volunteering for organizations whose mission it is to enrich the lives of children who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity because of a lack of parental involvement is imperative! I am sure there are many in your very area who would love to have you on board to help make a real difference in a child's life!

A.

Although my daughters school tries to engage students in creative things, the students just want to hang out on computers or text all the time. She's in middle school and I made her attend the after-school at her school. She wanted me to take her out half way through because she just want to come home and relax (yeah right), but I told her she had to attend because they offered good apprenticeships. Usually when she wasn't in it, she would be flipping channels on the TV or be on the computer or eating everything in sight.
Over the holiday break, I was like, call a friend, I'll set up a place to meet, but she didn't want to do that. What made her even more upset was that our TV broke on New Years day, so the next couple of days she was going crazy.
For the next break, I am going to ask the school along with parents to pick a place where the students can meet during break. (Bowling, skating etc) Something where they can be engaged minus the gadgets. It gets harder and harder to engage tweens and teens because they consider everything boring, wack and old timey. I'm going to suggest that the school also ask each grade to contribute to some sort of community service so students can have a sense of giving back.
About me- Mom of three (2 boys, 1 girl) in NYC
-Sandy

find after school activities that will bring these other things into her life.