With all due respect, I absolulty see the difference between extracurricular activities and academic requirements. I have also stated that I agree many of these activities do fall under the purview of academic requirements, but I also feel some of them do not. Walking in the marching band at a football game while playing the tuba to me isn't an academic requirement to prove a student is proficient at playing the tuba. Concerts on the other hand, I do feel qualify as academic requirements. Also, as I stated before, I feel there is a no acceptable excuse for a student to be participating in any activity, required or otherwise that takes place during the day that takes them out of the classes they are failing.
Those activities during the school day should be classified as extracurricular.
You mention the drama club field trip, but the drama classes, music classes and choral classes do go on field trips, concerts and competitions during the school day as well as after the school day, which are labeled as requirements. I supported this issue 6 years ago when we raised the academic requirements for all athletics and extracurricular activities and will continue to stand by my belief that not all activities are created equal and not all qualify as academic requirements for any student in the high school .
To me, it all comes down to what you feel is an adequate amount of activities to prove your are proficient in any one subject especially if those activities are outside the students regularly scheduled class. If you research what RIDE (Rhode Island Department of Education) actually requires a student to achieve to prove proficiency for graduation, it is far less expansive than our teachers require.
I am well aware there are very opposing views on this issue and in most issues that come before us, there are very strong opinions on both sides. But, please don’t assume because I don't agree with some of the comments in this blog that it has anything to do with politics or as you say, “my cognitive ability”. I am a highly educated woman with a Masters Degree in Education and unlike some issues, politics plays no role in this issue since my two children who are also at Mt. Hope are expected to abide by the policies we adopt. I have been in contact with the Superintendent as well as the Principle at Mt. Hope all week and believe it or not, they agree with some the issues we brought up at the meeting on Monday night. There is middle of the road for this issue and I believe in the next few weeks you will see where that middle of the road leads our district.
The bottom line is, everyone has their opinion, some based on years of education or personal experience and just because they might not share your opinion does not mean they are politically motivated or due to their cognitive inability. My contact information is on the district website, if you would like to discuss this issue further, I would be more than happy to engage in that conversation.
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