The arts are central to growth and development. Kids in IB at W-L couldn't have to forego the arts to do IB.
S
saundra crane king
3 years ago
The choral and band programs at W-L are renowned and provide wonderful opportunities for students in both the subject marterial and community building among peers. As a YHS band and Chorus parent, I cannot imagine my students' HS experience without the connection to the music programs and the people and teachers they connected with through them. Denying the opportunity to participate in music and arts education will ultimately weaken the value for and engagement students have in the IB program.
K
Kathleen nadherny
3 years ago
IB and music are necessary!
G
Grace Elman
3 years ago
Featured
I graduated from the full IB program at WL in 2017, and my choir classes were an absolutely necessary respite from the stress of IB. I don’t know where I would be today if I hadn’t had the opportunity to be a part of the music department.
J
Jason Gottshall
3 years ago
The arts are equally as important to a well rounded education as other academic disciplines. It is unthinkable to make students choose between participation in band and participation in IB. Please look for more sensible alternatives.
A
Andrea Kaplowitz
3 years ago
Please prioritize music and arts just as you would other aspects of the IB education. It is not in the IB spirit to disclude these types of educational opportunities as it is an important path for our students to grow and learn.
S
Stacy Leff
3 years ago
Arts are not expendable!
A
Allison C
3 years ago
As a graduate of W-L's IB Program (2016), music was one of the things that kept me sane in this inflexible, demanding program. The IB Program is one of the most rigorous courses for this age group in the WORLD. To deprive students of the opportunity to engage in a creative endeavor and make friends outside of the IB Program is a huge mistake. ToK was one of the least helpful classes I ever took at W-L; describing it to anyone at my college or professional circles leaves them as confused as I was while taking it. The lessons I learned in band were life-long. I don't remember anything I learned in ToK. Expanding this half-baked curriculum to two years doesn't make any sense at all.
S
Samantha Montana
3 years ago
I did full IB and was in symphonic/marching band for 4 years. Band was the best part of my high school experience. Please don’t cut that out of these students lives.
I
Irene B
3 years ago
Music is known to be complementary to skills important in STEM. Plus, as they say "music is the universal language." This proposed change in the IB curriculum is short-sighted and detrimental.
R
Robert Laber
3 years ago
I frankly shocked to hear how students my have to drop band to remain in the IB program because of your problem scheduling singletons. This is a real dis-service of students who are both high achieving and talented. I look forward hearing about how you solved this problem. Other high schools have.
C
Carole Russo
3 years ago
Well rounded students are critical to future success.
J
Jennifer Gerbi
3 years ago
I have a daughter in the IB program right now. TOK to the IB program is probably the least important class they take and quite honestly is a bit of a mess at the moment. The idea of expanding this to 2 years at the expense of music is absolutely horrific. Music is crucial for a lot of students including those in other majors and has been shown to benefit learning across the board. Please find another way to do this - if this is an IB requirement you could do expanded tok after school as a club or something else. You should take a hard look at the quality of your current Tok classes as well before you decide that this is something that should be done. Thank you.
C
Coral Gundlach
3 years ago
This is extremely shocking to hear. Arlington is a vibrant and cultured community, and should never cut any sort of arts and music program from their schools. I do not currently have children at a PS but did in the past, and just being a citizen of this community I want our children to be able to have any This is extremely shocking to hear. Arlington is a vibrant and cultured community and should never cut any sort of arts or music program from their schools. I do not currently have children at APS but did in the past and just being a citizen of this community I want our children to be able to have any arts education possible. and all arts education possible. With the rise in mental health issues among our teens, art and music is the absolute last thing that should be cut right now. With the rise in mental health issues among our teens art and music is the absolute last thing that should be cut right now it is a known fact that. It is a fact that there is a correlation between being able to experience one’s art and music and strong mental health.
P
Phoebe Kiekhofer
3 years ago
My partner and all of her siblings went to W-L and participated in fine arts and IB alike. This will be very harmful to what students can get out of their school experience.
E
Erin Leland
3 years ago
-
M
Maya Koenig
3 years ago
I received my IB diploma in 2022 and can say with confidence that TOK wasn’t even worth a full year of classes. Why expand it to two and sacrifice the arts? Struggling to finance the arts and don’t want to own up to it? No one needs more TOK unless they want an excuse to talk through a class and half-ass some assignments.
D
Diane Stroud
3 years ago
I had a student at W-L from 2014-2018. Music is a must have subject for anyone interested. To deprive these students 2 years of study because of the IB program makes no sense. It seems there is a reasonable way around this. I urge you to use common sense and do not cut these students off from studying music.
C
Carl Settlemyer
3 years ago
As a YHS band parent familiar with W&L’s excellent band program, I think curriculum changes that prevent students from participating in it do a grave disservice to those students, their band peers, and the vitality of the band program (in post-pandemic recovery mode) as a whole. Please fix this.
E
Emily Atkinson
3 years ago
As a fine arts educational administrator, I urge you to reconsider this decision. Arts are a major component of IB. Please don’t limit students’ ability to take 4 years of music, art, or drama.
The arts are central to growth and development. Kids in IB at W-L couldn't have to forego the arts to do IB.
The choral and band programs at W-L are renowned and provide wonderful opportunities for students in both the subject marterial and community building among peers. As a YHS band and Chorus parent, I cannot imagine my students' HS experience without the connection to the music programs and the people and teachers they connected with through them. Denying the opportunity to participate in music and arts education will ultimately weaken the value for and engagement students have in the IB program.
IB and music are necessary!
I graduated from the full IB program at WL in 2017, and my choir classes were an absolutely necessary respite from the stress of IB. I don’t know where I would be today if I hadn’t had the opportunity to be a part of the music department.
The arts are equally as important to a well rounded education as other academic disciplines. It is unthinkable to make students choose between participation in band and participation in IB. Please look for more sensible alternatives.
Please prioritize music and arts just as you would other aspects of the IB education. It is not in the IB spirit to disclude these types of educational opportunities as it is an important path for our students to grow and learn.
Arts are not expendable!
As a graduate of W-L's IB Program (2016), music was one of the things that kept me sane in this inflexible, demanding program. The IB Program is one of the most rigorous courses for this age group in the WORLD. To deprive students of the opportunity to engage in a creative endeavor and make friends outside of the IB Program is a huge mistake. ToK was one of the least helpful classes I ever took at W-L; describing it to anyone at my college or professional circles leaves them as confused as I was while taking it. The lessons I learned in band were life-long. I don't remember anything I learned in ToK. Expanding this half-baked curriculum to two years doesn't make any sense at all.
I did full IB and was in symphonic/marching band for 4 years. Band was the best part of my high school experience. Please don’t cut that out of these students lives.
Music is known to be complementary to skills important in STEM. Plus, as they say "music is the universal language." This proposed change in the IB curriculum is short-sighted and detrimental.
I frankly shocked to hear how students my have to drop band to remain in the IB program because of your problem scheduling singletons. This is a real dis-service of students who are both high achieving and talented. I look forward hearing about how you solved this problem. Other high schools have.
Well rounded students are critical to future success.
I have a daughter in the IB program right now. TOK to the IB program is probably the least important class they take and quite honestly is a bit of a mess at the moment. The idea of expanding this to 2 years at the expense of music is absolutely horrific. Music is crucial for a lot of students including those in other majors and has been shown to benefit learning across the board. Please find another way to do this - if this is an IB requirement you could do expanded tok after school as a club or something else. You should take a hard look at the quality of your current Tok classes as well before you decide that this is something that should be done. Thank you.
This is extremely shocking to hear. Arlington is a vibrant and cultured community, and should never cut any sort of arts and music program from their schools. I do not currently have children at a PS but did in the past, and just being a citizen of this community I want our children to be able to have any This is extremely shocking to hear. Arlington is a vibrant and cultured community and should never cut any sort of arts or music program from their schools. I do not currently have children at APS but did in the past and just being a citizen of this community I want our children to be able to have any arts education possible. and all arts education possible. With the rise in mental health issues among our teens, art and music is the absolute last thing that should be cut right now. With the rise in mental health issues among our teens art and music is the absolute last thing that should be cut right now it is a known fact that. It is a fact that there is a correlation between being able to experience one’s art and music and strong mental health.
My partner and all of her siblings went to W-L and participated in fine arts and IB alike. This will be very harmful to what students can get out of their school experience.
-
I received my IB diploma in 2022 and can say with confidence that TOK wasn’t even worth a full year of classes. Why expand it to two and sacrifice the arts? Struggling to finance the arts and don’t want to own up to it? No one needs more TOK unless they want an excuse to talk through a class and half-ass some assignments.
I had a student at W-L from 2014-2018. Music is a must have subject for anyone interested. To deprive these students 2 years of study because of the IB program makes no sense. It seems there is a reasonable way around this. I urge you to use common sense and do not cut these students off from studying music.
As a YHS band parent familiar with W&L’s excellent band program, I think curriculum changes that prevent students from participating in it do a grave disservice to those students, their band peers, and the vitality of the band program (in post-pandemic recovery mode) as a whole. Please fix this.
As a fine arts educational administrator, I urge you to reconsider this decision. Arts are a major component of IB. Please don’t limit students’ ability to take 4 years of music, art, or drama.