There is a topic I could have chosen to write about this week. I don’t know about you, but I’ve read and heard more than enough opinions on the outcome of the presidential election, and I’m not convinced I have anything particularly original to bring to the table. I encourage you to form an opinion and be involved in this topic of discussion. Talk it over with your friends or those who are not your friends. Our most dangerous enemy is apathy.
Today, I’d like to talk about an item on our local Alachua County ballot. It was Question One and was a referendum regarding the renewal of the existing one mill ad valorem tax for school district operating expenses. This tax ends up taking $1 for every $1,000 of the taxable value of a property. It passed with more than 77 percent of voter support.
On the ballot, it was explained as being used for necessary operating expenses to fund school nurses, elementary music and art programs, K-12 school library and guidance programs, middle and high-school band and chorus programs, academic/career technical magnet programs and to update classroom technology. Anyone who has attended elementary school can attest to the importance of these aspects of education. It can become all too easy to forget that these programs are often not very well-funded. We argue constantly about the merits and shortcomings of standardized testing and Common Core, but we forget this may not even be the most important aspect of primary and secondary education.
Throughout my elementary-, middle- and high-school education, I certainly learned a lot. I learned about science, math, English and social studies. I learned how to graph a polynomial function and why the Civil War happened. But this isn’t what I think about when I think about my early education. I think about my education in the arts.
Starting in kindergarten, my favorite activities were singing, playing music or talking about music. (I am by no means saying I was even remotely OK at singing, but I liked it. Still do. Sorry to my roommates and anyone who has ever attended a concert or rode in a car with me.) As you can expect, I loved music class in elementary school. I loved it so much I was one of those kids who kept with it in middle school. I was then one of the kids who continued through high school. Now I’m in college, and I still play. It is an integral part of who I am, and I can safely say if I hadn’t had such a
good experience with it in school, this would not be the case.
Music and art teaches kids more than just a skill. The classes are more than just a way to give their teachers a break for an hour. They teach kids that while academics are important, they are not the only thing that matters. They teach kids from a very young age the importance of being well-rounded, of finding a creative outlet and of finding their passions. If these programs are not funded, many children will never have the opportunity to do any of these things. Talents will go undiscovered and passions will not be found. Without these referendums, these programs may cease to exist, and the world will become a darker place. For those who voted yes, thank you. You may not even realize the impact you have, but as one of those students who has been impacted, I thank you. For those who voted no, please vote the other way in 2020 when this is up for renewal. I know it’s more money you have to spend, but what you are buying is priceless.
Taylor Cavaliere is a UF psychology and journalism sophomore. Her column appears on Mondays.
