The Value of Nonessentials

I am not a Math whiz. I knew at a young age I would never be an astronaut or an engineer. I realized my talents were not equivalent with being a surgeon or a lawyer. My academic skills just were not up to par in those areas.

However, I did excel in other areas. I loved writing and art class was one of my favorite times of the week. I could use my creativity to share what was in my mind.

Academics are not just the basic core disciplines and there is more to learning than figuring out nouns, algebra problems and the periodic table of elements. However, schools seem to be shifting away from those nonessentials and gearing what money they have into the core classes.

Already, elementary school students do not get a recess. That means the teacher does not get a break either. If school districts have kept PE class, they are now charged with bookwork such as learning nutrition, D.A.R.E. classes and bullying issues. None of those things are bad; it is just squeezing out more nonessentials.

Art class, pottery and music classes have fallen by the wayside.

More dumbing-down education has surfaced in Georgia. A growing number of schools are not teaching cursive writing. I went to elementary school in Marietta, GA and I remember how hard it was to learn cursive. My teacher had the letters on big poster board plastered all around the room. I would look at it and not comprehend how all those curvy lines created a letter.

Eventually, I learned it. I must say, I developed a nice cursive handwriting. I have always gotten compliments on how pretty my writing looks. I know cursive writing is not a prerequisite for college or a job, for that matter. However, there are jobs out there that utilize nice handwriting, so it is not a lost art.

Taking out all these “nonessentials” means creating an education system that produces carbon copies. Not everyone is geared to excel at math or science. It takes a kaleidoscope of people to make the world the eclectic, functional place it needs to be.

First, we do not need artists, musicians and now people who write cursive. We are just a step away from getting rid of editors and using spell check. Maybe next are writers then eventually we can outsource everything we are too busy to do to children in other countries who are learning all these nonessentials.

Staci Dennis lives in Norfolk, VA, is married to Eric, who is awesome, and has a fat cat and two cute Puggles. She has been published in various newspapers and magazines across the nation, and worked as a reporter for 12 years. She is a contributor for Nexxt, realestatejobsiteblog.com and armedservicesjobsblog.com.