Assumptions about Newark Arts HS

I had many assumptions before going to Newark Arts HS and was pleasantly surprised what I saw for the most part. My father is never happy with me traveling into Newark or other urban areas, but I did not and usually do not find Newark to be as dangerous as he makes it sound. He did spend a lot of time in Newark between attending UMDNJ and now teaching at UMDNJ, and he has had some experiences that cause him to worry about me.

I found the students to be very polite and open with us. I also expected this since Arts HS is an arts high school and usually any student dedicated enough to want to do arts and are accepted are mature and have a sense of professionalism because of their background in arts. During our orientation, there was a girl who played Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata which is an extremely difficult piece for a high school student, but she played it beautifully even though she took some sections at a slower tempo which is expected.

Newark Arts HS is dedicated to making their students educated citizens through art which I think is a truly great way of making a student more aware of all aspects of their society. All high school students have the basics of becoming an educated citizens through the knowledge they gain through their core academic classes such as Math, English, Social Studies, and Science, but not all students learn in the field of the arts in depth enough to have an appreciation for the arts and how the arts affects their community. Arts have been apart of the most successful civilizations throughout history, and many developments came out of those civilizations even as far back as ancient Greece and Rome.

Do we need public schools?

Public schools are really almost essential to our time and culture. Private schools are not affordable for most people, and schooling itself is extremely necessary to be successful in and maintain our American culture. Public schooling not only is meant to educate, but it also teaches children how to handle social reactions by being surrounded by peers who are of the same age and maturity level. Public schooling allows any child of any ethnicity, religion, and financial state to receive an education bringing together children of many different backgrounds and giving them an equal opportunity to succeed in our culture and society.

"Do we need public schools?" really asks the question, "Do we need to educate?" Education is essential to maintaining our democracy and way of life. Communication is essential and also very technologically advanced today, and literacy is a key part of communication. Education in public schools also allows every child the opportunity to be successful and not rely on their family for their future career. Our culture clearly thrives on education by how fast everything has advanced even in my own lifetime, and it is truly necessary to have a well rounded education to keep up with our fast-pace culture.