The Mt. Diablo Unified School District Board of Education just voted 4-0 (one board member was absent) to eliminate 4th grade elementary instrumental music.
“Eliminate 4th grade elementary instrumental music- Eliminate 6.1 FTE teacher positions supporting 4th grade instrumental music.”
47 comments
Seems Trustee Nzewi didn’t want to take the heat. Now she gets to say she didn’t vote on it.
She doesn’t stand up and put her hand on her heart for the Pledge of Allegiance. She sits, or if she stands, she turns her back to the flag.
I don’t like our politicians, but I love my Country. We are all Americans, and we need to focus more on our commonalities in school than on how we are different.
They are taking away music (something that stimulates the brain) but are keeping SEL and DEI, which has nothing to do with academics or learning.
We need to recall as SF did to their school board.
Debra Mason is an idiot, always giggling inappropriately. Students do not come first. Vote her out.
This is so sad. The mismanagement of mdusd and the amount of useless overpaid clowns at the district office is appalling.
Kids happiness and enjoyment at school is less important than paying donut eating adults who do nothing all day in cubicles apparently.
What do you mean they do nothing all day?
They do some things all day.
They attend SEL, DEI, and CRT training.
They push THEIR political ideologies, morals, and values on our children.
You know, the important stuff.
Who cares if the kids can read, write, add, subtract, multiply, or divide by the time they graduate.
As long as they don’t hurt anyone’s feelings along the way, they have done their job of creating obedient followers.
VOTE THEM ALL OUT! Replace them with people that currently have kids in the district. Cut half of the administrative positions, and keep the music!!!!!!!!
They don’t support students, teachers, and their communities. They do support paying a ridiculous amount of money to a New York company for “training” that teachers find insulting. They allow a Silicon Valley venture capital firm to operate a poorly run charter school at tax payer expense. They fail to feed breakfast and lunch to students. Time for a fat recall.
Wow, I’m speechless.
That’s a shame.
Scumbags…
CRIMINAL
And in other news … Bay Area Mega Corporate Tech companies pay zero taxes … #BSAF
As I’ve said before – time to clean the swamp.
You’ve elected these morons. It’s time for a recall – or to remove them by any legal means necessary.
If you sit back and allow this , then I hold YOU responsible!
.. another demonstration of the arrogance and irresponsible members of MDUSD… the district needs to be broken up – they’re too big for their britches
@Randy
…….”too big for their britches”. Haven’t heard that saying in a very long time. Anyway, your post is 100% correct.
They say they have to make the cuts because they have a budget deficit. One of the reasons they have a deficit is declining enrollment. One of the reasons they have declining enrollment because of stupid decisions like this one. Idiots!
Mojo – agree 100%.
Why don’t they understand that people are going to private schools or home schooling?
It’s time to dismantle MDUSD . Period.
If you can afford it, flee the district. The remainder should petition the district to be broken up. Fire all those clowns.
You voted for them.
Of course the Soros plant wasn’t there.
But she still pulls all the strings.
What a feckless school board.
Soros plant? Are you serious?
I have zero respect for the MDUSD school board or District Admin., but what in the world are you babbling about?
Vote these members out. They have forgotten that school is for the kids to learn and develop skills. Music being one of those. School is for the kids not these peoples egos or political agendas. They are destroying it for the kids and our future
its time for the Board to face the music
I for one do not see this as an issue. I am curious more as to what classes remain. Music classes like this, in my opinion, is more of an extracurricular activity. Not everyone wants to spend their time trying to play a recorder. This time would be better spent teaching civics, chemistry, ,biology, math, economics (not Cortez’s brand of economics) and history. Naturally, the bent of the educators here teach an alternative view to freedom, pro-America, which must be considered.
What you don’t seem to understand is that the arts and sciences are inter-related. Ones who are usually successful are successful at the other. A great many computer programmers I worked with and managed, like myself, had a background in music. Learning computer programming at the time was not that much removed from being able to deal with music notation. This has been argued time and time again over the past decades as “boneheads” who don’t see the connection argue for “readin’, writin’ and ‘rightmatic” over the arts.
Learning to play a musical instrument in childhood can result in long-lasting changes in brain organization. The first study that examined neuroanatomical differences between musicians and nonmusicians reported larger anterior corpus callosum in musicians (Schlaug and others 1995a), a finding that has since been replicated by different research groups using different methodological approaches (Oztürk and others 2002; Lee and others 2003; Hyde and others 2009). The corpus callosum plays an important role in interhemispheric communication, which underlies the execution of complex bimanual motor sequences. Moreover, musicians who began training at an early age (≤7 years) had a significantly larger corpus callosum compared to musicians who started later.
Musical development in children is instrumental in establishing neural pathways that are important in comprehension of math and science.
I understand the connection for music/arts and science/brain development. I do not support elimination of any music instruction, but rather it be an afterschool activity.
@David…I appreciate you citing sources for your argument/discussion/support.
I have a degree in music theory but my career has been as a software engineer for over 30 years. There is a sort of correlation between music theory/composition and software design. It’s how one approaches problems. Some of the best engineers I have known were deep into school music programs.
Back in the 80s, Pacbell made an effort to hire and train music theory grads to become software engineers. Pacbell found the same correlation between music and programming. They were interviewed by KGO, IIRC. I wish I could find that interview.
I find most young programmers do not believe there is a correlation, but once I explain it to them, they get it. The older guys get it much easier.
I would like to make a call to all the contra Costa businesses
To refuse services to the board members
I have 4 restaurants and in all of them the board members are unwelcome
This is heartbreaking. I vividly remember being so excited to start learning how to play the clarinet in the 4th grade, and was in band for 4 years after that. I feel so bad for our kids in public schools these days. I’m sure they’ll still have time and resources to cram CRT down their throats though…
MDEA and MDUSD are an absolute disgrace to kids education.
Both of these self serving mindless blobs need to be broken apart.
So this cut is to give teachers a raise that they haven’t got since 2019 and it’s a small raise especially compared to housing market / inflation . They also didn’t say how there also going to start combining classes to cut teachers too. Combo classes they call it. Also there adding the amount of students per each class. Which was already high . Mt.diablo district was always bottom of the barrel , imagine now . Crime rate going up starts with these students no education no goals in life
The idea they are making these cuts to give teachers a raise is pure propaganda. The district has mismanaged funds to the tune of many millions, and also have refused to even negotiate a raise.
There was a petition on ND. I also learned the clarinet in 4th grade as well as Glee Club, Band was always an elective and not required. It is tragic. Music is a language on its own.
All three of my kids had private music lessons and played in the schools jazz band but I don’t remember if they had a music class in the fourth grade. How successful was the program? Seems a little young for class type lessons.
@Ricardoh….I agree, I remember you couldn’t be in a school band until 5th grade in the ’50s and ’60s.
Cut the administration costs first!
Filter on Year=2020
https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/2020/school-districts/contra-costa/mt-diablo-unified/
Cut the money at the top and don’t cut music.
I don’t give one BIT of a care about paying teachers more. I went to college with people who half-assed their way through a credential because they wanted to make a teacher salary and have a quarter of a year off — outright said that to me and others.
Many parents (including myself) got an eye/earful of what WASN’T happening in their classrooms for a year and half. What my kid wasn’t learning was embarrassing. And the WORST part about it was the teacher constantly mentioned that they were “on track” for a normal, in-person year. In other words — the kids normally only learn about an hour’s worth of anything during the day, and it’s very very little.
I am at a loss as to where teachers get this idea that they deserve more and more and more. I thought they deserved more until last school year. I had a school counselor tell me that my kid was in “desperate need” of social help and then when I asked for her help she legit told me “no” in front of his teacher and principal. (He’s fine now, which I knew he would be, but this person outright refused to DO HER JOB in front of me and her peers).
Keep music. Keep art. Several students in my high school band outright admitted that if it weren’t for music and marching band they would be doing “something else” (implying that they’d be doing things that negatively affect themselves and others).
If teachers want more they need to fire up. They are embarrassing themselves.
Wow, I’m sorry your child had a bad experience last year, but that was not the case for many, especially at Hidden Valley Elementary. The teachers there worked their tails off, going above and beyond to ensure children learned. We did more than what the union negotiated. I know these kids learned because I moved up with my second graders to third this year. It has been so amazing to see them continue to grow new skills, and to see what they remember from 2nd grade. No, it wasn’t an ideal situation, but we made the best of it. I was often working until midnight trying to find engaging online activities/lessons/etc. Most of us had no idea how to teach online so to say that we did nothing is outright false.
As far as having so much time off, I usually work Summer school to make ends meet (which is a month) and am always lesson planning, organizing, labeling books, putting rosters together, ordering consumables, setting up desks, looking for chairs/desks (since we are always low on basic furniture),setting up computer programs for each child (since we have no tech help anymore), writing nametags, making copies, reviewing/learning new curriculum (since we are often moved grade levels without any say), and setting up the classroom (since we have to have everything taken down and put away for deep cleaning), amongst many other things starting mid-late July. So really, I get about 3-4 weeks completely off.
Please do not assume you know anything about my job. Would you like it if everyone started judging your work skills? It was already stressful enough to learn new skills and do our best for these kids, but to then read such horrific comments about teachers. It put me into a bad place, one I have never been before. If you’ve ever suffered anxiety and depression, then you know what I mean.
Let’s be kind to each other. Life is too short.
I started Clarinet in the 3rd grade in Lafayette school district. Included Saxophone in 5th grade. Even took private lessons. I kept it up through Acalanes Highschool. Even pep bad at St. Mary’s College. Great learning skills and great times. I still “tootle” once in a while at home (in my mid 70’s).
Redrazor
I started clarinet in 4th grade in the Lafayette district (Lafayette Elementary to be exact), Played through high school as well. I really think that music assisted with my math skills and is worthy of being offered to all in school
Was there any doubt MDUSD would can the music program? Let’s face it: The MDUSD of today is nothing like that of 40 years ago. And anyone who has any money at all sends their kids elsewhere. Whatever it takes.
The district has been going downhill since 1979. That was the first time they closed schools. They closed Willow Creek (it was built nine years prior) so they could use it for a district office, it had air conditioning. They closed Cambridge, Meadow Homes, Hillcrest, Gregory Gardens, Pleasant Hill High (five years after building North Gate) all the same year. All the elementary students from Willow Creek, Cambridge, and Meadow Homes all had to go to Fair Oaks but were not even bussed there.
At least there were still good teachers 40 years ago.
While this is bad, private music lessons are quite available. Nothing is mentioned about CRT, but I’ll bet it’s looming around in there somewhere.
Well, these things happen when most of the school board members have never been real educators…
And with the public apathy for local politics…
= Disaster
You’re getting what you wanted Claycord residents. Nzewi and McFerrin are your reps. I’m sure the most white, mostly wealthy musicians of old are glad Nzewi wasn’t able to attend to she couldn’t point out that they were racist, misogynistic ableist. Especially that Beethoven with his bone conduction hearing! Monsters. Enjoy the decent everyone. You ain’t at the bottom yet.
None of you get to complain if, over the almost 2 years the schools were shut down, you did not write in/speak at a board meeting or sign your name to the recall. You can all suck it and THIS is what you deserve.
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