OP/ED: In Support of 'Elective' Courses

The following is an unedited letter to the Winnacunnet School Board written by Joseph W. Marchell, Winnacunnet High School Class of 2011, and submitted to Patch.

Dear Members of the Winnacunnet School Board,

My name is Joe Marchell, I am a recent graduate of . I'm currently enrolled at University of Vermont pursuing a degree in Neuroscience.

When I was at WHS I was actively involved in the school band. It was something that I enjoyed doing and made me feel like part of a community at school. Being in the school band surrounded me with people who enjoyed the same activities as I did. It allowed me to meet new people, gain friends who would be some of my best even now that I'm in college. It allowed me the opportunity to work in a group but also as a leader. The bonds that I developed and skills that I learned from the WHS school band are some of the most vital skills I will ever have. I use them on a daily basis in college and without them I would not be able to enjoy the same success that I have already accomplished thus far.

At WHS, to be in the school band you had to be enrolled in the class. It was offered all three trimesters during 4th block and had D lunch, this was the only possible time I could take the class. As a result of this I often found myself having to miss being in band for 1 or 2 trimesters every year due to scheduling conflicts with other classes that were required like mathematics, sciences, and English. This was really hard for me, I found that there were days that I had become so stressed out with school that I was only attending school because I couldn't miss band. I had developed a relationship with the class and with the instructor, Mr. Cyrus, that was more personal than it was professional. Missing band for me was something I took very seriously, it effected me emotionally in a way that no other class had ever been able to. I found that on days I missed band I had let the class, Mr. Cyrus, and myself down. I believe that this sort of connection and enthusiasm for my class was part of what drove me to be as successful as I was in high school.

With the newest changes in curriculum imposed by the School Board it will make an already hard class to schedule nearly impossible. The reason I had the ability to participate in band was because many of my classes were not year long classes which allowed for increased flexibility in the distribution of my courses. I realize that some may argue that increasing the flexibility of band would allow more students to have access to it, this is however impossible. Band is inherently inflexible. It is a class of between 25-60 kids (depending on how many are able to schedule it) that all practice and play together. The goal of band is to work together to create one single piece of music composed of many individual parts. Therefore all parts must be present in order to create the music. It cannot be divided into multiple sections like an English or math or science course. Band requires the most dedication and time of any class, and more than any school sport can claim. I practiced 70 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for a total 180 days a year as a senior in the band (the first, and only, year I was able to have band all three trimesters).

Bear in mind that the time previously mentioned was only practice; I spent a total of 40 hours after school practicing and performing for the high school musical over a period of 4 weeks, I played at all WHS home football games as a member of the pep band, I played at both boys and girls home basketball games, I marched in all four SAU 21 Memorial Day Parades, I performed in the Christmas, SAU 21, and Spring concerts both as a member of the Jazz Band and the Concert Band, I traveled to North Hampton K-8, HAJS, Lincoln Akerman, and Seabrook K-8 as part of the jazz band to encourage kids to become involved in music, I performed in a small jazz ensemble at Parents Night at WHS in the halls while parents were coming and going, I traveled to Toronto for 3 days to compete in an international music festival, I played at all pep rallies during spirit week, I developed and constructed a newsletter that contained information about upcoming and past events associated with school music... This is just what I did in one school year of band. My point is that band requires a lot of time. A lot of time that I was, and many are, willing to commit to. However, it was already difficult to find the time for band; Now it will be nearly impossible with the requirements that students will be required to fulfill.

I wish to express my gratitude to have been able to graduated from Winnacunnet before these recent changes in curriculum took effect. The experience that I got from being a part of the band is something that will affect me for the rest of my life. I'm afraid this new curriculum will not only hurt students' ability to pursue non-required academic studies, but also the future of band and art and "non-essential" classes at Winnacunnet.

Sincerely,
Joseph W. Marchell '11