Like many Michigan schools before the recession, Southfield High was full of activities and classes to enrich a high school student’s life. We had school plays. We sent students to Camp Tamarak to develop leadership skills. We offered support groups for students with single parent households. We had courses in photography and ceramics and African American Literature. We had a debate team, a swim team, an origami team. Well, not really an origami team, but you get the idea. We had more than we do now.
Next year we’re even scheduled to lose the Blue Jay Café and the cooking classes that go with it. These experiences could greatly affect the life of a high school student, yet they are among the first things to be cut.
High school isn’t just about math, science and history. It’s also a part of a high school’s job to promote and develop student creativity. High school students are the leaders of tomorrow, and creativity is essential to their development. Creativity is what America has historically excelled at. We created traffic lights. We created light bulbs. We created Corvettes. We created the artificial heart and the telegraph. We created the telephone. We created Jazz. We created hot dogs and hamburgers. We even created the Apple computer and Facebook.
Creativity is the light that illuminates our understanding and brightens our world, and as such, it should be protected.
Everyone should know that extracurricular activities attract the attention of colleges. In fact, with some schools, what you do after school weighs more than your actual grade point average. This fact is becoming increasingly unfortunate with the loss of some of Southfield High’s programs. Colleges are not going to be impressed with students who go straight home after school because their school has no extracurricular activities that interest them.
On a more positive note, there are still some creative outlets that Southfield High offers. We continue to have a strong band, a robotics team and a school newspaper. The loss of activities was a gradual struggle and we’ve been trying to hold onto everything we can.
However, students at SHS and across Michigan will now have to look to alternatives for some creative outlets. Because there aren’t as many programs in the schools, community centers, civic centers and libraries are great places to turn. Community plays and local art programs and activities can always be used to distract students from the basic offerings of high school.
Other than that, students are just going to have to learn to make do with less. The reality is that things like the Blue Jay Café, Camp Tamarak, and school plays aren’t available to our students any more, no matter how unfortunate it is.