Decimation of Education

Education...the cornerstone of society, and perennial problem child of government budgets and decision-makers. And you know, this is something every person should care about, not just those of us currently rearing your future generations. There have been some alarming trends in our educational systems, both here in WA and the United States in general, that I hope will get all of you, not just those with children currently entrenched in the quagmire that is public schools, extremely concerned.
Issue number 1: this has been a slowly developing process, whittling away a valuable educational frontier for a few years now. Many schools are no longer offering education in the arts, or at least, they are on a very limited basis. Music classes are being thrown out, or made difficult to attend by relegating them to afterschool "elective program" status, with few teachers available and zero funding. Art classes are completely stricken from the curriculum past the typical cut and paste level of grade school. Some systems, like Oregon, are making these classes 'pay as you go' in the public secondary schools, which of course makes these classes inaccessible to the lower/middle class students. Other schools have dropped any classes in the humanities entirely, either for budgetary reasons or 'lack of interest'.
Issue number 2: recently brought to my attention by, of all things, watching G4 TV as incessantly as I do. Adam Sessler, of X-play fame, was recently guesthosting Attack of the Show (which is pretty much the only other show I religiously tune in). I'll write a love-sick soliloquy to him in a later post, but for now, I'll just note what he mentioned at the end of Friday's show. Apparently, in Contra Costa County, California, some ignorant sod was given the priviledge of being Superintendent despite being apparently anti-literature. This idiot has developed a ridiculous 'improvement' to their English courses, which will turn from teaching full novels in the classes to just a pamphlet of chapters that directly correlate to the testing at the end of the term. In other words, not teaching the importance of literature, just shuffling students through a 'frivolous course'. As Sessler so eloquently put it, "This is not education, this is conformism". More specifically, this is truly frightening.
Ignoring the humanities in education is a fundamental folly. While so often the arts are painted as "liberal drivel", the artistic endeavors our society produces is what makes us who we are. Throughout history, the true measure of our being is measured not just by our technological advancements, but our expression through art of how we see the beauty of the world surrounding us. The truest measure of society is not based on the tallest structure it may build, but how one can convey their being. To downplay this concept is to raise an unimaginative individual who may not even understand the core of their own being, much less creatively express themselves. Through literature, we learn to comprehend, we learn to express, we learn to understand others. Through art we learn beauty, we learn creation, we learn of the preciousness of our imagination. Through music we learn pride, we learn the subtlety of listening, we learn to blend efforts seamlessly with others. Through the arts we become better people, yet those in decision making positions are choosing to strip that fundamental tool from our future. What kind of world will that bring upon us? I shudder at the thought.