Theatre Student Pleads for Continued Classes
Junior Gus Mahoney writes a letter to administration opposing the recently publicized decision to cut courses that enroll fewer than 15 students
Senior Margi Weiss perform in this year’s theatre production of New Stages 34.
The Theatre Department would be among the hardest hit disciplines in the school under a 15-student minimum policy. In 2014, Superintendent Gregory C. Hutchings, Jr. initiated a review of enrollment. “My biggest concern was that I didn’t want to have a number of classes with less than 15 students in operation,” Hutchings told The Shakerite. Junior Gus Mahoney sent this letter yesterday to the administration and the Board of Education after learning that some theatre classes were endangered for next year.
For the past three years, as a child who was never “gifted” in the core subjects, electives have allowed me to explore my own personal gifts in both music and theater. I am disheartened to hear of the possible cuts of some elective classes without a certain number of sign ups. Although I do understand the administration’s purpose for this proclamation, I want to urge you to see past the quantitative aspects of the dilemma and see the qualitative aspects.
For the past 12 years, I have gone through the Shaker school district and have received a truly special education. My education has been “special” because of not only the passionate teachers and the immense opportunities to find out what I’m passionate about, but also because I have been taught how to be a human being and not just a student (which I find to be the most important thing for modern education). At the end of eighth grade, I was faced with a decision. Would I follow my brothers’ footsteps and go to St. Ignatius, or would I stay in Shaker? In the end, it was not the academics that brought me to choose Shaker, but it was the abundant theatre arts classes, it was the idea that I could take a music theory class, that I could be in an intense and great choir program, it was the idea that I could be in SGORR, that I could take distinguished art and design classes, the idea that I could take journalism.
As someone who knows what they want to do with their life, it has been so helpful that I could have small, focused classes based on the subject I am interested in. A flaw of the modern education system is that when a child is not gifted in any of the core subjects, they are immediately written off as unintelligent (as much as teachers do not like to say so, it is true). When in reality these “unintelligent” kids could be very gifted in other areas, such as art, music, and theatre, but they are lost among the crowd because their talents are not fostered by the education system. The education system has failed these kids. Up until this point, Shaker has not failed these kids.
By cutting these elective options, Shaker loses those kids. Kids like me. I would love to talk to you about this more … I once again urge you to look at the qualitative aspects of the situation, rather than focusing on the quantitative aspects. Please don’t abandon what has made and should continue to make Shaker special.
Sincerely,
Gus Mahoney (Class of 2017)
Lila Hanft | Apr 13, 2016 at 3:22 pm
I don’t know Gus personally, but I saw several of his spectacular performances as the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, and those really reinforce and enhance the relevance and persuasiveness of his argument.
Few programs in public schools anywhere contribute to the intellectual, social and emotional growth of teens the way Shaker’s theatre program does. The curriculum offers students a rare opportunity to shape a project ( whether that project is a screenplay, a performance, or clever piece of lighting), shepherd it through a myriad of practical, real-life complications (from time constraints to the laws of physics), and, coached by an experienced and caring faculty, present the finished project to the world.
Students invariably seem to come away from this experience with a better sense of self-determination and purpose, their abundant creativity honed by the necessity of problem-solving — in other words, they come out of Shaker’s theatre program with a set of skills every thoughtful, productive person needs to make his or her way in the world (and which may don’t acquire until long after college).
Kimberly Bolton | Apr 12, 2016 at 10:23 pm
As an alumna of Shaker (’87), this letter really distresses me. When I came through SHHS, the Theatre Dept. was a vibrant part of the fabric of the school. I took every class I could, and was proud to work with some of the best teachers in the school. Time to write to the Superintendent.
Myra White | Apr 12, 2016 at 9:13 pm
Thank you Gus, I totally agree.