High School Curriculums

Students use high school as a stepping stool for what they want to pursue for themselves in the future. But what if this stepping stool is not big enough to make it to the next step? Are these high schools really doing their job in fulfilling their purpose to set students up for success? I have become aware that high school curriculums can be inconsiderate when it comes to creating a variety of courses and classes to benefit and satisfy students. My high schools curriculum mainly focused on academics, classwork, and a ton of homework, which creates students needing to relieve stress in order to freely express themselves through physical movement that keeps them active during school. These needs could be addressed if there were dance classes

added to the curriculum.
Performance in academic courses and test results are the circumstances that can make or break prospective college acceptances or career employments and is why it would be unnecessary to add classes like dance to a high school curriculum.

There are already enough courses for the goal of college or a career after high school that are offered as a part of the curriculum and dance courses would be seen as unnecessary and a distraction to academic classes. However, there are students who want to train to become a professional dancer, go to college and major in dance like myself, or want to take an active class other than physical education. Where would these students be properly trained and why is physical education the only option for a course that incorporates being active? I trained at a dance studio far away from my high school and it was difficult to afford the training, and the physical education classes became a course where students just played team sports, which was not every students strength. The dance classes would be more than beneficial to students, offering convenient training and another option instead of physical education. Rather than the dance classes being a distraction, they would posses ways to enhance being focus in academic classes like relieving

stress.
Students develop stress because of the vast amount of class work and homework that is included in the curriculum and need a way to relieve this undesired stress.

There are no breaks or periods of relaxation during the school day, except for the time used to walk to another class or the time to eat and socialize for a short amount of time during lunch. All physical activities are ways to relieve stress, however; talking, eating, and trying to hurry to another class are physical activities that involve a minimal effect for relieving stress. Physical activities like dance classes posses an amassment of movement, triggering the question; how could moving the body around in space be used as a way to relieve stress? For someone who only considers a form of relaxation like sleeping or meditating as stress relief, this is an understandable question but an erroneous assumption. Dancing activates neurotransmitters, the cognitive process, and generates endorphins that are released through the body. So while the brain is sending messages through the body, the mental capacity of the brain is expanding, and natural painkillers are being developed in the body to relieve stress (Dancing to Relieve Stress). These outcomes are beneficial and emphasize the importance of stress relief for high school students. Finding ways to relieve stress at my high school was difficult, especially with there being a multitude of situations to produce stress. For example; students were stressed out about

fitting in with classmates and other students felt like they couldn't show who they truly were through the courses and curriculum that was provided.
With the huge number of students that attend my high school, it can be very easy to just blend in and become part of the crowd. This situation promotes stress that causes students to construct a social boundary between them and other students. The lack of classes that offer outlets for students personality and creativeness to show, make it harder for students to show their individuality. Through dance classes, students would be able to show their creativity by having the opportunity to choreograph dances themselves and freestyle to show who they are as a dancer and a person. Dancing often could make the students more aware of their body and get to know themselves personally even more, making it easier to express and distinguish their traits from other students (The Benefits of Dance). Unlike structured academic classes that have this mental wall that restricts students from thinking or lingering outside of their given guidelines, dance classes would be a way to take a break from this restriction and explore the limitless possibilities of the body and how it can be used to project personal qualities. Having the freedom to express yourself, also means having the freedom to make your own choices. Students should be offered dance classes in order to choose if they would rather take a dance class instead of another physical education class, and because both classes involve physical activity, students would be satisfied with opportunity to stay active during the school day.
The complaint of falling asleep in class, being tired of sitting and putting faces in textbook all day, and the deficiency of exercise during school was a discussion between students everyday at my high school. I have even heard students complain about being tired in classes after their physical education course. So if being active during school is supposed to energize students and give them a helpful amount of energy throughout the day; the physical education course was not always accomplishing it's job. Dance classes being added to the curriculum would help solve this issue by offering students a for sure way to stay energized during school and appease the student's need to stay active and exercise. Certified internist, Dr. Eva B. Cwynar, states "Scientists have concluded that one of the best ways to beat fatigue and boost energy is to exercise more, not less (Cwynar)." This supports my argument in that adding a dance class would be helpful and beneficial to the students needing energy to make it through the school day.. Not only will this addition to the curriculum to keep students active improve their energy, but dancing will improve mental functioning, self confidence, and social skills, which could also be needs of high school students (Health Benefits of Dancing).
A way to relieve stress and freely express yourself while staying active is what students need at my high school. Finding time throughout the day to solve these problems can be difficult with the workload that teachers assign to students, but could be addressed if there were dance classes added to the curriculum. The dance classes would improve performance in classes, open creative opportunities for self expression, and keep students moving through the day. They would be beneficial to the students and useful additions to the information that they are already receiving in academic classes, rather than, taking the focus away from academics and being seen as a distraction. Changing the curriculum in order to add dance classes would open doors for students and provoke students as individuals to find out who they are while learning academic material to develop themselves as prospective college students or employers. Besides, is that not the point of high school?