Ever since this whole economic issue has gone on, schools have had to compromise or disband many recreational activities. At one point, almost every school had a ping-pong team. If a school can pay for a ping-pong team, they surely can pay for other recreational activities. This is not the reality of the situation anymore though. A lot of schools have had to cut into their art programs funds to afford basic necessities, and the specific classes affected face a lot of hardships. Ironically, almost every school would say they don’t worry about suppling a sports team, but they have a problem with giving towards an arts class. The irony lays in the fact sports teams, broken down into indivisuals, don’t have the best grades all the time. Recently, schools had to set up a specific GPA just to keep athletes from failing their courses repeatedly. Classes in the arts department often are a positive influence to the student body around them. It stretches from the feeling of accomplishment, reassurance in ones ability, and the motivation to avoid self-destructive behaviors. It also is a great social gathering, allowing you to make friends, and share whatever potential you hold, and how you can improve or excel on your particular abilities. The school board does not share this train of thought, however. Many officials will actually go as far as saying that an arts program wastes funds that could easily support something more important. While their ideology would save money, what about the students outside of school? Not every child is born into wealth and fortune, some actually have to work harder for the same comforts that others may take for granted. Certain people will say that children in these environments will be more likely to join gangs, steal from others, or commit crimes, maybe as young as the average middle school student. This is not a fact that everyone one will, but the services that these arts programs provide are the promise of security, a sense of belonging, and a deep sense of purpose. Earlier in this post, I may of put down athletes a bit. Sports and other activities also do a lot of the things that arts programs do, and they also contribute to the society like other programs do. This leaves a basic question, “Are recreational activities worth the cost to them?”