High schools waste time with foreign language, fine arts and gym requirements.

"In retort, my opponents' first counter argument is illogical. He only stated "it is not possible to define them as such", which isn't true. In addition, there is no evidence he concluded to debunk my first argument that these classes were financial and time wastes". My opponent in the above statement does nothing to counter the standpoint that you cannot place a dollar amount on appreciation. Again If my opponent can show conclusively that you can assign a monetary value to the appreciation of Art then I invite him to do so until that time he has not refuted my statement. "You can imply momentary value to the appreciation of fine arts. For at the age you are given these requirements, on the most part, appreciation for art and the class is a preset opinion." The Above statement makes no sense; It does nothing to prove you can assign monetary value to appreciation of art. My opponent's diatribe about school lunches is completely irrelevant we are not here to debate the value of a healthy lunch as served in his school. The fact is that Phys Ed for a large number of adolescents and teens is the corner stone of their activity without it they would be couch potatoes. The obesity epidemic in this country is a testament to the need for a required Phys Ed. Not just to build a standard of activity but to make sure that these people get some form of regular activity. Ensuring a basic understanding of health and activity is crucial. hardly a waste of time and resources. My opponent has not shown his statement about people not using what they learn in art or Phys Ed. to be correct. He has merely stated it again and made a feeble attempt to question the validity of my rebuttal of said statement. Once Again Americans spend over 12 billion dollars a year applying what they learned in Phys Ed in at the Gym. Attendance at symphonies and museums are steadily increasing. The latter could and should be considered an appreciation of Music and the Arts. My opponent believes that there is no benefit in a foreign language requirement even though most colleges require a foreign language. Anyone of reasonable intellect can see that it is beneficial to have a base in a foreign language before attending college. Evidence from brain research is only one of many reasons education and engagement in fine arts is beneficial to the educational process. The arts develop neural systems that produce a broad spectrum of benefits ranging from fine motor skills to creativity and improved emotional balance. One must realize that these systems often take months and even years to fine-tune. In a study conducted by Judith Burton, Columbia University, research evidenced that subjects such as mathematics, science, and language require complex cognitive and creative capacities "typical of arts learning" (Burton, Horowitz, & Abeles, 1999). "The arts enhance the process of learning. The systems they nourish, which include our integrated sensory, attentional, cognitive, emotional, and motor capacities, are, in fact, the driving forces behind all other learning" (Jensen, 2001). My opponent readily states that the arguments he puts forth are largely speculation on his part. Above I have chosen to go the opposite route, Science.