Priest and theology professor Martin Luther was a great supporter of music education, “I always loved music; whoso has skill in this art is of good temperament, fitted for all things. We must teach music in schools; a schoolmaster ought to have skill in music, or I would not regard him.” In tough economic times like the ones we are experiencing now, it becomes increasingly more difficult for public schools to operate without cutting back. Unfortunately the programs on the chopping block all seem to fall under the category of the arts, especially music. School districts are overlooking the effect on students because they believe it will save them thousands of dollars, and give the schools more time to teach what “matters”. In reality the benefits of keeping music classes out weigh the cost.
According to the Music Unlocks Success in Children (M.U.S.I.C.) Foundation’s website, musical training develops certain parts of the left side of the brain used for language and reasoning. Sharpening these skills can make it easier for grade school students to problem solve in other aspects of learning such as math and science and help them make every day decisions. The Foundation notes that students are able to solve these problems by thinking more creatively. This can lead to higher scores on standardized tests. With higher test scores schools will receive more funding. They, therefore, will be more able to afford the programs they are considering getting rid of. The College-Bound Senior National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers showed that in 2001, students who were involved in music scored significantly higher than those with no music participation.
Because these kinds of classes are seen as luxuries, schools see them as the f...
... middle of paper ...
...selves. There are not many people in the world who have not been affected by music; everyone listens to some form. Why deny a student something that can better them forever? Music is needed in the schools just as much as algebra, biology, and english. We need to encourage state education boards to make the right decisions and find a way to save money by cutting other things and saving music.
Works Cited
Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation
Music for All
The M.U.S.I.C. Foundation
Allan Miller, Dorit Coen “The Case for Music in the Schools” questia.com
In Bruno Nettl's article A Place for All Musics? Confrontation and Mediation he talked about how the “School of Music” and “Departments of Music” are so far from the reality of accepting all music. These schools typically only study Western European art music and Nettl through this article is pointing out the major flaws with this system as a distant observer. He wrote, “Even the various sorts of Western art music may not be included on equal terms. Actually, there are some ways in which the music school functions almost as an institution for the suppression of certain musics. Its library may avoid the purchase of popular music, and in decades past some music deans forbade students to play popular music or jazz in their spare time. . .” Nettle continued to discuss how music schools understandably are out to decontaminate music students of wasteful music such as popular music. He said, “In its judgment of the interrelationships of musics in its community, the music school is very much concerned with the concept of pollution.” Even though Nettle pointed out these issues within the musi...
Instead of moving up in class, people are concerned with holding on to what they have
Throughout history music has played an important role in society, whether it was Mozart moving people with his newest opera or the latest album from the Beatles. Where would society be today without music? With schools cutting their music programs, the next Mozart may not get his chance to discover his amazing talent. Music programs are essential to education. To fully understand this one must understand how music helps the human body, why schools have cut music programs, and why people should learn music.
A recent development in public education has been the decline in arts programs nationwide. Budget cuts to arts programs are responsive to decreases in state funding, especially in states with conservative economic policies. Many states have also enacted legislation disabling local school districts’ abilities to justify employing art and music teachers. Consequently, several problems have manifested themselves, including the loss of arts programs proving detrimental to the overall quality of education for today’s children. First and foremost, arts programs improve overall performance in core school subjects; this is demonstrated clearly through higher test scores amongst students with exposure to arts and positive correlations between arts and core class engagement. Other reasons supporting retaining arts programs include to help foster community development, produce creative minds, develop problem-solving skills, aid in child development and visual-spatial skills, and encourage underprivileged students to remain in school (Metla, 2015). By removing arts programs from some public schools, an alarming issue of public concern arises. Public education, given that it is considered to be a non-rivalrous and non-excludable, is deemed a public good (Clark, 2016). Cutting arts programs in public schools, especially when cuts transpire in schools saturated with heavy minority populations, creates inequitable education and creates a serious issue of public concern.
Parents are forcing students to take classes they don’t want, leaving the student dull and unheard. Parents focus their kids to take challenging classes in order to satisfy their fear of the child getting into a good college. Students are told by parents and the school system that they must take this challenging class and extracurricular just meet ‘the standard quota” but reality it’s not true. For instance, Zinsser’s did a survey on Yale students and asked the students a question about their parental guidance and why they follow it. The results were scary, most students stated: “well my parents want me to be a doctor… They’re paying all this money….” (Zinsser
In the article “College is Not a Commodity. Stop treating it like one,” Hunter Rawlings explains how people today believe that college is a commodity, but he argues that it’s the student’s efforts; which gives value to their education. Rawlings states that in recent years college has been looked at in economic terms, lowering its worth to something people must have instead of earn. As a professor Rawlings has learned that the quality of education has nothing to do with the school or the curriculum, but rather the student’s efforts and work ethic. Rawlings explains the idea that the student is in charge of the success of his or her own education, and the professor or school isn’t the main reason why a student performs poorly in a class. Rawlings
Many schools consider art, music, and physical education programs ‘fluff’ classes, which is why when schools are looking for a place to save money those are some of the programs that are first to go. Claire Suggs, Senior Education Policy Analysts for the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, found that “about 42 percent of districts are reducing or eliminating art or music programs and 62 percent are eliminating elective courses” (“Cutting Class” #1). Art and music programs should not be cut because they allow students to explore their creativity and improve problem solving skills. On the
When a student does reach college, they are set back again. But not only that, the wealthy students are better prepared to excel in college in other ways. Once a student reaches a college, one might think that the playing field is more equal. What if all students who present to college have about the same knowledge base? One would expect two students, with equal knowledge base, but different social economic status, to do the same in their classes. However, this is not the case. In a recent New York Times article “Are College Lectures Unfair?” Annie Murphy Paul discusses this. What has been shown is that the classic passive lecture style, the one typically taught in undergraduate education, favors the “privileged population” (Annie Paul). This is because they have been experiencing this at a younger age and for longer periods than any other demographic. As such, she brings up one of the many advantages that higher socioeconomic status brings. This is because colleges are “biased against undergraduates who are not white, male, and affluent”(Annie Paul). There has been evidence stating that lectures are not “generic or neutral” (Annie Paul) but specifically favors some students while discriminating against “women, minorities, low-income students, and first generation college students. This is not a matter of instruction biased, but the lecture
Classes today are really expensive, especially with the more classes that the school requires a student to take. According to a 2010 study by the University of California’s Civil Rights Project, “Two-thirds of students at one California’s State University campus weren’t able to get into their required courses.” This means that the students at that school will stay in school for more than four years than they intended. Plus, most students tend’ to take fewer classes than they should, this will hold them back from getting their degree, which cost them more than staying in college for more than four
Many schools around the country are cutting their music program because of budget cuts in their counties. The arts for some reason are always the first to be cut; apparently the school doesn’t think they are essential to their students learning. Schools try to focus on the more important academic classes because of the high testing standards they must now meet. (Nesoff 2003) This is not just happening in poor school districts it is happening in large districts across the country including magnet schools for the arts: “When Albert Margolis and his wife attended the final music program for their son's kindergarten class in May, they were shocked when a teacher stood up after the performance and announced that the music program was cut indefinitely…Bathgate Elementary School in Mission Viejo in California's affluent Orange County, is a magnet school for the arts…” (Nesoff 2003) When magnet schools for the arts start cutting music you know there is a problem. The problem is the schools do not know the importance of music and the arts and how necessary they are for children to grow and become cultured in our society.
A fine arts education including music, drawing, painting, and photography has been a part of a well rounded curriculum for decades, but soon that may be changing. The fine arts department in the public education system has constantly been barraged with budget cuts. On several occasions, The Texas Education Agency has repeatedly refused to provide sufficient financial aid to back up important funds that are set up to benefit our youths. These funds are are now coming from parents in a desperate attempt to keep several deemed “unnecessary” programs from shutting down. Not only does the art and music education is essential to the children's learning process, it also grants them the proficiency to mature and become versatile citizens, and why together as a state, we needed to campaign together to save these programs.
However, such accusations such as laziness and entitlement, although common, have been prevalent amongst those of college age as proven in “A’s for Everyone.” Shepard had investigated the cause behind this and had put the blame on grade inflation in the years prior to entering college, the pressure to get superb grades due to high tuition costs, and most importantly the belief that “effort” constitutes a grade bonus. However, if one has entered the school system in America, one could see the relative ease in which one could improve their grades through inordinate amounts of extra credit. Multiple students have heard and even seen fellow students ask their parents to even come in for meetings of which equate to blaming their child’s poor grades on the teacher and harassing said teacher to allow their child, soon to be a hardworking, productive citizen of society, to get the “grade they
Much too often in America today, modern music and art programs in schools are perceived to many as extracurricular activities rather than important subjects that are vital to a students learning and skill development. The truth of the matter is that encouraging music and art education in public schools has a much larger impact on student’s grades, academic performance, and the economy than the majority people realize. Within the next year city school budgets will be dropping by twenty five percent, and despite the fact that music and art programs have been showing a dramatic contribution to student’s learning, this substantial drop in funding for the programs will lead to no dedicated money for art or music programs (Mezzacappa). There is no doubt that a cut in funding for art programs will take a huge toll on students overall grades and test scores. Research has found that the studying of music and art facilitates learning in other subjects and enhances children’s skills in other areas (Brown). Furthermore, providing students with a creative outlet can do great justice in reducing the stress from many other classes and even offer insight for students in possible career paths involving the art field. The art industry today currently supports 4.1 million full-time jobs (Dorfman). By increasing the funding of music and art programs for students preschool through twelfth grade we can see a dramatic increase in the education of children across the United States, assist with skill development in young students, and greatly benefit the economy at the same time.
This social institution strived on being compelling, considerate, and uncompromising, which they stayed consistent to most of the time. Critical thinking stayed consistently taught throughout my English and religion classes. But my schooling also taught me that my opinion is just as important as anyone else’s, which leads to Rouner’s opinions of people believe that their opinions can not be wrong (2015, 1). Many rewarding aspects came from being enrolled in a private school that I know many of my friends in public schools did not receive the opportunities to do. For example, having an optional class specifically dedicated to applying to different colleges, a class that taught you how to build a résumé, and many others. These opportunities lead others in public school to assume that myself and the other students at my high school were rich, snotty kids because we were at a private school. They assumed that we are all rich and thought we were better then them, which is far from the truth. These assumptions made
The Importance of Arts Education Jane Alexander, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), once said, “Many children are missing out on something which gives their education context, gives their lives depth and meaning, and prepares them to be the future workforce.” This “something” that she spoke of is music and art education. Unfortunately, she is entirely correct. We are currently seeing a dramatic cut in arts education curriculum in our public schools due to the limited amount of time and funding. In many cases, budget cutbacks mean arts education cutbacks.