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The effect of music on education
The effect of music on education
The effect of music on education
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Most people would agree that music and art programs in schools have a huge impact on students not only academically, but in just about every aspect of their lives. Studies have shown that students who are involved in music and art programs have an overall higher IQ and show signs of many other academic benefits. Participating in such programs also allow students the opportunity to express themselves artistically and show the world their perhaps otherwise hidden potential. We all know how fun it can be to show the world your unexpected abilities, and what better way to show those off than the place where we spend most of our day-to-day lives? Unfortunately, even with all these obvious benefits, when the school budget is short, the first things to go are the art programs. Because of this, opportunities become more limited. Creative expression is cut short. Higher potential for success in math and science shrinks. Enjoyable, informative, and influential elective classes disappear. Art programs really are not the best choice when deciding which classes to cut in order to have enough money for those extra textbooks or new desks.
Time and time again, the issue has been tested and has proven that benefits are very real and art programs are largely effective. The University of Michigan exalts music and art programs and portrays them as essential classes (Murphy). The university considers art programs to be ways to develop imagination, which helps build an understanding of the real world. It sees the connections between arts, math, and science: both “require imagination and aesthetic judgment … [and] call on discipline in the acquisition and application of skills, along with intellectual strictness in the pursuit of both formal and conce...
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One thing that many people do not appreciate is how beneficial fine arts can be to academic success. All fine arts ...
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.
Western culture had many important effects on the United States as a developing nation, and art education was no exception to this. In order to come to terms with the impact of Western culture on American art education, it is important to chronicle the progression of art education throughout Europe. Spanning centuries, the political, social, and economic development of European nations, each played an important role the philosophies of art education, which in the long run, affected American ideas concerning the subject.
Back in 8th grade, I was choosing my classes for high school. I was thrilled to see many fine arts classes, along with many different classes, because middle school only offers limited kinds of class. Since I already know I’m taking band in high school, I didn’t have to worry about fine arts credit but I chose to take art too, because I wanted learn more deeper about art. I saw many students like me taking both band and art, or enjoying art classes like I did. However, there were many students who did not enjoy it, or just taking it because they needed fine art credit in order to graduate. It remind me of myself taking language class just to get credit instead of interested in learning.
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.
“Recent studies show that being involved in music classes makes it easier to learn other subjects and improve skills in other classrooms” (Brown, “The Benefits of Music Education”). A lot of people tend to overlook how much music education has an impact on the success of a student. Because of this, schools should be required to offer fine arts and music classes as electives for the students. Not only will this improve the students test scores, but it will also give the students a broader imagination and more creativity in and out of the classroom. In a lot of schools, fine arts and musical classes are the first to go when there are budget cuts. “Seventy-one percent of the nation’s fifteen thousand school districts have cut instructional hours spent on music and other subjects” (“State of the arts: should music and art classes be brushed aside”). Not only is it affecting the teachers who have specialized in the study of fine arts, it is affecting all of the students and parents who are actively involved in these programs. “Johnson, professor of music education and music therapy and associate dean of the School of Fine Arts at KU, found jumps of twenty-two percent in English test scores and twenty percent in math scores at elementary schools with superior music education” (Lynch “Music Boosts Test Scores”). With that being said, schools should be required to offer music and fine arts classes as an elective for their students.
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.
Schools that are in low income areas tend to have a higher dropout rate and lower grades. When the art budgets are cut the only classes that may be keeping some of the kids engaged in school may also be cut. Although it takes the budget away from the core subject supporting the arts in a high risk school will eventually help the school in the long run and help the students there learn the life skills that are needed to get through school and succeed in life. Art is a great way to get and keep the attention of students who are not interested in
Art Education is not always valued in school settings. Although some may see it as an unnecessary use of school funding, there are many who believe it is beneficial to students in more ways than one. There are many different studies that have been conducted to test the effects that art education has on school-aged children. Some studies have proven that art education can help students to improve in other academic areas. In a journal article from Ohio State University’s “Theory in Practice,” Karen A Hamblen states, “There are linkages between art learning and learning in other subjects areas and that art study can promote creative behaviors, critical thinking skills, and academic achievement.” It has also been found that the arts can teach children better self-regulatory strategies, and even foster more confidence and self-efficacy in school which relates to confidence in academics. Overall, art education in schools has been very beneficial and has proven to ignite creativity, confidence, critical thinking skills, and academic achievement in students.
The arts are not only a nice way to pass time; the arts can greatly help with education. Schools in the United States have encouraged children to have an outlet and if the outlet is not sports, most kids take some kind of art class. According to Velasco (2012), a child development specialist, certain students who have taken at least one art credit every year since the start of third grade were more likely to comprehend math and literature easier; for example, counting the beats in every stanza of music or learning the history and background of song lyrics. Velasco also states that students scored 1.5 times better in standardized tests, than kids who did not take an art credit. By helping schools fund art programs, the skills learned by students taking these classes can ultimately help schools excel in academic achievements, and they can aid students to a brighter future.
Balanced programs for art education have been constantly changing and adapting over the years. One program that was developed back in the late 1960’s by Elliot Eisner incorporated three areas of art into the curriculum. These included art object, art criticism and the historical context of art. His program developed into a theoretical base for art curriculum in the elementary schools that is very similar to programs used today (Madeja 2001).
Art and its education are crucial in the development of young children. Therefore, it is of the upmost importance to ensure that our young children are being taught about art and its education in order for them to be successful contributing members of society. June Vail, a professor of dance at Bowdoin College explains, “The arts bring energy and creativity, a kind of learning that can only enhance every other kind of learning. (Vail).” She continues by saying that, “The enterprise of a liberal arts education is integrative, to educate students to be creative and flexible, to harness their energy in a different way (Vail).” Art begins to lay the foundation of success early for young children by developing their motor skills through paining with a paintbrush and drawing with crayons. Furthermore, it also helps promote language development by learning new shapes, colors, and allows them to describe their artistic creation. Lastly, it also helps children improve academically. A report that was done by the Americans for the Arts demonstrates that young people who participated regularly in the arts are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, participate in a math or science fair, or win an award for writing an essay as opposed to students who do not participate in the arts (PBS). As a result of this, it is imperative to ensure that adolescent children of today begin
middle of paper ... ... Arts classes are important and should be an essential part of our society. Being artistic and creative can help students be who they are and stand out. It can help them use their knowledge and come up with extraordinary ideas to make big changes in the world, and it can also keep students away from bad things and be better human beings by doing what they are interested in.
Art classes throughout kindergarten and up to my junior year in college have taught me so much about expression, performance and making a statement. Learning and practicing art introduces a new way of processing information, and approaching problems. In my