Imagine a world without music. For a lot of people, music drives them. Some people need music to get through the day, or maybe just to make a long car ride seem a little bit shorter. Music is a way to express and evoke emotion. It is used in church services, movies, and parties. We use music to start sport events and to congratulate Olympic medalists. Music is everywhere, and everyone should be given the opportunity to learn how to create it. Sadly, the United States does not agree. Music education in schools has been dwindling. According to the National Endowment for the Arts, from 1992 to 2008, the number of kids in music education dropped by 21%. (Sall 1). Schools cut from the arts because they want to improve education, but if they truly wanted to improve education, they would do the opposite. Music education should be kept in school because it benefits kids with skills that cannot be taught by conventional means.
Often times, all we hear about music is that it’s “powerful” or “soulful”, and while these words are complementary, law makers and administrators do not want such embellished speech. Instead, they want facts and numbers. So why not give it to them? Music majors are the most likely group of college grads to be admitted to medical school (NAMM) According to the report, music majors have a 66% acceptance rate, compared to biochemistry majors with an acceptance rate of 44%. The U.S. Department of Education shows that students that were exposed to music education had significantly higher scores in mathematics (Catterall). According to the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988, high school music students have been shown to hold higher grade point averages than non-musicians in the same school. These are but thr...
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...ad. To tell a story or to escape into the safety of our own minds. There is less scientific evidence to support the claim that assigning a reading of The Great Gatsby will make us smarter, however I doubt that there will come a day when schools stop offering literature (Madden). Schools spend copious amounts of money on reading material. Now imagine if we put the same emphasis on making people musically literate. Think of the benefits and how much better our students would be. There is a reason why the top three countries in the world-Japan, Netherlands, and Hungary- music education is mandated (Madden). These three countries have learned the importance of music education, and with that knowledge they produce some of the best-performing schools in the world. The United States has so much untapped potential, and the key for unlocking this potential is music education.
Occasionally music is used as medicine. One scholar shows that music can lower blood pressure, speed up stroke recovery, help you fall asleep, and help relieve pain (Surprising Effects of Music). Many schools provide a challenging curriculum for their students. Music classes would give students a chance to relax. Research demonstrates that liste...
The American school system has been put under an immense amount of stress in the past few years. Funding has been moved, held back, and/or taken away from various classes. However, one of the largest fights for funding is found in music education. Without funding, music classes are unable to properly educate children in music. With more and more money being taken away, the youngest generation is growing up with less musical intelligence.
Before addressing the need for music instruction in our schools I would like to briefly examine the need for education of any kind. Education is a means of making sure our society has a given set of knowledge. The set of knowledge we perceive ourselves as needing changes based on our surroundings and the issues we are dealing with. In American education's early history we perceived ourselves as needing a set of knowledge that included a common language and common view of history, as well as knowledge of those things with which we would interact every day. In many ways early public education was more a means of social control than an altruistic endeavor. In today's climate we see ourselves as having more diverse needs in our education...
After announcing my decision to a number of friends and acquaintances, I began to encounter not a few misconceptions about the study of music. Many people readily expressed their uninformed opinion that music (particularly vocal performance) was an easy college major for anyone with a modicum of talent: “Just open your mouth and let the music pour out.” Some showed their ignorance by commenting that music majors had both light and easy course loads. There are even some people who refuse to acknowledge that music is a serious academic discipline. They believe music is a refuge for slackers who do not want to tackle the really difficult courses. Others have insinuated
There have been many studies done to find how music influences a child’s development. The College Entrance Examination Board discovered that students who took music appreciation classes had higher verbal and math scores than those who did not take the classes. (Stephens 2003) The U.S. Department of Education found that in 25,000 secondary schools, students who were highly involved in the music program did much better in math than any other students. (Stephens 2003) These studies and more have found that involvement in music increases chi...
According to the National Association for Music Education, SAT takers with a background involving musical instruction score significantly higher than their non-musically trained counterparts; a surprising 56 points higher on the verbal portion and 39 points higher on the math portion of the test. But what is not generally controversial though, and is supported by a strong body of evidence, is the fact that ongoing music education does help children across a wide range of criteria - including overall academic performance. Other advocates of music instruction also cite numerous non-musical benefits including the building of greater self-esteem, concentration and coordination. Formal music instruction requires focus, discipline and determination; excellent qualities which are often transferred into other areas of the student's life. When research on the Mozart Effect - the theory that listening to Mozart's music can temporarily improve performance and perhaps even IQ - became popularized in the late 1950s, parents everywhere began to try and expose their children to more classical music. Brigid Finucane, an Early Childhood Music Instructor at the Merit School of Music in Chicago, has witnessed the positive effects of music instruction first-hand. Finucane says “Teachers at the sites I work at related many stories to me about how the children have progressed more deeply because of having music in the curriculum.” S...
Working Thesis: Music education improves children’s performance in school by increasing their intellectual capabilities therefore, all schools should offer music classes.
“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.
middle of paper ... ... Music was not taught in the high school I was in. To satisfy my interest in learning about music and how to play musical instruments, I had to find a source of education other than school; a great depiction in agreement with Graff’s claim that students are being limited by not considering their interests when creating curricula (Graff 197). In conclusion, education is broader than just falling into what the contemporary school system has to offer. Both Gatto and Graff proved this by explaining how conforming students to certain perspectives of education limits their potential in other educational branches that interest the students.
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.
Music is a basic part of everyday life. What makes music unique is its ability to create an emotional response in a person. A music education program should develop the aesthetic experience of every student to its highest potential. Aesthetics is the study of the relationship of art to the human senses. Intelligence exists in several areas, which includes music. The concept of aesthetics allows us to see into ourselves, which in turn helps the development of the intelligences. Not only are these intelligences brought up greatly in music education, but they can be transferred to other areas as well, allowing students to grow more through their other subjects.
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.
The position that is being argued is that music should stay in schools. This author is making the claim that music makes children excel in their education. This author uses many different sources. The author relies mainly on studies to back up his argument. The article is recent.
Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Without music, life would be a mistake”. Music is almost as old as the human race and is as much a part of it as anything. So why would anyone choose to get rid of it? An Increasing number of schools across the nation are deciding to cut music education programs. This includes band, orchestra, choir, and general music classes. In 1991, 55.4 percent of public school eighth-graders took part in music classes at school. In 2004, this figure was just 49.1 percent. Money plays a huge role in this statistic: “...when funds are scarce, arts courses are usually the first to be dropped from a school’s curriculum” (“Arts Education”). While many argue that music education is an unnecessary cost for schools, it improves student’s overall well being.
...day that music is powerful medicine. It has a great affect on tearing down the walls of silence and affliction of Alzheimer’s, depression, injuries, healing. And did you know that kids, who study the arts, do an average of forty points higher in math and science? Music education is superior to even computer instruction in enhancing early childhood mental capacity and special intelligence. Music therapists prove every single day that music is powerful medicine. (Richards Institute of Education and Research) Music is Magic.