Music Education should be mandatory in public school because there are substantial educational benefits, students will be more motivated at school, causing them to set goals to accomplish, and students with a musical education will be able to obtain jobs in music education or music industry leading to hundreds of jobs everywhere. The argument for mandatory music lessons is not well-known, cared for, or even a practical argument that many people involve themselves with. The general public, more than likely, does not particularly care whether or not there are music lessons in school, let alone if they are required of students or not. The general public may not care or they may not see that it is practical, they have a right to. Creating mandatory …show more content…
As a result of less time being focused on the common core subjects, board members believe that the test scores and GPAs of students will decrease. This is narrow minded way of thinking, a school in Davenport looked into the grades and GPAs of students involved in music at the school and found that students who were involved in music education courses we academically inclined when compared to those who were not in them. “Music bestows on mental processes which are implicated in academic achievement, music programs are a wise investment in children with varying academic interests. The enhanced brain development that musicians obtain can be exploited in a variety of different academic disciplines. In particular, musicians have increased corpus callosum density,” (Breen 8). In other words, whenever the brain is exposed to music, information will be pooled between both sides of the brain more proficiantly. When a person reads, they use both sides of their brain, unknowingly, if both sides are used more efficiently, then students are able to comprehend what they are reading better. Conclusions can be made from here, if students study music while they are young, they can retain more information in their classes, giving them an advantage in academics. Music is not only beneficial for academics, “I see my …show more content…
Music education in schools will give students the foundation knowledge that they need to possibly teach music one day. Mandatory music education in schools could potentially create hundreds of jobs in the future. America has experienced budgetary cuts in school systems across the nation, many of these budget cuts result in teachers being laid off from work. The musical department is often one of the first areas to experience budget cuts because schools boards do not consider the music department necessary. School boards protect core courses. If school boards could avoid budget cuts, then we would at least be able to continue teaching students who are currently in the music courses. The more students in music courses, the higher the chances are that some of them will continue their journey in music education and will go on to eventually teach music to students one day. This would not only bring jobs to more and more potential music teachers, but it would support the local economy in the community. Creating jobs in the community will help surrounding areas. The chain reaction will take place and the entire ordeal will be traced back because of music education in public
Studies show that those high school students least likely to be involved with drugs are band students. Six separate national independent studies showed students with four years of instrumental music scored 40-50% higher on their Math and English Sat scores that non –music students who had equal scores four years earlier. "Why" Music is the only subject that encompasses all seven learning intelligences. Music is one of only two subjects that "connects" the two independent sides of the brain –logical and creative. Similar studies showed that band students attend more regularly. They participate in their classrooms, look forward to and actually like school. They become more focused, more disciplined. An educated person is less likely to end up in jail, impaired by addictions, or homeless.
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.
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...
In my first piano recital at the age of eight, I felt overwhelmed by the audience' s applause. Since that first recital, I became very committed to music and attempted to build a music career. At age six, I began playing the piano, and at age fifteen, I began playing the trumpet. Admitted by a professional music high school at age sixteen, I had the opportunity of exploring the broad world of music, and the high quality of instruction greatly enriched my music background. After intensively preparing for my first trumpet competition, I won the championship of trumpet competition for the remaining two years of high school. By attending various kinds of competitions, I further developed my musical interest and abilities.
Music education is important for several different reasons. Music is a very valuable resource for students and teachers alike. Research has shown that musical study improves a child's early cognitive development, basic math and reading abilities, SAT scores, ability to work in teams, as well as spatial reasoning skills (VH1, 2003, para4). Music helps students to achieve in areas of intelligence. “Feis, Revecz, the Pannenborgs, Miller, and others are unanimous in finding that musicality and high intelligence go together” (Mursell & Glenn, 1931, p. 20). Studies have shown that preschool children taught with music and songs have an average 10 to 20 points over those without, and by the age of 15 have higher reading and math skills. Another study showed that students that had taken a music appreciation class scored 46 points higher on the math portion of the SAT, and students who had music performance experiences scored 39 points higher than students without any music experience (Harvey, 1997, para13). Music impacts most other areas of learning. “The area holding the greatest prospects for transfer from music appears to be language arts.” (Hoffer, 1983, p. 46) It has been said that music helps concentration during reading. Music is an affective memory aide, because of its use of rhythm, rhyme and melody. Music for young children helps them to learn language because of the rhythms and patterns involved in learning the songs. The involvement of music in education can help to develop oral language skills, listening skills, and an increased vocabulary. Music can help the comprehension of language and basic facts (Dobbs, 1990, 341, 342).
Many people do not realize the positive effect that popular music has on children. At a young age one of the breakthroughs for children is music’s benefit for language development. According to the Children’s Music Workshop, the effect of music education on language development can be seen in the brain. Studies have indicated that musical training develops the left side of the brain known to be involved in processing language and can actually wire the brain’s circuits in specific ways. The relation between both music and language development can also have advantages children. Listening to music can also improve children test scores and IQ levels. Dr. Schellenberg found that a small increase in the IQs of six year olds who were given weekly vocal and piano lessons. This leads to the fact that music is very helpful when it comes to education. Professor Christopher Johnson revealed that students in elementary schools with better music education programs sc...
Music plays a major role in life for most people. It can soothe and excite, encourage sleep and encourage dancing, we can sing to it and ponder it. There are so many different uses of music and so many mediums through which to play it such as Pandora, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Beyond that, more songs every day there are new songs being written. Statistics show that ninety-five percent of all Americans think that music is a core part of a balanced and well-rounded education. The same study showed that ninety-three percent of Americans thought music belonged in the public schooling system, and seventy-nine percent even suggested that music education should be mandatory for all students. Still, studies show that a staggering twenty percent of high school students choose
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.
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...
“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.
Throughout history music has had a profound effect on a person’s mind, body, and consciousness. A song or piece of music can trigger vivid memories, and induce emotions ranging from deep sorrow to unabashed joy. Music can drive listeners to patriotic fervor or religious frenzy, or it can soothe the savage beast we call human. There have been many advances in technology that have let us study how music affects the brain. Music causes all sorts of activity in the brain, especially during musical improvisation. Music can tremendously help people with certain mind damaging diseases, and in some cases it can have negative effects.
...ls. There is so much that can be gained from arts education. It is imperative that music and art education remains in public schools. Because, even though it has been said many times before, the fact remains that the arts enrich us all.
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.