Music and School

I like to consider myself a musician. Not a professional (although one day I would like to be), but a musician. I was a kid who, back in 4^th grade, decided that the cello sounded cool, and on a whim, joined his elementary school orchestra. The year after, I switched to our elementary school band, taught by the middle school band teacher next door at Morton Middle, Debbie Shelton. That day I picked up the trumpet for the first time, and fell in love with it. That impromptu decision to join band was easily the best thing I every decided to do. I’ve been a Band-geek for almost seven years now, and a Music-dork for nearly eight. I’ve learned things through music and band that no other class ever has taught me. Teamwork. Responsibility. Leadership. What being “good” at something was like. I’ve been blessed with the wonderful opportunities that Fayette County still so graciously offers. I suppose I was lucky to be born here.

Others aren’t so fortunate, however. For years now, public schools have been cutting music programs all across the country. That kid who could have been the next Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, or whomever your appropriate analogy is, may never be given the opportunity to be taught music. And my fear is this; that these kids never will have the opportunity to learn about music at all. Public and private school systems alike cut music programs in schools elementary through high, in the name of funding for education. And all they are doing is hurting themselves.

Of course, all of these budget cuts have had their reasoning. An elementary school in Topeka, Kansas needed a few hundred more bucks to buy a new air conditioning unit. A high school’s music program cost too much, and had to be cut in order to keep the school around. Whatever the excuse, it’s a shame every time a child is denied an opportunity to learn.

So I suppose you could say I’m up here to tell you why those programs all over the US should never have been cut, why they should be brought back, and why they should stay.

The root of the problem lies with the lack of music problems in the elementary schools of the United States. With every elementary school that cuts music, there’s another empty chair in the middle school band room. And that chair won’t magically be filled in high school either. High school students aren’t even encouraged to take music classes. Not to insult Mr. Junker, but the most we are even required to complete is a few day long course of an “Arts & Humanities Class”. With some scribbled down bullet-points and a class dance-off, I find it hard to call that a full coverage of the arts.

With the requirements of the arts being as miniscule as this, it’s no wonder that we see music programs cut every way we look. You see high school programs being cut due to lack of participation and no seen values by the school board. But those cuts are due to a lack of participation in middle school bands, which were eventually cut for the very same reasons. Those reasons all boil back down to elementary school, and the cuts that schools boards have been making across the country.

School boards cut these programs without even considering the benefits they bring to children’s lives. A few years ago a U.S. Department of Education study found that children involved in music programs throughout their education show significantly higher math scores than other students. To the Academy and AP students, high math scores don’t sound like anything special. But then again you have to realize that we’re here because of our talents and academic achievement. To the average student, regardless of their skill level and grade, he or she reaps the benefits of music much more than our already academically excelled selves might. This is due to music using the same portion of the brain as mathematical thinking does, as the majority of music comprehension is counting and staying in time.

Music also helps develop a child’s capacity to learn other languages. This is mainly because music is its own language. At a Tuesday morning academy seminar the other day, I jokingly asked a fellow student to play four quarter notes on the drum set that’s been sitting in the Theatre for who knows how long. He replied “What’s a quarter note?” All that goes to say that music is its own language. If you can’t speak it, you can’t understand it either. You’re illiterate, so to speak. However, once you learn one language, the world opens up to you, and other languages are that much easier to understand. And that concept is why music makes languages so much easier for those who study it. Because music is its own language.

And it goes without saying that music has taught things to children, including myself, which no other class really has the capacity to do. Teamwork. Responsibility. Leadership. What being “good” at something is like. Those concepts every parent wants their child to learn, and yet they let their children’s school systems simply cut away what I see as the best way to learn them.

So it’s time to do your part. Every future parent wants the best for their children. So let’s make sure every future parent in America has the ability to give the best to their children. We already have students like you working to preserve our fabulous arts programs here in Lexington. Virginia Newsome, whom some of you may know, is a student and drama major at Lafayette who started her own non-profit organization called heARTS for the Arts, a program dedicated to restoring and improving the quality of music and drama programs in Lexington. A fifteen year old girl started this organization; you can do just the same.

But yet, Lexington is not the only place in peril. The whole country can use some help bringing the arts back into their schools. If ever so slowly, schools are attempting to bring back the arts. In California from 2000 to 2004, music and the arts involvement increased 6%. But that is after a 46% drop of participation that occurred in a fourth of the time just a year earlier in 1999. From Kentucky to California to New York and back, schools need our help. Sure they can restore their arts programs little by little, but imagine how much more quickly it could happen with a little effort from all those who cared.

It’s not an easy task. Bringing the arts back to schools across the country is daunting at the very least. But with a little input from everyone, no one has to do a lot. Donate to charities. Volunteer for organizations like heARTS for the Arts. Have relatives who live away in other states do some work in their area. But if everyone works together, imagine the impact it could have. The opportunities it opens. The future of music, the arts, and all that has been used to define a society as civilized throughout all of history, is all up to you.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Guth, Patricia. "The Importance of Music Education." Education and Homeschooling at More4kids. More 4 Kids, 2011. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. http://education.more4kids.info/23/the-importance-of-music-education/

Levy, Debra. "The Importance of Music in Schools - The Denver Post." Colorado Breaking News, Sports, Weather, Traffic - The Denver Post. Denver Post, 1 May 2010. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. .

DiFiore, Vince. "The Importance of Music Education in Schools - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Cable News Network, 31 May 2011. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. .

"A Passion... A Vision... Creation." HeARTS for the Arts. HeARTS for the Arts. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. .