Music Education
Do you remember your first elementary school Christmas program, your little sister's piano recital, or those Friday night football half-time shows? What about the first musical you sat through on a field-trip or the band you wanted to form when you were fifteen? These are all common experiences for America's youth. It would be correct to say that, at times, music is shoved down our throats, and is forced upon us by some higher authority. Of course, it is all done for our own good. But who decided that music was so important? Who decided that music education was valuable to the American people? Is music education really that valuable or is it just a luxury that we could live without? With the shrinking budgets that schools are facing today, these questions are being raised. Many argue that fine arts education is not essential to children while others argue that fine arts education teaches valuable skills that can be carried across the whole curriculum and into adulthood and, thus, is essential. Educational goals for America's youth are set by the state and national governments. These goals are set to try to ensure that children and young adults receive the type of quality education that will help them in the successful w
Those fighting the budget cuts made towards music education claim that America's youth will suffer a loss. The attitude that math and science are the most valuable subjects to learn is carried over in the budget debate. These projects are in danger of losing their funding. It has made the whole idea of publicly funded fine arts projects seem wasteful and frivolous. Students who were achieving at academic expectation scored high on all rhythmic tasks, while many of those who scored lower on the rhythmic test achieved below academic expectation. If music education keeps being disregarded, America will suffer by losing a unique opportunity to educate children and keep them in school. Creative thinking skills are improved, as Scott McCormick of Bands of America is quoted as saying in the Chicago Tribune, by using "the side of their brains that don't get used in math and science" (3). Music education and other fine arts education were not seen as important or even minimally essential. These goals were to be achieved by the year 2000. Glenn states that "music should be used to help students overcome racial and cultural stereotyping, bias, and insensitivity" (2). University studies conducted in Georgia and Texas found significant Alexandria Guttman 6/8correlations between the number of years of instrumental music instruction and academic achievement in math, science and language arts. The budget for the National Endowment for the Arts is under scrutiny because of its financial support for controversial art projects like Robert Mapplethorpe's series of erotic photographs and Andres Serrano's crucifix submerged in a jar of urine.
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