March is Music in Our Schools Month. The Bureau County Record in Princeton, Illinois, asked readers how important they thought the arts were to an education and why.
Those whose letters were published were unanimous in their belief that the arts were very important to education. Why? Because, who would want a world without creativity? one commenter wrote.
“The importance of the arts in education is something I am fortunate to see everyday in my students as [Princeton Elementary School] art teacher,” wrote Carol Johnston. “Art allows all children, no matter their ability level, to tap into their imagination and create something amazing. They can be involved in an activity that expresses their feelings and thoughts unlike anything else. Art brings happiness and joy that can spill over into many areas of their education and life,” she wrote.
So if you hear more music in school hallways this month than at some other times of the year, it could be because the school is celebrating this annual event, developed by the National Association for Music Education, or NAfME: Music in Our Schools Month.
You’ll hear advocacy about how music education helps students learn other school subjects, like math or language arts. The jury’s not coming back on that question, ever, so let’s just stick with music for its own sake, shall we?
Once and for all, we will never be able to show that music makes kids smarter. The reason is that we can’t isolate kids in a testing chamber where we randomly assign some kids to a group that studies music and other kids to a group that doesn’t study music. We would have to eliminate all other variables from their lives—which would be cruel, if not impossible—and then we’d have to leave them in this test environment long enough to measure a differential effect of the music treatment and non-music control group.
That’s not going to happen. We don’t experiment on kids that way.
So, here’s a nice video from the Pennsylvania state legislature, in which state Representative Eddie Day Pashinski talks about the importance of music education in our schools. He was about to read accounts written by more than a thousand Pennsylvania students about what music meant to them, but he opted just to present the speaker with a bound volume with those student testimonials in written form. The move was part of his resolution to recognize March 2016 as Music in Our Schools Month in Pennsylvania:
Music, art, technology, PE, and other so-called electives, are as important to the educational process as science, reading, math, and history. But some people may not see it that way. Not kids, teachers, or principals, mind you, but some people. Not even the feds: This year’s Music in Our Schools month has a special meaning for music lovers. The federal government enshrined music and the arts into law with the Every Student Succeeds Act, making music part of a “well-rounded” education that schools need to provide.
Music and participation in ensembles is, quite honestly, the reason many students come to school. At least that’s what they say when I ask them, and I have asked many of them. Some would have dropped out if it weren’t for music programs, I have heard over and over again through my years covering schools.
The Woodwind & Brasswind company, based in California but serving many, many students in Illinois and other states, has the right idea about music in our schools. The company decided to mark the occasion this year by donating some $20,000 to music projects. The retailer of musical instruments works with various charities and music programs across the country to help music students in need.
“We are proud of our involvement in bringing music to students across the country,” said Woodwind & Brasswind President Steve Zapf. “We have rewarding partnerships that allow us to help thousands of music students every year. We’re also able to support the greater music education community with the largest assortment of school instruments and accessories in the world, a dedicated staff of product specialists and a website for music educators with special educational pricing not available anywhere else.”
