Save Our Children by Saving Their Music - Case Study of Glynn Co School - Research Proposal Example

Save Our Children by Saving Their Music Case Study of Glynn Co School As a parent of a child that has benefitted greatlyfrom the music program in the Glynn co. school system I find it disappointing that our schools are losing more and more funding for the music program due to budget cuts and loss of property tax revenues. I realize this is a very difficult time for the board. Sweeping concessions must be made and as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act; extracurricular programs are the first to go. However, I feel that music is not just another elective but an integral part of a well- rounded education. As I am sure most board members are aware, extensive research has been done on the effects music programs and the fine arts in general have on our children’s success; especially children in low economic households where parents toil to cater for their necessities. I wish to share some of these findings with those who do not have an insight on the essence of the Fine Arts in schools, and offer a few ideas to alleviate some of the budget burdens that may have been overlooked. At the very least let’s start a meaningful conversation. It is essential that a music department be equipped with the proper elements in public relations and music education advocacy in order to gain support from administrators, parents, and the general public. The field of education requires massive support from the community, especially in the arts. Glynn Co Schools house students, teachers, and administrators, being a microcosm of the surrounding community. These schools represent the members of the community and often give an accurate depiction of the characteristics of the area therefore if it is not an issue important enough for our administrators to get involve why should the public. Public relations are a key area in gaining the support of the general public yet when our band directors worked so diligently to secure a spot in the Cherry Blossom parade in Washington D.C., which only a few in the ENTIRE country were invited, there was barely a mention in the papers and not a word on our radio stations (Costes 52). I wonder if our young athletes worked hard enough to make the state playoffs if that would generate some buzz? Brunswick News heralding the wonders of our coaches as it called for every business to put on their signs “GO PIRATES”. Yes Pirates, go while our young musicians, who have worked so hard, stay home because no one wants to fund the bus to carry them to perform that which has so tirelessly been taught to them. Let our chorus teacher’s spend their own money taking students home so those children, whose parents work, can stay after school to practice but let’s not give them the means to showcase the commendable job they have accomplished with these students. How about our Theater Arts teachers? How long has it been since we gave a standing ovation at a rendition of Death of Salesmen or Little Women performed by our children? I am not suggesting that our athletic departments need to be cut or imply that they are less important, only consider and weigh how many children are affected by cuts to the fine arts program verses those that are affected by cuts to the athletics department and adjust the budget accordingly. I am not just talking about the band and chorus, because it follows that I’ve got a horse in the race, I mean all of the fine arts departments. We should all be passionate about this. Think about how many of the great thinkers were and are performers in either Theater or music. Right now there are studies being done on the ill effects football has on NFL players not to mention the law suites. There are exactly ZERO studies being done on the ill effects of band, Theater, or chorus. When looking at gaining public funding and support from our businesses, the Glynn Co Board of Education must understand and indicate to the public important talent building among students and how we must ensure the survival and the success of the fine arts program. Some music teachers outside the Glynn Co School systems have intimated that unless there is huge support from secondary sources, even before the current cuts, it is difficult to properly fund the fine arts programs. With external funding comes to an immediate validation of the music education program as long as somebody with some influence calls the paper to say “Please put a note of thanks in the paper to Joe Blows shop for their generous donation to the band, chorus, drama club, etc.” Maybe more of our children would participate at a younger age if it were touted as “the thing to do” therefore creating more parents and business involvement (Rickard et al 63). Why not strive to make it cool to be a part of a Dead Poets Society type organization and raise a generation of critical thinkers as opposed to a group of baggy pants, tattooed, entitled gangbangers whose only goal in life is to hang out and have babies that even more tax dollars will have to be spent to support. It is far less expensive to teach children music than to house them in detention centers. If a parent called the Brunswick News to say “ Hey guys, send a reporter out to see how cool it is that the spring concert looks like a professionally produced Blue Man Group type production especially the Drum line” it would not carry a lot of weight however if the superintendent of schools happened to call it would most certainly create some urgency. Even if the superintendent just required the board members attend a performance of our high school band and speak to the students I feel it would put into perspective just how committed these youth are to not only Mr. Birge and the staff but to one another as well. They truly are amazing. Parents and Board Members of Glynn Co School need consider the importance of the music program in the intellectual, educational development of students, and try to think outside the box. They should find money to support these children and the fine arts teachers in a manner commensurate to their efforts. Impacts of Art Education The technocratic paradigm for art education emerged in the late 1800s and subsequently gained popularity through the South Kensington approach, most evident in the visual arts in terms of industrial drawing and design education. During this time, the arts became identified with the productive domain and skills were paramount to knowledge or conceptual development By contrast, the child art movement, which should be practiced in Glynn Co School, should result from the merging of child development theorists and the psychological study of the arts. It is considered that children‘s artistic and creative activities could be used to develop the child's intelligence and democratic personality. Drawings, play and drama, were seen as images of die young mind, mirroring the soul and allowing scientific investigation of the child's thoughts, feelings and development. Franz Cizek (1921) argued that the arts (in particular visual arts) were a natural aspect of student development, the lack of which impaired mental development and social wellbeing. He felt that art education developed children’s capacities to give expression to their feelings and ideas. Cizek believed that every child had a natural tendency towards creative and artistic expression. He argued that this natural tendency needed to be fostered through creative and imaginative activities. He favored giving children unbridled freedom to express their ideas. Under this approach, teachers adopted roles as facilitators, providing a stimulating environment, adequate and varied art materials, praise for the children‘s efforts but did not direct or influence children‘s creative processes. When young people pursue art in their studies, they exhibit outstanding performance, robust ability for self-assessment, and a sense of their ability to plan for their future. The study provided data regarding the relationship between participation in music programs as it affects students standardized test scores. It is noteworthy that the programs, which integrate the arts in their disciplines deems appropriate to the students. This is because of their ability to equip students with the necessary skills that facilitates the economic growth. Initially thought of as being recreational to these activities gradually became a part of the educative process evolving as extracurricular and co-curricular programs (Paige 20). The ensuing controversy over their inclusion as stated by the Mc Gill Study identified two factions. There are those who thought of them as nonessential and non-central elements of an adolescent education, and those, who endorsed participation in these activities, such as music with piano classes as resulted to higher levels of academic achievement in areas such Orchestra as well as enhanced individual traits. Music plays a crucial role in a student's life. Without it, life would be much duller in many capacities. Young people are not oblivious to the importance of music, but tend rather to have deep attachments and responses to it. An important part of the music teacher’s job is to develop a viable program that augurs well with the musician in all students, not just those who are drawn to the traditional ensembles. While these are the backbone of most music programs, they do not tap into the interests of all students. Providing a diverse program and promoting all components of the program, building and documenting skills through early and individual instruction and recognizing student success will ensure that music education in the school setting is true for all students. The adherents of social curricular activities such as music, arts teach students how to make correct judgments and relations at school that are beneficial to educational outcomes. Eisner notes that the level of academic achievement attained to be a result of the support groups formed by membership in extracurricular and co-curricular activities. Also, arts instill knowledge on how a student can have varied options to choose. Social gains also reported were varied multiple perspectives which may be taken by the arts (Eisner 83). New social skills and emotional competencies gained by arts has seen students solve difficult problems leading to interpersonal competence and higher educational aspirations. Similarly, due to diverse culture4s, art has broken the barrier of difference by developing decoding and interpretation skills for a student. In addition, music has been known to contribute to learning and can influence other areas of the curriculum by enhancing spatial reasoning ability to communicate with or without a word (Winner and Lois 5). Winner demonstrated that there is a significant difference in the academic achievement as measured by test scores for students who participate in music and those who did not. It is clear that the student who participated in the art were more informed in other matters of life like global warming, environment, and so on since they had much information about music and artistic sources. Civic Engagement Low Socioeconomic Status (SES), and Class Socioeconomic concerns are frequently the most discussed, and therefore the least addressed multicultural issue among students of Glynn Co School. Apparently unnoticed are larger proportions of the students facing this issue. Economic deprivation is only one of the multiple issues faced by less economically advantaged students. The effect of unemployed and underemployed parents on both the ethnic and non-ethnic youth in Glynn County is tremendous. For example, a central issue has been a tendency for male counselors to dominate ethnic minority students and "guide" them into stereotypical career choices (Costa-Giomi 77). However, in our high schools we have a fantastic role models for our children in both groups; especially in the music departments. They foster a sense self-esteem and inspire their students to push past what they thought was possible to achieve intended goals with effort and still we take funds from them. The relationship of low SES, is concomitant stresses, high rates of psychological adjustment and limited resources present viable concerns to a vast portion of Glynn Co. School’s students . For example, studies indicate that the lower the parents’ income and education, the less likely a child is to enter college or acquire a bachelor’s degree. This would greatly affect the Glynn Co student in arriving to certain decisions regarding his future after high school were it not for the life skills taught and encouragement of our fine arts teachers and yet we continue to hinder their efforts by taking funding from these programs. No standardized test will push our children towards the right path like the teachers of the music and theater department. Ideas for fund raisers Just like The Odom Elementary School in Moultrie, Georgia, Glynn Co School can form the Potty Pack to raise funds for the music program, by selling "potty protection insurance.” For $10, one can have one of the tacky pink and purple toilets placed anywhere one chooses, including local businesses (Catterall 120). Any kind of activity that will earn the school extra money is a way of fundraising. This will bring more income and ease the burden to the school’s budget. American Music Awards with a viewing benefit event, also may contribute funds, which can be substantially distributed to music programs at Glynn Co School. Tickets for the benefit will be available first to the audience. This is also an additional fund relieving the burden on Glynn Co School’s budget. Following the launch ceremony, musical instruments and memorabilia used by awards show performers were auctioned via an Internet auction all this shall precede to the program (Music Drives us foundation editors 140). With the major thrust of our education legislators going towards making sure our students pass a test that they will ultimately forget within a year of graduation; how do we make them understand that the countries that place a high value on music, art, and theater , are producing a more competent crop of adults entering today’s world economy. Conclusion The immediate need for the study arose from pending budget cuts, which threatened extracurricular and co-curricular programs at Glynn Co School. In as much as the data reported is population specific, it would be difficult to generalize their interpretation to other high schools. However, art strongly set forth the benefits of participation in these types of activities in general, and in music in particular and clearly utilized motivation and social capital theory as the bases for these benefits. For these reasons, the implications are present that such a study as this might be configured for comparisons in gender-specific schools, urban inner-city, and rural schools as well. For this reason, it seems feasible to consider other variables as well which might influence such participation, as they might apply for the support, or continuation of these programs in particular schools or even schools in particular communities. Works Cited Catterall, James S. The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth:Findings from Four Longitudinal Studies. Washington D.C.: National Endowment for the Arts, 2012. Costa-Giomi, Dr. Eugenia. "The Effects of Three Years of Piano Instruction on Children's Cognitive abilities, Academic Achievement, and Self Esteem." Meeting of Music Educators National Conference. AZ: Phoenix, 1998. Costes, Therese. New Music: How Music Educators Can Save An Endangered Species. Music Educators Journal. 92.2 (2005): 50-54. Eisner, Elliot. "Chapter 4 What the Arts Teach and how it Shows up." Eisner, Elliot. The Arts and the Creation of the Mind. Yale University Press, 2002. Music Drives us foundation editors. Texas Commission on Alcohol Abuse Report. Houston Texas: Houston Chronical, 1998. Paige, Rod. "Education Commision of the States Chairman." 26 January 2005. www.ecs.org. article from Education Week Issue 20 Vol24 p 20. 13 April 2013. Rickard, Nikki S., Bambrick, Caroline J., and Gill, Anneliese. Absence of Widespread Psychosocial and Cognitive Effects of School-Based Music Instruction in 10-13-Year-Old Students. International Journal of Music Education, 30.1 (2012): 57-78. The Impact of Arts Education on Workforce Preparation. "www.nga.org." 1 May 2002. National Governors Association. Ed. Economic & Technology Policy Studies. Phil Psilos. document. 15 March 2013. Winner, Ellen and Lois, Hetland. "Art for Our Sake." The Boston Globe. np, 2007. Read More