The Importance of Music in Schools - Essay Example

The Importance of Music in Schools It is an advertising tidbit for higher end child care centers. It is a marketing campaign brought forward by manufacturers of music CDs. It is also, incidentally, true that participating in and listening to quality music can contribute toward the earlier development of brain power among children. “By introducing children to music, so many areas of the brain benefit at the same time, like the mathematical and language centers. It’s really a super-advantage” (Patricia DeCorsey, coordinator of Lawrence University’s Early Childhood Music Program, cited in Harris, 2006). For many years, various studies have been brought forward illustrating how children who listen to or participate in music have stronger and earlier brain development, which can lead to earlier developments in a huge variety of other areas as well. There are various theories as to why this might be true, but the evidence is strong that for whatever reason, children respond strongly in many beneficial ways to quality music such as Mozart and Beethoven. “Music makes you smarter because it helps you understand yourself as a human being and your relationship to the world” (Donald A. Hodges, Covington Distinguished Professor of Music Education and director of the Music Research Institute at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, cited in Harris, 2006). .Because of its ability to benefit children in such a broad range of areas such as brain development, academics and social and personal values simultaneously, music education should be an important aspect of every school curriculum. Participating in music education classes encourages the development of new brain pathways that will eventually lead to better thought processes in the minds of the children who participated. “Nothing activates as many areas of the brain as music” (Hodges, cited in Harris, 2006). The processes involved in creating music, regardless of the instrument or other tool used to do so, has been shown to enhance the child’s abilities of abstract reasoning while assisting the brain in making more efficient use of its resources (Neurological Research, 1997). This has been proven in a study by Timo Krings (Weinberger, 2000). In this study, students of the same age and sex were asked to participate in a specialized yet complex set of finger exercises while their brain activity was monitored through functional magnetic resource imaging. This imaging process tracks the activity levels of brain cells and allows researchers to evaluate how much of the brain, as well as what sections of the brain, are being utilized to process the activity. The group of students was comprised of approximately half piano players and half non-musicians. Although all of the students were able to successfully perform the finger movements, the study showed that the pianists used a significantly smaller segment of the brain to process the request. “Thus, compared to non-musicians, the brains of pianists are more efficient at making skilled movements. These findings show that musical training can enhance brain function” (Weinberger, 2000). Numerous other studies have indicated greater spatial-temporal scores among children who participated in music education versus those who did not participate in a music program. However, not everyone agrees that the benefits of music education upon the brain are as widespread, long-lasting or beneficial for older children as these reports would suggest. Even while speaking in favor of music education, Patricia DeCorsey (Harris, 2006) says, “Children learn musical concepts only until about age 7. After that, the learning pretty much stops.” It has also been suggested that the benefits of listening to music, while real, are only short-term in nature, rendering the listener equally as intelligent as he or she was prior to listening in a very short space of time (Harris, 2006). However, few studies could be located to verify this information while numerous studies could be found that refute it. Although passive listening activities might, indeed, have short-term learning benefits, long-term participation in music studies involves a much more active participation level that would require the learning of specific skills that cannot help but improve a student’s abilities in other areas. These activities include the manipulation of instruments, the learning how to read complicated sheet music and the ability to maintain a variety of activities at once while still keeping in rhythm with a larger group. In addition, many opposed to the idea of taking time out of the traditional school day to integrate music education argue that the evidence available to date is not sufficient to indicate that the benefits attributed to music education are actually the result of music rather than other factors (Akin, 1987). They suggest other factors could include such elements as a more stimulating home environment among those students who regularly practice music, more involved parents or simply greater propensity for academic subjects. In the case of voluntary music programs, it is suggested that those students who have greater spatial-temporal skills are more likely to elect to participate in music education rather than music education leading to the development of greater spatial-temporal skills. Despite these complaints, several studies were located that tested not only the types of processes that were occurring in the brains of young students, both musicians and non-musicians, but sufficient controls were taken into consideration to rule out as many of these additional variables as possible, still proving music education had numerous positive benefits. It follows that if music education can help improve the brain functioning of those participating in this education, the academic scores of these individuals would also be positively affected. This idea is supported by research as well. A U.S. Department of Education collection of data on more than 25,000 students in higher levels of education (middle and high school) indicated that those who participated in music education showed “significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12” (Catterall et al, 1999) even after adjusting for socio-economic status and other variables. The study also found that these differences between students who participate in music and those who do not become increasingly more profound as time progresses. For those administrators who demand proof through testing procedures, studies into those students taking the national SAT tests indicate that those students who participated in music education during their school years demonstrated significantly higher scores in math and verbal portions of the test than those who did not. According to a national report (2001), students participating in music performance classes scored 57 points higher than control students who had had no music education on the verbal portion of the test and 41 points higher on the math portion. Refuting the idea that more passive participation in music education might have less lasting effects, those students who participated in music appreciation classes only, no performance involved, also scored higher than their non-musical counterparts by 63 points on the verbal section and 44 points on the math section (College-Bound Seniors, 2001). One of the issues those against keeping music education in the schools revolves around its subjective, abstract nature making it difficult, if not impossible, to assess on any kind of standardized test. An attempt to do this was considered by officials in the state of Florida as reported by journalist Scott Elliott. According to Elliott (2005), music education is not considered a relevant school subject because there are no testing results to prove that it is having the kind of effect advocates profess. By introducing a standardized test for a particular grade level, in this case fourth grade, administrators would have a means of qualifying whether these classes were having any impact upon the learning minds of their students. “Because if a subject is not tested, guess what? Nobody cares about it. When it’s time to cut, the untested subjects are going to be at the front of the line” (Elliott, 2005). While it is true that music education would be difficult to test and therefore provide concrete results to which school boards and administrators could point as proof that this curriculum is necessary, the benefits gained by students should be sufficient to warrant its inclusion in every curriculum regardless of the budget constraints. These results are supported not only by the personal experiences of those classes, schools and districts that have re-introduced music education, but by the many studies that have been conducted in recent years. Another argument against music education in the schools brought forward by many administrators and those in control of the budgetary process centers around the idea that participation in music classes decreases the available time teachers have to instruct young students on more important subjects such as math, science and language arts (Circle, 2002). However, when communication among teachers is strong within the school, music education classes can serve to support other classes in a variety of ways, introducing aspects of history, math, science and language that might not be included in the core classes. Of course, the success of a student does not depend solely upon their ability to reason around complex math problems or make more efficient synaptic connections. It also depends to a great extent upon the various social and personal values they have learned prior to being thrust upon the world stage. Socially, students are required to learn how to work within a group in order to achieve a unified piece of music, but the benefits go even further than this simple-seeming aspect. The National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1992 reports that the percentage of those students who have been classified as ‘disruptive’ by their teachers and administrators is significantly smaller among those students participating in music education classes as opposed to the percentage found in the general school population (National Education Longitudinal Study, 1992). Children classified as at-risk who participated in music education also showed significant boosts in their overall self-concept (Barry, 1992). “Studying music encourages self-discipline and diligence ... promotes self expression, and provides self gratification while giving pleasure to others” (DeBakey, 2002). The personal values learned through the practice of music, though, can be even more beneficial as they contribute toward a better student population and provide the individual student with values that will benefit them for life. “Dedicated [music] practice … can have a great payoff for lifelong attention skills, and an ability for self-knowledge and expression” (Ratey, 2001). Finally, music education could assist in the losing war on drugs that has been conducted in U.S. schools for the past several years. “Secondary students who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances (alcohol, tobacco, [and] illicit drugs)” (National Association for Music Education, 2002). There are not many criticisms to be found regarding the idea that music may not offer the types of social benefits attributed to it by those who favor music education classes in the schools. What criticisms can be found center around the question of what type of music education is best suited for different conditions. In working with minorities, for instance, several questions are not addressed by the existing literature regarding how best to reach these students through music education. These include “How do minorities learn specific skills and knowledge in the teaching/learning process most effectively? What are their music preferences and aptitudes? Are there specific teacher behaviors by which to achieve desired student academic and social behaviors?” (Spearman, 2000). In this sense, it is argued that music education, typically focused predominantly upon the Western cultural masterpieces rather than introducing children to a well-rounded mix of significant works from a variety of originations can produce greater harm than good. Through Spearman’s argument, it can be seen that an undue amount of attention given to a single cultural tradition can actually promote more antisocial behavior than it can correct by introducing or reinforcing cultural biases that prevent students from exploring other cultures or taking pride in their own culture. In addition, the concern that minority students, becoming cognizant of the absence of their own culture within this framework, might begin to experience detrimental effects of music education such as a devaluing of their own culture, family or self. This argument was found to have a high degree of relevance and credence, as no other studies could be found that addressed the specific topics discussed. In addition, Spearman cited several other studies that supported her conclusion that most music programs tended to ignore the musical achievements of non-dominant countries and cultures. Thus, through the course of this conversation, it has been found that while music education can provide a great deal of benefits to the developing child as they make their way from kindergarten through high school, there are still some concerns as to how to make this education benefit all children. While music education of any kind has been amply proven in the literature to have significant beneficial effects upon brain development in the form of creating additional neural pathways and increasing efficiency of operation, the ways in which it does this are still not understood or fully explained to the satisfaction of all. Although several studies have indicated that children who participate in music education generally have better academic scores in a variety of fields than those students who did not benefit from any kind of music education, this, too, has not been sufficiently linked to previous music experience, or the effects of said experience, to satisfy everyone to the extent that issues such as disrupted classes and reduced core classroom time are justified. Finally, while students have been observed to respond favorably to music education in terms of developing their own personal set of values and positive behaviors, even to the extent that disruptive behavior has been seen to decrease among this student population, there are also significant concerns regarding the actual effects this sort of education might have on minority groups. This is due to the inequalities of musical representation presented in these classes as well as the lack of studies conducted on the need of more well-rounded music education to be introduced. The music education teacher of today, wishing to provide his or her students with the best possible education, would, therefore, work to provide a positive musical environment in which all students are able to take an active role that both supports the general instructional matter being discussed in the regular classrooms as well as providing a well-rounded mix of cultural and period significance. Works Cited Akin, Jeanne. “The Data.” A Study of Evidence that Music Education is a Positive Factor in K-8 Student Academic Achievement. Sacramento, CA: California State University, 1987. Barry, N.H. Project ARISE: Meeting the Needs of Disadvantaged Students Through the Arts. (1992). Cited by National Association for Music Education, 2002. November 7, 2006 Catterall, James S.; Chapleau, Richard & Iwanaga, John. “Involvement in the Arts and Human Development: General Involvement and Intensive Involvement in Music and Theater Arts.” Los Angeles, CA: The Imagination Project at UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, 1999. Circle, David. “Hard Data.” Shawnee Mission. (2002). Children’s Music Workshop [online]. November 7, 2006 College-Bound Seniors National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers. Princeton, NJ: The College Entrance Examination Board, 2001. DeBakey, Michael E. Baylor College of Medicine. Cited by National Association for Music Education, 2002. November 7, 2006 Elliott, Scott. “Flunked by the Beatles.” Dayton Daily News. (December 29, 2005). November 7, 2006 Harris, Wendy. “Can Music Make You Smarter?” Post Crescent. (2006). Children’s Music Workshop [online]. November 7, 2006 < http://www.childrensmusicworkshop.com/advocacy/canmusicmake.html> National Association for Music Education, 2002. November 7, 2006 National Education Longitudinal Study. (Second follow-up.). Washington D.C.: National Data Resource Center, 1992. Neurological Research. Vol. 19, (February 1997). Cited by National Association for Music Education, 2002. November 7, 2006 Ratey, John J. A Users Guide to the Brain.. (2001). Cited by National Association for Music Education, 2002. November 7, 2006 Spearman, Carlesta Elliott. “How Will Societal and Technological Changes Affect the Teaching of Music.” Vision 2020. The National Association of Music Education, 2000. November 7, 2006 Weinberger, Norm. “The Impact of Arts on Learning.” MuSICa Research Notes 7. No. 2 (Spring 2000). Reporting on Krings, Timo et al. “Cortical Activation Patterns during Complex Motor Tasks in Piano Players and Control Subjects. A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.” Neuroscience Letters 278. No. 3 (2000): 189-93. Cited by National Association for Music Education, 2002. November 7, 2006 < http://www.menc.org/information/advocate/facts.html> Read More