American Education Challenges

Throughout history music has played an important role in society, whether it was Mozart moving people with his newest opera or the latest album from the Beatles. Where would society be today without music? With schools cutting their music programs, the next Mozart may not get his chance to discover his amazing talent. Music programs are essential to education. To fully understand this one must understand how music helps the human body, why schools have cut music programs, and why people should learn music.

Elementary schools and high schools across the U.S. have lately suffered from financial strain. Because of this, budget cuts have to be made and music programs often suffer before sports and academics. Although some people believe that music is not a key component in preparing for employment and higher education, yet several others express otherwise, who say music has been shown to stimulate other parts of a student’s mind that can help them excel. Statistics have shown that the correlation between music class and other academia is not only positive for students, but also can improve future scholastic abilities, and thus should not be cut from schools. Through the evaluation of various sources

* “when you speak with great educators, and look behind the test scores, the lessons learned in studying music, learning to play an instrument, playing in a band, learning to read music, all provide a richness to a child's education that will last a lifetime,” (par 1).

James A. Keene has gathered an incredible amount of information on the interesting beginnings of music education in the United States. This text offers deep insight and a plethora of information regarding the beginnings of an area of education which has largely been neglected by scholars. For decades and in current teaching populations, the historical foundation and insight first developed by music educators from the earliest colonial times through present day has been unknown. From the introduction of vocal music to the growing interest of orchestral and band music and the a cappella choir movement, reactions to music remained both positive and negative, leading to continued advocation for music in the curriculum, arguing that music offered skill development and appreciation through exposure and practice.

Silence. This is what many people would hear if they walked into just one of the many music halls in a school whom has cut their music program. Many schools across the nation are suffering from severe budget cuts, and sadly music is far too often the first on the list to go. Music in the American public school system is often a way for students to express themselves and develop a sense of pride and devotion by being a musician. Yet, music education has been proven to improve young students’ cognitive capabilities, music programs are still being cut from the curriculum in schools across the nation. Funding, nation testing standards, availability, and participation are major factors whether a program may or may not stay in American classrooms, which demonstrates America’s destructive need for results from students to be tangible at the expense of the enjoyment of students.

The vast variety available for music programs allows for them to be developed in such a way that they can exist almost completely cost free aside from standard classroom costs that are expected with all other subjects. Not only are these programs incredibly cost effective, but the benefits are tremendous. Though this begs the question of why the budgets are being cut for these music programs if they seem to be so completely positive. The fact of the matter is that most administration panels do not take music programs seriously, writing off their importance in favor of having more money to add to different areas of education. Steve McConnel, journalist for McClatchy Business Tribune stated, about the authority of school administrations, “Music may be at risk because of millions of dollars in education funding cuts. . .local school administrators have the ability to target music . . .to reduce spending” (McConnel). The administration of most school districts do not usually take the time to look at the way students feel about certain school operations before they make the decision to cut them, and this is precisely why music programs are suffering all across the nation, more specifically in areas of high poverty. Areas high in poverty tend to simultaneously be high in crime, and people in those areas

The decline in music education programs in public schools is a result of budget cuts is becoming more visible. State-level arts spending has dropped from $409 million in the fiscal year 2002 to $354.5 million in the fiscal year 2003, and declined again to $272.4 million in 2004 (“Quick Facts”). It is clearly

Much too often in America today, modern music and art programs in schools are perceived to many as extracurricular activities rather than important subjects that are vital to a students learning and skill development. The truth of the matter is that encouraging music and art education in public schools has a much larger impact on student’s grades, academic performance, and the economy than the majority people realize. Within the next year city school budgets will be dropping by twenty five percent, and despite the fact that music and art programs have been showing a dramatic contribution to student’s learning, this substantial drop in funding for the programs will lead to no dedicated money for art or music programs (Mezzacappa). There is

Many factors take part in the elimination of music education courses in public schools, but the main one is budget cuts. In the New York Times article “School Arts Programs Survive Budget Woes”, Javier Hernandez reports, “Three-quarters of principals said that funding remains a major challenge in their ability to maintain lively arts programs,” (Hernandez 2). Without the means to pay for music programs, school officials face the dilemma of whether or not to cancel music education in schools.

In his confirmatio, Koster addresses four major reasons as to why the method that schools use to teach children

In the article Superintendents Speak up for Music Education by Karen Cross, it was all about how the superintendents in four different districts viewed the music program. The four districts that they focused on were Fort Bend ISD, Dripping Springs ISD, Klein ISD, and Mesquite ISD. This article was more in an interview format, every superintended was asked the same question. The four of them seemed to agree on one thing, that is the importance of having a music program in the schools. When asked about some of the benefits that students attain from being in a music program, they all agreed that it helps them develop life skills. The music program can be seen as a relaxing class by many students. When using the word relaxing, I am not referring

Music education dates back to when colonies taught singing for church activities. In the 18th century, the first singing school was made in Boston, Massachusetts for the purposes of improving singing and music reading for the church. As time goes on the school’s spread throughout the colonies. In the 19th century, in 1832, Lowell Mason and George Webb formed the Boston Academy of Music with the purposes of teaching singing and theory as well as methods of teaching music. In 1838, the Boston School Committee approved the inclusion of music in the curriculum and Lowell Mason became the first recognized supervisor of elementary music. Music methodology for teachers, as a course, was first introduced in the Normal School. The concept of classroom teachers in a school that taught music under the direction of a music supervisors was the standard model for public school music education during this century. In the mid 20th century, during WW2, only vocal lessons were taught at the time. The teachers made sure to touch base on music appreciation and theory, which are very vital in learning music. As the war progressed, schools allowed for teachers to incorporate instruments into their teaching. Now in the 21st century, schools are able to incorporate things like: combined men and women choir, orchestra, band, jazz band, ensembles, etc.“Common” folk in American society, music, as a tool of empowerment, became even more prevalent, and reflected the ideology of many

Kodaly is a fabulous method used to facilitate the creation of music with a student. It is efficient, informative, easy-to-use, and successful. Even with everything great that has come from Kodaly occasionally it takes different approaches to help students connect to music on a deeper level. Every student is different; each learns in a unique way. Therefore, a teacher should provide an educational structure that is inclusive to all forms of teachings. This does not mean that one should throw Kodaly out the window, but rather build on it to create a superior fundamental foundation for students to grow in their edification.

Zoltan Kodaly chose a child-developmental approach when developing his method. This approach teaches skills in the order and pace in which the child develops rather than subject logic. “In a subject-logic approach there is no relationship between the order of presentation and the order in which children learn easily. The subject matter is simply organized in a fashion that seems reasonable in terms of content.”

In most Ohio schools, one of the requirements of students is to take some type of music class each year. Most times, students have the option to choose which class they want, but the standards must still be covered in every music class. Recently, our Ohio teachers have lacked in providing the students the knowledge they need in order to cover the music history standards. The history of music is one of those topics that most music teachers do not enjoy, which means that they also do not want to teach it. Just like we have to do some things in daily life that we do not want to do, teachers also have to teach things they may not