Music Education Budget Cut

Throughout the reading this week, the information presented in David Elliott and Bennett Reimer’s texts stressed the importance of music and more specifically, music education. “People everywhere find music rewarding, and everywhere we find people engaged in formal and non-formal efforts to teach and learn music.” (Elliott, 2014, p. 4)

Living in a world surrounded by noises and sounds, one cannot deny that music lives all around them. Schools, street corners, sporting events, there is one thing you will always find: music. Music education is quickly becoming defunct in schools, as many try to decry its many benefits. A growing emphasis on the concrete subjects of math and science, whose benefits are more immediate, are pushing the creativity and imagination of music classes to the back of the budget. Music education is no longer described as stimulating and exciting, but rather unnecessary and distracting. But the benefits of having an education in music is undeniable. Simply being around music can have a positive impact on life. Music enables the human race to discover emotions that they have never uncovered before. The human mind is refreshed by music; “our imagination and memories are stimulated by the sounds, and summon feelings and memories associated with the musical sound” (Wingell 15). Without music, the world would be silent. Lifeless. No matter what language one speaks or what culture one is from, music is a universal language, connecting the hearts of people around the entire world. In schools throughout the nation, that connection is being severed because of budget cuts and lack of funding, but the benefits of music education are clear. The benefits of having an education in music are not only present in the classroom; a lasting impact is also left on the social and emotional growth of a person, though the gains may not be evinced immediately. Participating in musical education programs in schools can give students the opportunity to form lasting friendships and to gain skills that will last them their entire lives. Music education can be beneficial to students because it enhances students’ performance in the classroom, aids in improving student’s interest and engagement in school, and advances students’ social and emotional growth.

The arts are always the first to go when a budget crisis arises in any school. 4,100 arts teachers were planned to be laid off in June of 2011 (cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com). Athletics are always prioritized while the art and music programs get the shorter end of the stick. 4,100 arts teachers were planned to be laid off in June of 2011 In April 2016, my high school’s indoor drumline was eliminated due to issues with funding. This program had been a major part in the high school’s music program for over 16 years, and brought widespread recognition to the school for their excellent performances. The irony with the school’s claim in cutting the drumline was that not long after, the football team along with various other athletic teams,

In today’s school systems, art and music classes are not mandatory to be taught. This makes them very vulnerable to budget cuts in struggling schools. It is estimated that more than eighty percent of schools nationwide have experienced cuts to their budgets since 2008 (Metla). Every child in America deserves a complete education, and a complete education includes the arts. Due to budget cuts, many students do not receive instruction in art and music and therefore do not receive a full education. Music and art classes in schools are just as important as core classes and should not be subject to budget cuts.

As the final addition to this social issue, Laredo charter and public schools have become victims of this change in not implementing music into their curriculum. This issue particularly narrows its intended audience to the United Independent School District, and how the district is not doing an exceptional job in contributing to student’s performance in school. Students in class performance have suffered greatly, grades from exams are constantly failing, and greater budget cuts are being made to fix the problem in adding more mathematics, history, and science courses. Not only does this apply to elementary schools, but also middle schools, high schools, and even the college systems in Laredo being greatly affected. Authors Jamey Kelley and Steven

(Transition: Let’s start by looking at the causes of why music programs get cut in public schools.)

In harsh economic times, schools tend to cut music classes first. The current economic situation has not helped music classes. In an Arizona school district, the first classes cut were music classes (Rhoden). Rhoden states, “Tuesday evening, the Humboldt Unified School District Governing Board made the difficult decision to reduce the elementary music program…” When times get tough it seems to people that music is just not important enough to keep in the daily schedule. Current society puts a stress on reading and math. An article from CNN states,

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

Many schools around the country are cutting their music program because of budget cuts in their counties. The arts for some reason are always the first to be cut; apparently the school doesn’t think they are essential to their students learning. Schools try to focus on the more important academic classes because of the high testing standards they must now meet. (Nesoff 2003) This is not just happening in poor school districts it is happening in large districts across the country including magnet schools for the arts: “When Albert Margolis and his wife attended the final music program for their son's kindergarten class in May, they were shocked when a teacher stood up after the performance and

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

The reality in education has always been, when the money is tight, it’s time to get rid of something. Why, oh why does this have to be the case? The very first thing they look at is the arts. As stated by Charles Fowler, “In many schools, the status of the arts is fragile. When school systems face budget cuts, curtailments of art and music programs are an all-too common and seemingly easy solution. Reductions often come swiftly and ruthlessly, exacting debilitating losses on faculty and programs. Arts programs are sometimes eliminated by school administrators and boards of education without much anguish or serious debate, as if they are dispensable and unimportant, inconsequential and superfluous” (Fowler, 1996, p. 36).

Budget cuts in schools cause turmoil and stress among the students and faculty. Drastic changes in the budgets have caused schools to negatively impact the people around them. With the lack of funding, schools are facing difficult decisions on what to do to stay within their budget. Supervision is facing much scrutiny on how to handle the lack of funding in their school districts. A solution needs to be made to improve the distribution of funding to our schools in order to keep them operating and thriving for our children to obtain their education. Budget cuts in schools have shown negative effects on employee positions, supplies, extracurricular activities.

We have seen the economy suffer due to financial problems over the last couple of years. The financial struggles are affecting more than just the citizens of the United States but also the Public School system. “Americans have seen the economy slow significantly. Over the past 10 years, the unemployment rate has more than doubled” (Sherk). “Many states reported limited and diminishing funds for public schools as a result” (Hungerford and Wassmer). The lack of funding for public schools are requiring schools to redo there education systems, and causing them to change curriculum. The schools are trying to keep a well-rounded educations but are having a hard time keeping everything that they have had before. They are playing the which class should we cut game and they all are deciding to keep the usual English, Math, Science and of course History. But, they are cutting the music education program that has huge impacts on the students. Some schools are offering a small amount of music class but most of them ended up cutting all of them as a whole. Music is not a cheap program for students to get involved in they have to purchase their own instruments and supplies such as books, music and other supplies. When schools had budgets for their music education they supplied most of the tools needed for the students needed to succeed. Now that there is no money in schools are relying on private donors. If a school still does not have enough money they are making students either pay a