Running Head : Dynamic Writing

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)

Perhaps the most tangible benefit of music education for students is the increase in their performance in the classroom. People often say, “Music makes you smarter,” but where is the evidence? As South Dakota State University’s Professor Kevin Kessler eloquently stated via email, “How were you

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).

An experienced educator, Dwight Asberry holds a bachelor of arts in behavioral science from National University in La Jolla, California. He has also undertaken significant undergraduate studies in music education at Pasadena City College and California State University Dominguez Hills in Pasadena. Dwight Asberry earned his teaching credentials in K-12 music in 2004 and has since completed graduate training in music research at Adam State University and music technology at both Southern Oregon University and Seattle Pacific University. He is currently pursuing a master of arts in e-learning at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon.

Writing is often considered mundane and banal to some students. In fact, people have even written things down since the beginning of time. I dreaded writing until I had Mrs. Dunlap for 4th block English during my 8th grade year at Mount Juliet Middle. This is the story about how she made me the writer I am today with what I like to call ‘Write’speration.

Most elements of writing (development, organization, and style) fit task, purpose, and audience. Some identifiable mismatches.

In chapter 9, Writing Across the Curriculum, the process of reading and writing was investigated and explained in comparison to one another. The reading-writing connection focuses on drawing from students’ prior knowledge and cognitive processes in order to build learning. The authors mentioned that the writing process is a strong tool for exploring and clarifying meaning and the two major instructional components used are writing to learn (WTL) and writing in disciplines (WID). The chapter also focused on the subareas of academic journals and writing disciplines.

While music has played a critical role in my ability to be a effective writing assistant, I

The purpose of the study was to measure growth in American war history and musicality while learning repertoire from various war periods, identifying the major wars of the United States with dates, and describing the origins of Veteran’s Day. Ten different sub-questions and research instruments were used to measure growth during the process of preparing for the Veterans Day Concert. Each instrument was inserted into Google Forms and delivered to each student via Google Classroom. Pre-Tests were given to students during the third week of school. Post-tests were given to students two weeks prior to the final performance. Scores may have been effected by possible guessing or misspelled words in the students’ written responses. The data is reflective of the hypothesis in the fact that sixth grade students scored low and eighth grade students scored higher on the pretests. However, on certain pretests, the seventh grade students actually scored higher than some eighth grade students.

Across the United States many elementary school music classrooms are filled with simple and popular tunes such as Hot Cross Buns and The Ode to Joy, played on the recorder, while high school students may be playing collegiate or professional pieces of music such as Armenian Dances and Carmen Suites. I have been very fortunate to have gone on the journey of progressing through different music education programs within Fairfax County Public Schools. If I was never exposed to music while in elementary school I might not have ever found one of my greatest passions or been able to create such fond and unforgettable memories. While music education programs across the country appear large and strong, many schools are beginning to experience budget reductions. As a result, music is often the very first component of a school 's curriculum or programs to be cut or significantly reduced, but I believe this is not the right course of action. It is important to preserve and promote music education in public schools because of the proven cognitive, character,and academic benefits for students.

Cercone goes into detail on how studies have shown that music classes benefit a child’s learning process, test scores, and other areas of academic study. These support her argument and are all facts that her readers cannot properly disagree with. Cercone discusses how attitude and academics depend on one another to enhance a student’s learning and she goes one step further in explaining how this goes on in the music classroom, strengthening her thesis.

Title: Performing: Realizing artistic ideas and work through interpretation and presentation Description: Using pieces currently integrated into classroom instruction or musical pieces studied independently, students will select specific sections that exemplify technical/stylistic/artistic challenges to overcome; work toward improving the performance quality of identified challenges; demonstrate and document processes for addressing the challenges; demonstrate and reflect upon achievement.

The article “The effects of music on achievement, attitude and retention in primary school English lessons” by Koksal, Yagisan, and Cekic show the impact music has in the classroom. The Article claims “best learning environment is one that includes music” (Köksal, et al. 1897). Meaning music activates different parts of the brain that coincide with memory. Through an experimental study mentioned in the article shows music has a “increased achievement in English vocabulary learning” (Köksal, et al. 1899). Memory channels are activated and students are able to retain what is being taught through the use of music. Therefore the article suggests music is a method that can be used in primary schools to exercise the mind helping students hold onto what they learn for longer periods of time. The authors argue music brings out a different level of intelligence in the classroom. However the article fails to briefly describe traditional methods, other possible methods, and possible defaults of a music learning environment jeopardizing a overall well conducted study of music used as a source of education.

Many people believe that the arts, specifically music programs, hold no beneficial value to students other than for an extracurricular activity. Others believe that having these programs within our schools, only takes away from instructional time. However, research has shown that music education, and exposure to music in general, provides great benefits and values to the adolescents that are involved in said programs (“Music Matters”). Participation in music programs promotes the advancement of academic scores and sets students on the path to success later in life. Furthermore, these programs, be it instrumental or vocal, provide an outlet for adolescents to express themselves and have truly lasting implications on their global development. Notwithstanding all of the pleasure and self-confidence gained through participation in music programs, music education may provide important benefits towards students’ academics by improving their concentration levels and cultivating higher order thinking skills that may increase academic achievement.