Benefits of music education in public schools
The kindergarteners at Dr. Sally K. Ride Elementary School, a Montgomery County school in Germantown, Md., begin their morning music class similar to their other classes – by greeting one another. What makes these hellos unique to the others however is the way they’re expressed.
Heijun Kim, the music teacher at the elementary school, leads the 5 and 6-year-old children in the “Hello” song in which they sing and dance hello to each other in unison. The children are visibly enthusiastic about their small performance and eagerly anticipate the next musical task once the introductory piece is over.
The smiles on their young faces prove they’re all having fun but, little do these kids know, they’re each gaining personal benefits significantly more long-lasting than just a good time.
Music teacher Heijun Kim sings along with her kindergarten students.
Benefits that have the potential to deteriorate due to circumstances way beyond their control.
Schools all across the country have had their music and arts programs drastically reduced or removed completely because of state or county school-budget cuts. This is especially the case when the economy is in the poor condition that it is now, but even in economic prosperity, programs such as music, drama and dance are historically the first to be ousted.
“Luckily for us, our county isn’t really in any deep financial trouble compared to others when it comes to cutting programs,” said Abraham Labrador, a 4th grade teacher at Dr. Sally K. Ride Elementary School.
There will be future budget reductions for Montgomery County Public Schools however. According to the County Executive’s budget proposal, the operating budget for MCPS in 2011 will be $2.125 billion, which is $137.7 million less than what the Board of Education wanted.
“Ultimately, this budget will require MCPS to spend $1,000 less per student and that will have an impact,” said Dr. Jerry D. Weast, Superintendent of MCPS.
What exactly that impact will be is yet to be known.
What is known are the many benefits music education in public schools have on young, developing minds.
“Without the music classes I took throughout school, I would’ve never taken any interest in it,” said Andy Gentile, drummer of the band An Endless Sporadic whose songs have been featured on video games such as Guitar Hero 3 and Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland. “Hell, without music, I have no idea what I’d be doing with myself right now.”
Not only can music in public schools attribute to future successes in life, they can also have an immediate impact on a student’s academic abilities. Many studies have shown that students in high-quality school music programs have higher attendance and graduation rates than those that don’t. They have also shown that students involved in arts outperform their non-art peers in standardized tests such as the SATs where they score about 100 points higher overall.
Heijun Kim, who has a music education degree from the University of Maryland and has been teaching music to students in pre-kindergarten through 5th grade since 1992, contends that the style of teaching has changed since she first began. It’s uncertain whether this may adversely influence the progress of students.
“The curriculum has changed since I’ve been here,” said Kim. “I used to be able to teach my own style but it’s gotten more specifically-driven. I’m still able to teach general music theory as well as instrumental and vocal music.”
The good thing for Kim is that she is teaching throughout the entire time school is in session, except for lunch of course, which some music teachers in other parts of the country are unable to do because of class time being cut. However, she does wish she could change the amount of time each individual grade is taught for.
“The block scheduling has a pretty big impact as all the kids are taught for 45 minutes no matter what grade they’re in,” said Kim. “I wish the timing would be based on age. I feel the 5-year-olds only need about 30 minutes.”
Regardless of how long each child is taught, the advantages of music education is more than obvious which Kim strongly agrees with, especially when it comes to the student’s growth as an individual.
“Music builds confidence and makes them believe they could creatively make something if they work hard at it,” said Kim. “It boosts their self-esteem and proves they can achieve just about anything in life.”
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