Save the Music:

1
Save the Music

• Keeping music programs in our schools

2
Every student in the nation should have an
education in the arts.

• -opening statement from The Value and Quality of
  Arts Education A Statement of Principles by The
  National Education Association, et al

3
Music?!

• Yes, music!
• Of all of the so-called core subjects, the arts
  and more importantly, music, are at risk of
  extinction from our curriculum in schools

4
Why is it important?

• Music education directly benefits four areas
• Success in society
• Success in school
• Success in developing intelligence
• Success in life

5
Success in Society

• Creates jobs
• Boosts tourism for towns and cities
• Improves quality of life
• Students in band and/or orchestra reported the
  lowest lifetime and current use of all substances
• The best engineers and designers in Silicon
  Valley are almost all practicing musicians

• Increases local tax base
• Spurs growth in businesses
• Nationally, nonprofit arts institutions and
  organizations generate an estimated 37 billion
  in economic activity and return 3.4 billion in
  federal income taxes to the U.S. Treasury each
  year

6
Success in School

• Students with coursework/experience in music
  performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal
  and 41points higher on the math sections of the
  SAT
• students with just music appreciation classes
  scored 63 points higher on the verbal and 44
  points higher on the math than students with no
  music classes

• Only 8.08 of music students show signs of
  skipping class or being disruptive, compared to
  12.14 of the rest of the school population
• Music participants receive more scholastic honors
  than non-music students
• Music students receive more As and Bs than
  their non-music peers

7
Success in Developing Intelligence

• A study in California showed that preschoolers
  showed a 46 boost in their spatial reasoning
  (important for math functions) IQ after 8 months
  of keyboard lessons
• Music students are more adept at multitasking

• Dr. Timo Krings determined that musical training
  can enhance brain function
• Music is superior to computer instruction in
  enhancing abstract reasoning, necessary for
  learning math and science

8
Success in Life

• keyboard lessons were found to make the elderly
  healthier, improving their mental state and
  boosting their immune systems

• Studying music and the arts elevates childrens
  education, expands students horizons, and
  teaches them to appreciate the wonder of life.
  U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley,
  Jul. 1999

9
Music Education and No Child Left Behind

• The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 includes
  assistance for core academic subjects,
  including the arts
• The arts SHOULD receive equal billing with
  reading, math, science
• However
• State education decision makers may not be aware
  that the arts are a core subject and may not
  allocate funds

10
What can we do?

• It is our task to educate state school boards
  about the inclusion of music as a core subject
  area, just like math and science
• find out what our schools districts are proposing
  to see if it will affect our music programs
• ask our representatives about allocations for
  studies determining how music can help to improve
  test scores

11
Resources

• www.childrensmusicworkshop.com
• www.menc.org
• www.vh1.com/partners/save_the_music
• www.mhopus.org