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Is Music Education in Common Core Really That Common?

Mikala VanDyke

Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

3/31/17
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If you observe the function of the human body, you will very soon determine that the

heart is one of the most important organs in the body. Without the heart, the body does not

function at all, but is dead. If music is removed from life, it would be like removing the heart.

And there would be no life. Music is the essence of the quality of life, and should always be a

part of any function where there are people. Lets take a look into the real value of music

education. Is it necessary? Do most public schools include it in their curriculum? How does

music benefit a childs education?

What is common core? Common core is the standards of teaching for grades K-12. The

board decides what the teachers will teach and how they present it to students. Common core

within public schools is always changing. The board tries to decide what the best and easiest way

for kids to learn. Are they always correct in the way they change things? No, but there are some

benefits to the new common core arrangements according to the National Education Association

(Long, Cindy. ) Such as giving the students more realistic lessons, like putting more non-fiction

books in the library. Common core also brings more collaborative work to the classroom.

Students are required to work together on assignments and share resources. One of the big

positives of having common core is that the things students learn in class will prepare them for

college, especially students who are in high school. Though these changes are positive, music has

not been as included as it has in the past. Benefits of music can be stress relief to not only

teachers, but students as well. Bringing music in the classroom has an additional taste of

creativity that anybody can use.(Parsad, Basmat.)

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 Music programs all over the country are faced with challenges. Some challenges could be

in the form of finances, school board opinions, or common core curriculum. These various road

blocks are the things that can cause schools to eliminate the music and arts programs within their

subjects. You might ask, Where are the finances going if they aren't tending to school system

construction and supplies? According to (The Benefits of Music Education), the extra funding

most public schools receive is typically used for sports events, or towards the advancement in

todays technology by enhancing the STEM science programs and experiments. Most people

think of music and arts as being inferior to regular studies and subjects because it doesnt look to

have any educational and neurological benefits such as; college scholarships, higher test scores,

and a higher GPA. These people may not realize the benefits that music does give in result to

academics.

Music was being created before history was ever recorded. Archaeologists discovered

musical instruments that dated all the way back to thirty-thousand years ago. Anybody can find a

way to make music, whether it is with a stick and rocks, or dry ground. Music is what makes

each culture diverse from any other. Music is what makes one person different from the next.

Schools should fund music education because music can be beneficial to not only academics, but

many other things as well.

The NAfME, National Association for Music Education, says that students will

develop increased coordination, enhanced memory and fine-tuned auditory skills, creative

thinking, increased spatial intelligence, and over all; better self confidence. Not only does music

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education benefit students, but also teachers as they are educating children in schools. If schools

are able to keep music programs, this will insure jobs for teachers across

the country. Statistic studies have been shown that students who are involved in music have a

significant difference in test scores; such as, twenty-two percent higher in English and twenty

percent higher in Math for standardized tests in schools. (The Benefits of Music Education)

Secretary Arne Duncan spoke about how students with disabilities and even English language

learners can benefit from arts classes because they often dont get the proper learning

environments or are sometimes at a disadvantage from the lack of proper curriculum courses.

(Pellegrinelli, Lara.)

In academics, musical training helps develop language and reasoning skills. Music can

make students want to achieve more in their academic studies and are more likely to stay in

school since it is offered as a class in most cases. One study stated that the students in music

scored average of 63 points higher in verbal content and 44 points higher in math. Introducing

music to anyone, even at a young age, can help improve academic skills and make students more

interesting in learning. Music can even make kids see the world from a different view, noticing

things that they wouldnt have seen before. Music can help people enhance their confidence

levels and build up imagination ("20 Important Benefits of Music in Our Schools). The

development of language over time tends to enhance parts of the brain that help process music,

language competence is at the root of social competence. Musical experience strengthens the

capacity to be verbally competent.- Dr. Kyle Pruett, clinical professor of child psychiatry at Yale

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School of Medicine ("The Benefits of Music Education.). The growth of neural activity of

musically talented people is larger because you use more of your brain when you practice and

play instruments.-Dr. Eric Rasmussen (chair of the Early Childhood Music Department).

Christopher Johnson, professor of music education and music therapy at the University of Texas,

studied that students involved in music education and activities score twenty-two percent higher

in English and twenty percent higher in Math for standardized tests in schools. Like children

involved in sports, music increases coordination skills and memory. Many students involved with

sports, however, do not have time to be involved in musical study. They still have to maintain a

good grade average in schools to be allowed to participate in sport activities. That helps push the

players to want to be more successful and it teaches them what is most important when it comes

to grades and extra-curricular activities. Music is the same way; it helps teach students how to

study and how to expand their mind. ("20 Important Benefits of Music In Our Schools).

A science researcher, E. Glenn Schellenberg, took three groups of six year olds and gave

the first group music and voice lessons for nine months. The second group received drama and

theatre lessons, and the third group received nothing. After the nine months were completed, the

six year olds were tested on who benefitted most from this experiment. The first group showed

an increase of IQ numbers by three. The second group received increase of skills like speech and

social behavior but nothing more. The third group did not show any change at all from when they

started. Researchers have observed through various experiments that a musicians brain works

differently than others ("The Benefits of Music Education.").

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 Across the country, music classes are being closed off to students because of reasons that

seem like they could be easy to solve. Groups of people notice this and the changes that are

happening with curriculums and these people are starting support groups. Members of the group

speak out against common core and how they are opting to revoke music from their curriculum.

Supporters have been raising awareness of the decrease in availability for musical courses in

order to raise money to maintain the classes for students who are interested in music. The money

that they collect will be donated to schools in order to keep music and arts alive in public school

systems. A Music in Our Schools Month was created to celebrate the benefits of musics

involvement in education and to encourage enhancing the programs even if budget problems

arise. (How Important Is Music Education in Schools?)

The availability of music does depend on the type of school, according to (Pellegrinelli,

Lara.) Between the years of 1999-2000, the average of high poverty secondary schools that

offered music was 100%. That percentage has dropped to 81% today and is continuously

dropping. Now that schools are starting to cut out music classes from their curriculum, teachers

are losing their jobs, students are losing passion in creative arts, and music education is

becoming scarce. Even though some people are in favor of keeping music alive in public

schools, its not quite enough. Many parents have concern for their kids if they are involved in

music. This is because they feel that their child is wasting their academic potential and time.

There is no absolute way to solve this problem yet, except if schools gain funds to keep the

programs going.

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 Music has proven to be useful in many ways and I believe that if people knew the

benefits and saw the differences it could make in peoples lives, schools would try their best to

keep music available within common core.

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Works Cited
20 Important Benefits of Music In Our Schools. National Association for Music Education

(NAfME), National Association for Music Education, 25 Jan. 2017,

www.nafme.org/20- important-benefits-of-music-in-our-schools/. Accessed 3 Mar.

2017.

Brown, Laura Lewis. The Benefits of Music Education. PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 25

May 2012, www.pbs.org/parents/education/music-arts/the-benefits-of-music-

education/. Accessed 4 Apr. 2017.

Cerbasi, Jennifer. How Important Is Music Education in Schools? Fox News, FOX News

Network, 28 Mar. 2012, www.foxnews.com/health/2012/03/28/how-important-is-

music- education-in-schools.html. Accessed 3 April. 2017.

Long, Cindy. Six Ways the Common Core Is Good For Students. NEA Today, National

Education Association, 28 Oct. 2015, neatoday.org/2013/05/10/six-ways-the-

common- core-is-good-for-students-2/. Accessed 4 Apr. 2017.

Parsad, Basmat. Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 1999-2000 and

2009-10. Washington DC, U.S. Department of Education, 2013, nces.ed.gov/

pubs2012/2012014rev.pdf. Accessed 1 Mar. 2017.

Pellegrinelli, Lara. Music Education In Public Schools Gets A Passing Grade. NPR, NPR, 6

Apr. 2012, www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2012/04/06/150133858/music-

education-in- public-schools-gets-a-passing-grade. Accessed 3 Mar. 2017.