Bachmann 1

Kylie Bachmann

Professor Johnson-Taylor

English 1201

19 June 2019

Children, Schools, and Music Education

My mom used to say a lot of things to me when I was a little girl, but the most

memorable is: “Trust me Kylie, all the smartest kids play an instrument.” Any time we would

meet a teenager, or even just a 6th grader, who was very intelligent and achieving, my mom

would, always without fail, whisper to me, “I bet they play an instrument.” Chances were, 9 out

of 10 times, she was right. Everytime I wanted to quit my piano lessons, my mom would throw

the facts in my face about how students who have had musical training achieve higher reading

and math scores in school. As I grew older I noticed how true it seemed that the students with the

highest scores in school were musically trained.

This topic really came to me as I found my mom to be more correct than I thought over

the years. I’m constantly asking myself if I owe my academic success to music. Now that I have

my own piano business, I’m also wondering if I’m helping to give my students that large of an

advantage in school as well. Some of my best memories have been of me learning piano and I

think that it has trained me to focus and to learn. I’m grateful for my musical training and I

would like to find out what all that I owe to it.

 Bachmann 2

I feel as though every child should have musical training, that schools should include a

music program and treat it with importance. I think that music is just as important as any other

type of art or athletic as well. Often times, when schools don’t get enough funding, the music

program is the first to go. This makes me angry because I truly believe that, as I said, music

training is just as important as athletics. I know, through prior knowledge, that music really does

affect math and reading scores in a very positive way and I know that it helps kids with ADD

learn to focus. I truly believe that this is the best way for schools to raise scores. I have read

many articles on the matter and I’ve even observed it in younger children at school. After

reading those studies, I want everyone to know how beneficial music training is - especially the

schools. I believe that this topic really is important and it should be talked about more often.

This topic inspires me and makes me want to know why. Why exactly do students

achieve higher scores? Why do so many schools have underdeveloped music programs when

music is proven to be so beneficial? I really want to know how most schools plan to raise their

testing scores and what has worked for them. I would also like to find out if music truly is the

best way for kids to raise their scores. I don’t know exactly how music affects a child. I would

like to research the neurological side of my topic to see if musical training affects the brain in

any way, or if learning music just trains kids to focus. I know that there are a lot of scholarly

articles that could help me find what I am trying to learn and understand.