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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. Music has a place in

everyones life, whether they know it or not. In the minds of students, there may be no

real knowledge of music or what differences it can make to your whole life. There have

even been studies to prove that listening to music changes you. Whether its the type of

music you listen to and how it changes your attitude or personality, or simply if the music

you're listening to makes you feel happy and also makes you view the world differently.

if kids aren't able to see the differences that music can make and the impact it leaves in

peoples lives, what does that mean for arts programs around the world? 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 county school 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), such as; giving the
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students the opportunity to work with other kids in their class and collaborate ideas that

in the end, will make their work stronger. With collaborative work, 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.)

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. These people may not realize the benefits that

music does give in result to academics, such as; higher exam and test scores, vocalization

skills, and even higher GPA averages.

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 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 by their traditional

dances and various ceremonies. Music is what makes one person different from the next

and gives schools a sense of diversity and uniqueness. 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 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)

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 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 interested 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. writes Dr. Kyle Pruett, clinical professor of child psychiatry at Yale 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. says chair of the Early Childhood Music Department, Dr. Eric

Rasmussen.

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

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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.").

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

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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 Lara

Pellegrinelli. 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.

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. Without music, there would be no

differentiation, no uniqueness, and no life. Plato once said, Music is the movement of

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sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtueMusic is a moral law. It gives soul

to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life
and to everything. If we keep in mind that music isn't just notes or words on a page, but

is something more valuable to the human mind and body, I believe music will be re-

introduced into schools across the world, and will be a part of everyones lives.

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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.

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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.