How are teachers trying to salvage music education?
Lauren Kurkowski, photos by Mike O'Brien |
After the controversial shake up of Eau Claire School District music teachers a few years back – shuffling teachers from long-established programs into different schools and letting some people go – we all wondered about the future of local music education. What opportunities will local students have with music (and other arts education) going forward? What kind of young people will the Chippewa Valley produce without it? We're still not sure.
According to the National Endowment for the Arts, the percentage of students who received any kind of arts education declined by 21% between 1992 and 2008.
And we’re not the only people dealing with the rapid erosion of arts education, of course. In a recent column for USA Today, David Sall explores some of the current struggles and solutions seen across the United States.
According to the National Endowment for the Arts, the percentage of students who received any kind of arts education declined by 21% between 1992 and 2008. Obviously, budget cuts are a huge factor. Schools find it difficult to justify funding music programs when only 20% of students are involved.
Another factor is that instruments are expensive and families can’t afford to buy or rent. And let’s not forget the No Child Left Behind Act, which focuses on test scores in “core” subjects, of which music is not a member.
Both Sall and music advocate Nick Jaworski (see his great comic about music ed) say that music educators are banding together to save their programs by focusing on bringing in the 80% of students who are supposedly uninterested in music classes. Because it’s clear these students enjoy music – they gush about Glee and American Idol, and they go everywhere with their headphones plugged in. Many music educators are offering a broader range of music classes to interest these students – classes like the History of Rock and Roll, Jazz Appreciation, Music Business and Production, and Guitar for Beginners.
Many music educators are offering a broader range of music classes to interest students – classes like the History of Rock and Roll, Jazz Appreciation, Music Business ...
Most music teachers agree that traditional music classes, like band, choir, and orchestra, are still a necessity to school curriculum. But other music classes will help create student interest in taking music classes at school. Which, in turn, will help schools justify the need to fund music programs.
But other music teachers insist the problem lies much deeper. The educational system places the most importance on test scores for core classes. Look at the ACT and SAT, for example. Personally, I don’t remember any section that asked questions about music and the arts. Teachers argue that even if every student was wildly interested in music classes, schools still wouldn’t be able to justify funding non-core music programs.
However, studies show that music can greatly benefit students. It increases their aptitude for logic and spatial reasoning, which can help students in core classes like math and science. Music also helps students improve other important skills such as focus, dedication, self-discipline, memory, and teamwork. So if music can increase these skills that are necessary for core classes, how is music not important?
