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Arts Are Necessary for Quality Education

Posted on: Thursday, 12 June 2008, 15:00 CDT

In these difficult budgetary times, many schools feel forced to reduce programs. Unfortunately, it appears that many educational leaders are considering reducing offerings in the arts, especially music. News reports show that entire programs, such as band, strings, and choruses, are being reduced or e1iminated. Unfortunately, solving school budget problems by cutting arts education is nothing less than educational malpractice.

Arts education, including music, is not a luxury or frill. It is part of the academic core that all children need to become proficient in. This is clearly stated by the federal No Child Left Behind act, as well as in the graduation proficiency requirements of the State of Rhode Island. Since the time of Aristotle, Socrates and Dewey, the mark of an intelligent person included knowledge of, and involvement in, the arts, particularly music.

It is not a coincidence that students who are most successful in school tend to be involved in music. Recent reports and polls show that schools with good music programs have significantly higher graduation and attendance rates than schools without. If cutting music is done to avoid touching programs supporting literacy and math test scores, there are few, if any, studies that show test scores go up with the reduction of music programs. However, there are numerous studies that show higher test scores in schools when music programs are added or expanded.

But this is not about test scores. Music education focuses on skills that are required by all students to become successful in life. As eloquently pointed out in Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind and Richard Florida's The Rise of the Creative Class, it is skillful creativity that is needed most by the valued workers of today and tomorrow. In addition to creativity, music education enables the development and exploration of the human soul. Music enables all human beings to unite and communicate regardless of race, color or creed. Music education promotes shared problem solving, cooperation and community more effectively than any other academic endeavor.

Students involved in good music programs tend to be happy, fulfilled and enjoy school. Music students are productive in meaningful ways affecting their entire being. There are few, if any, other academic areas that result in this same student investment. Imagine cutting a core academic subject that makes students successful, happy and want to go to school -- nothing less than educational malpractice.

There is little doubt that budgetary pressures are forcing schools to go on a fiscal diet. However, doing this trimming by focusing on music is no different than reducing one's weight by trimming heart or brain tissue. The body might survive the operation, but the result would be a heartless, soulless human being.

I implore school committees and administrators everywhere to reject the notion of targeting any arts program for cuts without first reducing every possible other non-academic, non-curricular item in the budget. If cuts to academic, curricular programs must be made, school committees and administrators need to treat all core curricular areas in an equal and fair manner. If we are committed to teaching the whole child, we must not focus our weight reduction plan on the heart and soul of education.

DAVID NEVES

Cranston

The writer, a music teacher, is Eastern Division president of the National Association for Music Education.

(c) 2008 Providence Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Source: Providence Journal

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