Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 4

Toale 1

Angela B. Toale
Kristina Fogelson
Intro. To Comp.
20 April 2016
Music education may seem like it is still thriving due to the way media portrays it.
However, funding for public schools all over the nation have taken music away from students.
This then leads to music teachers without work, and less students enrolling in music
classes/courses. Fine arts teachers workloads are being increased due to the laying off of other
music teachers. Also if students are not introduced to music in school, they lose certain
developmental skills that occur while performing with others. This also leads to little to no
interest in learning to take a music class or to learn to play an instrument. Budget cuts occurring
in public schools lead to the disintegration of music programs and lack of interest in music
education.
Music is proven to improve memory and students capability or aptitude in mathematics.
Music is promoted as a tool to work with in language stimulation, math comprehension, motor
skills, or as a tool to bring in different cultural elements in the preschool (Gustavsson 2016). It
can also be argued that while playing an instrument or performing with others, endorphins are
released, thus causing them to be happier. A long study was conducted with almost 1000
participants, that proved that the longer one listens to music, the more likely they are to have
good physical and mental health (Ahmad, et. al., 2011). If music education, specifically for
youth, has these effects, why is the government cutting funding on all fine arts programs?
Although this would be an interesting question to go address, the main focus is that music
education budget cuts will take away these benefits from students.

Toale 2
Music education would not even be possible without the dedicated music teachers. These
do not only include public school music teachers; but it also accounts for private sector teachers
as well. Although private sector music schools/studios are not directly affected by fine art budget
cuts, they do suffer a drop in students because many students do not show any interest in learning
to read or play music. This could be due to the lack of music education that is required in school.
Without support from the government, music teacher in public schools will not have the
resources they need to network, branch out, or keep up extracurricular music programs/clubs.
Without music education, public schools will need to reshape their curriculum as there is a
portion solely dedicated to fine arts. This will affect enrollment rates for schools that do not offer
any music curriculum. Nationally, music educators have described underfunded and
understaffed music programs as reaching a crucial tipping point that could undermine the
prevailing structure and curriculum of school music education (Burrack et al., 2014). Music is
already an important part of modern American public school curriculum, and its removal can
have large negative effects.
America prides itself on liberty and the freedom to make decisions for oneself. If fine arts
classes are defunded or completely cut, this lowers the freedom for students to choose which
activities they want to participate in. It is unfair for those that excel in music education to not
have the opportunity to express themselves or shine in their field of knowledge. It is also unfair
for the teachers that have earned degrees in music education to be put out of a job. Lack of Music
education and disintegration of music programs will continue if fine arts in public schools are
refunded.

Toale 3

Works Cited
Burrack, Frederick William, et al. "The Impact Of Budget Cutbacks On Music Teaching
Positions And District Funding In Three Midwestern States." Update: Applications Of
Research In Music Education 33.1 (2014): 36-41. ERIC. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
Ehrlin, Anna, and Hans-Olof Gustavsson. "The Importance Of Music In Preschool Education."
Australian Journal Of Teacher Education 40.7 (2015): ERIC. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.

Toale 4
Rana, Shabbir Ahmad, Nasreen Akhtar, and Adrian Charles North. "Relationship Between
Interest In Music, Health And Happiness."Journal Of Behavioural Sciences 21.1 (2011):
48. Advanced Placement Source. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi