Tevis Tucker

Ms. Wolcott
ENC1102
18/3/15
Annotated Bibliography
What music classes teach is incredibly valuable. From learning how to work with others,
to becoming more confident, to dedicating time to something bigger than a single individual;
music gives students keys to doors they dont even know exist yet. But no matter how much
evidence there is to show that music builds better and smarter children, lawmakers around the
country still think it is an extraneous subject. Because of the expensive price tag that comes with
music programs, many are disappearing from public schools all across the US. These programs
that are keeping kids off the streets, building leaders, improving test scores, and developing
lifelong friendships; gone. This bibliography explores the vast benefits of music education in
America, along with learning about the many obstacles that stand in musics way.

Archer, Jeff. "Budget Cuts Strike Sour Note For Music Educators." Education Week 15.29
(1996): 8. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Mar. 2015. Jeff Archer, English author,
former politician, and Member of Parliament, gives insight on how the budget battle isnt
just a recent one. Back in 1996, parents had to pay $30 a month for their child to be in
band. Parents were stuck personally funding what many thought was a necessity.
However parents dont have to pay $30 a month so their child can participate in science
experiments at school, so why would they pay a monthly fee for band. These budget cuts
caused less music educators per student. Instead of one for every 400 kids, like
recommended, some areas would only have one educator for every 1,400 kids. The failed

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tax-hikes that caused the drastic measures seemed to be looked at as an increase in taxes
instead of an investment in their kids.
Bernard, Rhoda. "The Rewards Of Teaching Music In Urban Settings." Music Educators Journal
96.3 (2010): 53-57. Professional Development Collection. Web. 18 Mar. 2015. Rhoda
Bernard, chair of the music education department at the Boston Conservatory, knows that
there are positive stories that can come out of the tough teaching environment that can
exist in inner cities. Urban settings make it tough for music programs because of lack of
instruments, lack of parental/administrative support, and difficulties in classroom
management. But, five music teachers from two large cities agree that there can be deep
satisfaction and pride in these teaching positions; all one has to do is recognize potential,
provide opportunities, and build relationships. By doing that, there are infinite
possibilities between teacher and student.
Church, Ellen Booth. "Math & Music: The Magical Connection. (Cover Story)." Scholastic
Parent & Child 8.3 (2000): 50. OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Web. 18 Mar.
2015. Ellen Booth Church, a former professor of early childhood education, an author of
numerous education books, and an educational consultant and keynote speaker
throughout the country, made a magical connection between music and math. She
noticed they used a lot of similar parts of the brain, but sometimes they used completely
separate hemispheres of the brain. Music and math would connect the two sides of the
brain. Music also requires a strong understanding of math because the amount of
counting and rhythms (essentially patterns) that occur.
Fang, Marina. Public Schools Slash Arts Education And Turn To Private Funding.
Thinkprogress.org. (2013). Web. 18 Mar. 2015. Marina Fang, news editor and journalist,

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wrote about the mass lay off of art teachers in Chicago and Philadelphia. Private funding
is becoming necessary because of the always shrinking federal contribution to the arts.
But even when the second largest school district in the country votes to make the arts a
core subject, private funding is still needed to keep everything afloat.
Fehr, Rosalind C. "Battling Music Education Cuts." Teaching Music 2004: 13. Academic
OneFile. Web. 18 Mar. 2015. Rosalind C. Fehr, chairman of music education department
at the University of Iowa, wrote this article talking about how the Metro School District
in Nashville, TN had to cut $15 million from the school budget so the officials asked
what programs they wanted schools to keep the most and the choice was overwhelmingly
music classes. This shows the communal support of music education in the school
system, even despite it being on the financial chopping block.
Fiese, Richard K, and Nicholas J. DeCarbo. "Urban Music Education." Music Educators Journal
81.6 (1995): 27. Professional Development Collection. Web. 18 Mar. 2015. Richard K.
Fiese, assistant professor of music education at the University of Houston, and Nicholas
J. DeCarbo, assistant dean and associate professor of music education at the University of
Miami, looked at the responses of twenty urban music teachers and their perspective on
their position. All teachers had unique situations, but their dedication never wavered.
Fiske, Edward B., Washington, DC. President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, and
Washington, DC. Arts Education Partnership. "Champions Of Change: The Impact Of
The Arts On Learning." (1999): ERIC. Web. 18 Mar. 2015. Edward B. Fiske, founder
and editor of the Fiske Guide to Colleges and is a former education editor of the New
York Times, compiled a lengthy report that combined seven major studies that proved

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being involved with the arts improves learning and achievement, along with significant
improvements on standardized tests.
Jorgensen, Estelle R. "School Music Education And Change." Music Educators Journal 96.4
(2010): 21-27. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Mar. 2015. Estelle R. Jorgensen,
professor of music education at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, talks about
the abundant amount of challenges with music education (like ever changing
requirements, standardized testing, lack of freedom, low salary, long hours, etc.), but also
provides possible solutions and actions that can be taken to combat them. But at the end
of the day, it is always best to be hopeful and willing to work with others in order to get a
lot done.
Morrison, Steven J. "Music Students and Academic Growth." Music Educators Journal 1994: 33.
JSTOR Journals. Web. 18 Mar. 2015. Steven J. Morrison, professor and chair of music
education at the University of Washington, found that music students do well in areas of
academics and leadership. He used a 18,221 student study of high school sophomores to
notice these trends. When comparing the minority (22.3% that were music students) and
the majority (77.7% that werent music students), he found that music students got a
much higher percentage of honors and academic awards, as well as receiving a high
percentage of As and Bs in the classroom.
Petress, Ken. "The Importance Of Music Education." Education 1 (2005): 112. Academic
OneFile. Web. 18 Mar. 2015. Ken Petress, emeritus professor of communications and
education at University of Maine, believes music is one of the most important subjects
taught in schools. But, high cost of sheet music and instruments (and repairing them) is a
big issue with funding music education. Despite the funding, people dont understand

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that music education provides a wide variety of utilitarian values that can be transferred
to any aspect of life. Self-discipline, that is required when practicing, receiving criticism,
and performing a piece of music; dedication, that is required when students spend time
and effort to perfect their craft; self-confidence, that is developed from playing solos and
entertaining audiences; humility, that is gained when the student realizes that they, the
performer, are not the center of the attention, but the music and the composers vision is;
teamwork, that is required when working with multiple musicians on a piece; and many
other core values. In addition to values, Petress says that music is beneficial to students
in four categories. The first, is success in society. Petress proves this by first stating a
study conducted in Texas shows that band students had the lowest lifetime and current
use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs, and then by stating that music programs are a
solution to teen violence and improve the quality of life in communities. The second
category is success in school. He cites a study that shows musically involved students
received more academic honors than non-musically involved students. He also cites that
musicians have higher SAT scores and are less disruptive in class. The third category is
success in developing intelligence. Petress states that musical practice improves attention
and abstract reasoning throughout life. The final category is success in life. Music is
self-gratifying, yet also gives immense pleasure to others. It can bring people together in
a world where most things bring people apart. Top CEOs also agree that music education
better prepares workers for the 21st century workplace. Music education is not a luxury, it
is a necessity.
Slaton, Emily Dawn. "Collegiate Connections: Music Education Budget Crisis." Music
Educators Journal 99.1 (2012): 33-35. ERIC. Web. 18 Mar. 2015. Emily Dawn Slaton, a

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music education major at Texas Lutheran University, wrote this article that focuses on
how music education struggled to survive throughout the 2007-2009 recession. Less
funding, less music teachers being hired (teacher-student ratios became very unbalanced
and didnt allow for the teacher to form close relationships with students), and nothing
was being done to combat it. The benefits of music education far outweigh the cost, but
that was being overlooked. People wanted money to be used in other ways, and in ways
that were more relevant to the real world. The problem is that getting rid of the arts
would counteract this. Students in the arts do better in school. Music becomes a creative
outlet and enhances all learning skills at a young age. Students in all-state band and choir
have an average SAT score that is 400 points higher than other students. Keeping music
alive in schools could determine how educated our future workforce is. An issue is that
the money being taken away from the arts is being spent on athletics and not even
academics more often than not.
Young, Terrence E., Jr. Keeping the Arts Alive (2005): 1. Print. Terrence E. Young, author and
instructor of library science at the University of New Orleans, describes when budgets are
tightened, art programs are considered extraneous and expendable. Despite
overwhelming evidence that shows the arts develop critical thinking and motivational
skills needed for academic and social success, the arts are being killed in schools.
Teachers can use music and art to help students learn content in their core subjects as
well. One of the great strengths of art is their ability to reach inside us and arouse our
creativity. Schools that are considering cutting the arts need to really think about what
they are doing and how getting rid of the arts wont help schools reach their goal of high
academic achievement.