Safety commissions, school districts, PTAs, and other groups and individuals have discussed school safety. One smart move would be to ensure that every school has a legitimate arts program including visual arts, music, drama, and dance. Students who struggle with mental health problems might benefit from the arts. Every child should have access. Students should […]
The Sad Impact of Corporate School Reform on Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities
We have a lot of troubled kids. As of 2016, approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 (21.4%) experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life. For children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13%. HERE. Schools should be on the front line to assist children and adolescents with mental health difficulties. But […]
The Theft of the Tradition of Music in OUR Public Schools
How do politicians eliminate a school orchestra in this country and still sleep at night? How does a community adjust to such a theft when they tried so hard to keep the music playing? The Loss of the Lafayette Elementary School String Orchestra In 2013, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago politicians put an end to […]
The Lopsided Curriculum: Where are Science, Social Studies and the Arts?
Little children are like sponges, soaking up knowledge of the world around them every minute. So when they start formal education, how much science, social studies and the arts do students in elementary school get? Teaching these subjects used to be important. Learning in these areas sent some of us into our future professions. We […]
The Every Child Achieves Act and the Arts: Fal-De-Ral and Fiddle-Dee-Dee
Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella songs are flipping through my head as I ponder the re-authorization of NCLB, or the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and more specifically music and the arts. In my own little corner in my own little world I can be whatever I want to be. On the wings of my fancy […]
The Doctor/Music Connection and The Terrible Disregard for Music in Public Schools
How does music help prepare students for life? Ask all the prestigious doctors in Boston! The Boston Globe has a fascinating piece by Christoph Westphal about the importance of music to becoming and being a doctor. Westphal, himself an amateur cellist and physician/scientist, recently went to hear the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) welcoming its new […]
Common Core and Early Childhood—Got Music?
The implication of all this for early education is clear. Although a teaspoon of Mozart may not make a child a better mathematician, there is little doubt that regular exposure to music, an especially active participation in music, may stimulate development of many different areas of the brain—areas which have to work together to listen […]