March is Music in Our Schools Month. And just last week the Board of Education voted against maintaining the third grade strings program in the school budget.*
Oof.
Why is it that, when budgets get tight, arts education is invariably the place where the axe is poised to make the cuts? It is a wrong-headed assumption that things like music are “nice to haves” or extras. It may be ‘penny wise’ but it is most definitely ‘pound foolish.’
The arts are not separate from. They are inextricably linked with our other learning experiences. Arts Education is the oxygen which allows the strictly cognitive paper and pencil work to "breathe" into the student and be meaningfully retained, the leavening which allows the learning process to rise, the glue that makes the learning stick.
It is the experience of all the different educational domains in combination that produces an end result which is greater than the sum of its parts. We don’t say that yeast should be able to stand alone, apart from all the other ingredients in a loaf of bread!
An example of the leavening I’m referring to is the joy that music brings and the community building it does, especially in our Title 1 schools. The third grade strings program offers brain development at a critical age plus community involvement, ensemble experiences and opportunities for success. It’s hands-on. It’s multi-sensory.
It’s geared specifically to their age and developmental level.
Another important point is that for many kids kids music is their saving grace in school. Students need a healthy balance in the kinds of classes that they take, and an opportunity to use a different part of the brain, which 3rd grade strings provides. In addition, they are developing all those the soft skills employers are looking for now. Working in teams towards an end goal - - music gives you that. Music builds brains and it also builds lives.
The Board has voted to take that away.
Peer-reviewed research shows that that instrumental instruction grows brain matter, increases focus, strengthens reading skills. And it’s actually fun for kids to be with friends and play for their families. In Howard County 68% of third grade students across the Title I schools - - with 2 of the schools in the top 5 for participation - - choose the opportunity and experience of learning a stringed instrument at this level.
They are learning alongside students of all kinds. Music connects kids who might ordinarily not know one another. If this program is cut the more affluent students will most likely have other musical experiences alongside other more affluent students. The precious connection will be broken.
Our Title I students will be losing an amazing publicly funded resource to increase their connection to community, increase brain development at a critical age and ENJOY success. It’s a silent equity builder across the school system. HCPSS has declared its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in education but now has voted against programs that offer exactly that in elementary school where our youngest learners need it.
I’m sharing a petition, created by the Centennial Lane Elementary School Music Boosters, that is circulating right now. I hope you will sign and share it. Add your comments in support if you are so moved. The goal of the petition is as follows:
We ask that you fully fund Music programs in all HCPSS schools and do not discontinue the 3rd grade strings program.
Ten years ago I wrote my heart out on these pages as music instruction was facing deep cuts under a previous administration. I’m truly disheartened that we are going through all this again. I’m going to leave you with some quotes I shared in May of 2014. They are still relevant.
- Mrs. Obama said, "The bottom line here is very clear: Arts education isn't something we add on after we've achieved other priorities, like raising test scores and getting kids into college. It's actually critical for achieving those priorities in the first place."
- Mr. Obama said, "The arts are central to who we are as a people, and they are central to the success of our kids. This is not an afterthought," he said. "This is not something you do because it's kind of nice to do. It is necessary for these young people to succeed that we promote the arts."
- Actress Alfre Woodard said, "Our kids are glimpsing the fact that they have an inherent value and that confidence just spreads across their lives."
*I am indebted to the advocacy of Howard County Parents for School Music, of which I formerly was a member. I have drawn from their work with permission.
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