So last week we all saw the Scholastic “article”, if you use the term loosely, “Should Kids Learn Music in School?” where once again music education is up for debate. Again. So here I am on the fight in defending music education. Again.

And before you come at me for the image. This purposefully chosen image perfectly sums up how people disregard music educators as actual knowledgeable teachers rather than failed performers, lesser teachers or “not a real teacher”, and not important subject matter. If the people who put this shoot together had actually talked to a a music educator for less than 5 minutes, this would have been a much better photo completely with things like mouthpieces, reeds, and proper hand placement rather than a laughing stock in the music community.
It starts innocently enough. Someone who wants to be funny makes a meme of a common school experience, learning the recorder. Then the jokes start. I learned this instead of how to do taxes (math class). I learned this instead of how to balance a checkbook (again, math class). And from there, it just gets more insulting.
I think what is even more insulting is that these aren’t skills that should be taught at elementary level, and even if you are teaching Hot Cross Buns in band class, again, we aren’t the math teacher. Music teachers don’t teach job skills (unless you count learning to work with other people, manage your emotions in situations when you lose a game, don’t get the color boomwhacker you want, or respond with empathy in different situations). We aren’t teaching checkbooks and taxes. Reminder, you are not learning taxes in 4th and 5th grade, or in music class for that matter. Take it up with your high school teachers if you can’t figure out how to do these things.
Then of course we get the typical middle school and high school ensembles are SO much more important than elementary music things. Because those ensembles would be totally FILLED with people even if students were given the chance to experience music in K-5.
Hardy har har. *insert side eye here*
So let’s get to the new insult. I’ve covered the students’ names because why bring the gauntlet down on them when they aren’t the perpetrators of this “article”. Here is the “article” in question.
So let’s talk about this.
- Music is ESSENTIAL. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) actually mentions music as an important part of a well-rounded curriculum. Read more here.
- Music is not included just to make students better at math, science, history, or whatever other reason that is often enumerated as if music doesn’t have a value in itself.
- Learning the recorder and Hot Cross Buns teachers fine motor skills, resilience (because the recorder is not easy), works on tracking from left to right, confidence building, and understanding that skills are sometimes slow to build.
- Creativity. If we lived in a world without creativity, we’d have problems.
- Music class helps students learn to work together. Unless you are a solo artist who sings or plays without any accompaniment or you accompany yourself alone, music is a group effort. You need to learn to perform together, to listen to other people, to let their creative ideas have space, and to blend into an ensemble.
- Music helps people engage their emotions and express their emotions.
- Music builds connections between generations and cultural groups as well as strengthen connections with peers.
- Music can help people foster empathy.
- Music class can be a safe space to foster teamwork, peer interaction, social skills (all that folk dancing and game playing is important!), and communication.
- Music helps language development, speech skills, and listening skills.
- Learning to play an instrument takes discipline.
This is a short list.
I’m going to ignore the whole “music benefits other learning” argument because why can’t we have music for music’s sake?
Here’s some more articles if you are interested:
- https://www.savethemusic.org/blog/research/benefits-to-the-brain/
- https://www.rcmusic.com/about-us/rcm-neuroscience/why-study-music
- https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/the-benefits-of-music-education
- https://meritmusic.org/benefits-music-education/
- https://www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org/the-power-of-music-education/
- https://www.graduateprogram.org/2020/08/the-importance-of-music-education-in-schools/
- https://www.americanscientist.org/article/the-argument-for-music-education
- https://nebhe.org/journal/tuning-in-six-benefits-of-music-education-for-kids/
- https://www.deptofsound.org/benefits-of-music-education
The NAfME response
Scholastic DID issue a response at the end of last week.
Despite this, I’d still argue that Music was listed as the subject up for debate. Why are there no articles trying to defend PE? Because sports. (NOT knocking our Phys Ed friends. I think they are essential too!) Simply pointing out that they don’t have to defend their subject by saying it’s great for learning math and science. And I say that as a massive Detroit Lions fan and all around sports fan (if you follow me on instagram you know). You can email Scholastic here: [email protected]
We are not here to teach kids to join middle and high school band or prepare those skills. We aren’t here to teach you math skills.
We are here to help make good people, to foster a love of music, build creativity, and to connect students to the world around them. Stop debating if music is “worth it”. If you have debated it, please delete iTunes, Spotify, etc, and turn the sound down when you watch movies. You can use closed captioning.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! You said everything I wanted to, but much more eloquently. We music teachers always need to work together against this ongoing struggle of advocacy.
<3
We all need to fight for this, please also read and share the book, Your Brain on Art. That will end all debate on the value of music. Knowing what happens in your brain when just listening to music does, (makes connections across both sides of the brain, etc) is incredible, let alone what happens when you sing or play an instrument. Scholastic is absurdly ignorant and so are most in education. Music should happen every day. We should start banding (pun intended) together to fight this myth. Our students deserve it and so does our country. How will our students stand a chance if they cannot be taught to be creative? This is maddening. Let me know if you want to formally do anything. I am ready. Laura Crim elementary music teacher in SC [email protected].
Thank you!!!! Laura Crim
Great comments and thank you for taking up the fight on behalf of thousands of music educators!
One personal note, I firmly believe that elementary band and/or orchestra combined with a strong elementary general music program provide a more well-rounded musical education. When the two music teaching areas collaborate on curriculum, students receiving both general music lessons and instrumental ensemble pedagogy appear to thrive in the school’s social and educational circles. This is merely my two cents and I have been very successfully supported in my present school by administration, colleagues, and parents as we have implemented such curricula. In short, the more we can integrate our craft into various arts genres, we increase our visibility and relevance to our community while building relationships which can be very helpful during discussions about what to cut in the budget. Make your teaching area a strong centerpiece for your school in order to eliminate any future discussions about the importance of a music education.
Thank you again for your advocacy!
Thank you and yes! I think that districts that are successful have teachers that collaborate and talk to each other rather than try to one up each other.
Thank you for reminding me of the intrinsic value of learning music for music’s sake. I often get wrapped up in defending the secondary skills learned through music education and while these are important and valuable skills, the fact that music stands on its own as being incredibly important is not to be forgotten. Where would our cultures be without music? In this day and age, without music education, how many children are putting down their devices to learn how to play an instrument? A few, maybe. But we, as music educators, give every child that opportunity. We will only have adults who make music if we first have children who make music.
<3