We Will Still Need A Song...

Typically, when it comes to axing school programs to save money, band and the arts are among the first to go. The people who make that decision are morons who have probably never played a note in their life. They probably listen to their soft rock hits on the commute home at 4:30 each weekday, but they probably don't put much value into what that music actually means, only considering that it's more interesting than listening to the engines of passing cars and the wind whistling by at 60km/h (although with some of that music, I would have to dispute this conclusion).

The fact is, is that music is essential to a healthy life full of vitality and energy. Marilyn Manson said it best: "If you put on a record, it's not going to yell at you for how you dress or put you down. If anything, it'll make you feel better about yourself." It is an outlet for emotions, a shoulder to rest on when the world gets to be too much, and a motivator, to name but a few of its roles. With this considered, I draw attention to this:

"Secondary students who participated in band or
orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances
(alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs)." -- Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol
Abuse Report. Reported in Houston Chronicle, January 1998

When was the last time that you heard something good about the public education system? In my entire life, it's always seemed that my education has had to have been cut short--lack of funds, lack of teachers, lack of interest. As a student of music, I have learned to accept the fact that more often than not, music and the arts will be the first thing on the chopping block when the Republicans screw up the country again. However, I am here to tell you why that is a falsehood of practice, and why music in our public schools is possibly the most important subject to be taught to struggling and troubled students.

"The term `core academic subjects' means English, reading or
language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government,
economics, arts, history, and geography." -- No Child Left Behind Act of 2002,
Title IX, Part A, Sec. 9101 (11)

Music is passion. Music is art. Music is self-expression, it is a discipline, it requires hard work, and it offers rewards to students who might have otherwise gone astray. And yet, as the Bush administration sets out on its misbegotten warpath to improve education without spending a dime, it fails to even make passing mention of its importance to our students. They increase the number of standardized tests students must take, yet fail to recognize the power of music in developing young persons' abilities.

"The College Entrance Examination Board found that students involved in public school music programs scored 107 points higher on the SAT's than students with no participation." - Profiles of SAT and Achievement Test Takers, The College Board, compiled by the Music Educators National Conference (2002)

I am now finishing my freshman year as a music education major in college. I could have just as easily not gone on to higher education, having received less than a 2.0 GPA in middle school, and barely more my freshman year of high school. I consider myself a personal attestment to the value of music in troubled and struggling students.

"Children who participate in music and arts programs often do better in other subjects than children who do not, and troubled students engaged in arts and music programs have better attendance and increased cooperation with teachers and other students." - The Network for Good

After years of mediocre acadameic achievement despite high test scores, I entered into the band program my sophomore year of high school. Despite having played my French horn since the 6th grade, I had rarely taken my interest in music seriously. At the end of my 9th grade year, I informed my band director that I was planning on ending my short-lived music career and dropping band for the fall. He took me aside, told me I had too much potential to leave, and that if he needed to, he would call my parents to work something out.

That was the first time in my life that I felt a teacher hadn't given up on me. My mother, who was diagnosed with and has been suffering from manic depression since 1986, had been a constant source of pain and suffering for me. Having had social services involved in my home life and dealing with my unmedicated mother had led to a deep depression.

In the Fall of 2002, I marched my first season with the high school marching band. The next fall, I would be first chair horn in our secondary band. As time went on, I would continue to be increasingly involved in music, and substantially raise my GPA; I graduated with a cumulative GPA just over 3.0 and earned 3.5 GPAs my junior year, in addition to taking honors and AP courses in English Composition, International Relations, British Literature, and American Government.

As our country heads into the 2006 elections, it's easy to get caught up in the scandals of the Republicans. It's easy to be enraged at the President's incompetence and illegal activities. Yet, we still must remember that there are important parts of our society that continue to be eroded by the Republican contempt for civilization, that public education, the arts, and yes, music, all have a critical role to play in the development of our youth and the next generation. When Bush talks about cutting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's music education program to save money, we have to stand up and pay attention. When your local superintendent suggests that in order to pay for more standardized tests in the "core" academic departments the school cut funding for music and the arts, we have to stand up and say "No."

I became a music education major in the hopes that, one day, I could do for another student what my music educators did for me. Music is magic, and it provides an important avenue for children to succeed in, regardless of whether they are already high achievers or are struggling to keep up with the rest of their class. The results for them are real at the concerts, because when they play, people will stand up and clap for them. For some of these students, there is no other time where they will be cheered on for their hard work, to be appreciated for putting the effort into something that is enjoyed by others. When we look to improve education, we shouldn't be beating science and math teachers over the head with enforced curriculums and standardized tests, but instead to cultivate students' well-being by helping them lead better lives. That is the ultimate service to education, whether you are a Democrat or a Republican.

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This is why music education is needed. Children need an outlet for their creativity. They need to express themselves. The feeling that no one is listening is the worst in the world. After Shostakovich was censured by Stalin because his opera, Lady Macbeth of Mtansk was too bourgeois, he never wrote another opera again. His 'comeback' piece after a prolonged period of musical inactivity was subtitled "the response of a Soviet artist to justified criticism." He still wrote what he wanted to, but never published any of his 'subversive' 'bourgeois' work, instead hiding it in a desk drawer; he instead turned out pro-Soviet works that were acceptable to the Party. In 1948, his Ninth Symphony was accused of not being pro-Revolution. In 1959, he was appointed the First Secretary of the Composer's Union, which required him to join the Communist Party. You can see where this is heading.

This inability to express himself how he wanted led to a severe bout of depression that led to the creation of Quartet No. 8. The 'official' story behind the piece was that after witnessing the destruction at Dresden, he was so shocked and horrified that he wrote it as an expression of his horror of facism. It was even subtitled "To the Memory of the Victims of Facism." In reality, it was meant as a musical suicide note, although he died 15 years later of natural causes.

Let's take a more recent example. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold (the Columbine killers). No one thought much of either of them, never took them seriously, never considered what they had to say. We all know the disastrous outcome. Would music have helped them out of their depression? Possibly, although it's pretty much a given that if anyone had paid attention to them, given them an outlet to express themselves, they would still be alive, along with 13 other innocent humans.

Sorry about the continuation of the block quote. Blogger is being an assbandit.