Music Enriches Education

The arts are very important for the enrichment of any child’s education. Sadly, when funding is cut, the arts are one of the first things to go. According to an article by Rob Baedeker there are seven advantages for students having music as a part of education. A 2008 study by the Center on Education Policy found a narrowing of school curricula had resulted in a significant shift away from arts and music programs nationwide: since 2001-2002, 16 percent of elementary school districts have reduced their instructional time in arts and music.

Such cuts to music education are particularly ironic given the growing body of research that underscores how music engages many of same areas of the brain involved in language processing, memory, and other critical thinking skills essential for academic success. Music also appears to benefit kids socially and emotionally.

Here are seven areas where studies have shown the benefits of music to kids' education and development:

1. Language processing: Several recent studies suggest that the brain processes music and language in similar ways, and that training in music may have benefits for language-related skills.

2. Memory: The benefits of music training appear to extend to memory, too. A 2003 study by researchers at The Chinese University of Hong Kong found that children with musical training showed better verbal memory than their peers.

3. Math: If you've ever tried to read even a simple piece of music — or bang a drum in time to a beat, you know that music requires you to perform mathematical processes (like division) on the fly. But research has also shown a link between music education and success in school mathSelf-

4. Awareness: Dr. Frank Wilson, a neurologist and an authority on the relationship of hand use to human cognitive development, explains that the study of music teaches children to "self assess," rather than to rely on external rewards. While much of our schooling focuses on grades and prizes, music can foster an internal motivation.

5. Social skills: Takako Fujioka, of the Rotman Research Institute, points out that the benefits of playing music go beyond academic applications: "When you participate in music in a community or a school, you develop shared memories during musical activities. It's a bonding experience." That bonding can also develop kids' ability to work together.

6. Academic success: With all the benefits that music brings to kids' language, math, memory and self-assessment, it's little surprise that there is a strong correlation between music and general academic success. Studies have shown that students in music programs scored higher in English and math than students who had no music at all, and high school students with music training scored higher than their non-musical peers on the SAT, according to the College Board

7. Long-term success: Students with music training tend to rank higher in common measures of long-term success such as educational attainment and income: a 2007 poll by Harris Interactive found that nearly nine out of ten people with post -graduate education had participated in music while in school, and 83 percent of those with incomes of $150,000 or more had had music education.

There was a mother, Marion Atherton,  from California who wanted music at her son's school after music was discontinued because of buget cuts.  Marion efforts to integrate music into the early grades at her child's school were ultimately successful. She applied and received a grant from the California Arts Council to bring in a music teacher for regular instruction. The schools' teachers who would be adding music to their classrooms initially were wary. After all, already they had more lesson plans and requirements than they could cover in a given school day.

"The teachers were a little resistant at first," Atherton recalls, "but over time they actually became hugely supportive of it. They saw how it gave certain kids a confidence or a joy they didn't see in other ways. And it was a great way for a classroom to feel a sense of community — and that carried over into the other things their classroom did."