Great Minds on Music in Education - Campbell

Britt Beil
MUSIC 23241
January 19, 2011

Chapter 2: Great Minds on Music in Education

               In today's economy, many schools are experiencing some major cut-backs in several departments including laying off teachers, dropping certain programs, etc. As a music educator, we need to find ways to convince administrators, teachers, and taxpayers that music in the schools is still very important. We need to have solid evidence to back up any arguments we may have. Music teachers enhance the musical experiences of their students and people in general. Music is very influential and a way of artistic expression in schools today. Many great minds and philosophers, such as Confucius, Aristotle, Martin Luther, and Nelson Mandela,  have described music as being very important in society. Music is vital in society and in the progress of young people's education.

               When I was younger I would always try to think of songs to remember little daily activities that I needed to accomplish. I have always enjoyed being in the choirs and felt a sense of pride and accomplishment when a concert was over or when I would audition for a solo. There were other ways that I used music to learn too. In my French class in high school, we would use simple little songs to help with learning the possessions, verbs, adverbs, etc. It was highly effective and to this day I still remember a lot from that simple  teaching technique.

               Children are introduced to music at very young ages whether it is a tape you enjoyed listening to or even when your parents would sing lullabies to help you fall asleep. Children have even been able to learn simple tasks through music. Music is a way of expressing yourself and it influences the people participating and the audience. I can't even imagine how dull elementary through high school would have been without music and I don't really ever want to know what that would feel like.