Since 1985, March has been filled with the sound as music in
our schools thanks to this month being designated "Music In Our Schools
Month." Sponsored by the National Association for Music Education, the
event focuses the nation's attention on the need for and the benefits of
quality music education programs.
Locally, MGS has a tradition of decorating grocery sacks so
watch for some artwork with your purchases in March! Students and educators appreciate the support
they receive from their families year-round!
Thank you for supporting the arts in your child’s school by attending
concerts, encouraging him/her to practice an instrument and sing in the choir!
The benefits of a musical education are numerous. Here are a few:
1. Early musical training helps develop brain areas involved in
language and reasoning. It is thought that brain development continues for many
years after birth. Recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training
physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved
with processing language, and can actually wire the brain's circuits in
specific ways. Linking familiar songs to new information can also help imprint
information on young minds.
2. There is also a causal link between music and spatial
intelligence (the ability to perceive the world accurately and to form mental
pictures of things). This kind of intelligence, by which one can visualize
various elements that should go together, is critical to the sort of thinking
necessary for everything from solving advanced mathematics problems to being
able to pack a book-bag with everything that will be needed for the day.
3. Students of the arts learn to think creatively and to
solve problems by imagining various solutions, rejecting outdated rules and
assumptions. Questions about the arts do not have only one right answer.
4. Recent studies show that students who study the arts are
more successful on standardized tests such as the SAT. They also achieve higher
grades in high school.
5. A study of the arts provides children with an internal
glimpse of other cultures and teaches them to be empathetic towards the people
of these cultures. This development of compassion and empathy, as opposed to
development of greed and a "me first" attitude, provides a bridge
across cultural chasms that leads to respect of other races at an early age.
6. Students of music learn craftsmanship as they study how
details are put together painstakingly and what constitutes good, as opposed to
mediocre, work. These standards, when applied to a student's own work, demand a
new level of excellence and require students to stretch their inner resources.
7. In music, a mistake is a mistake; the instrument is in
tune or not, the notes are well played or not, the entrance is made or not. It
is only by much hard work that a successful performance is possible. Through
music study, students learn the value of sustained effort to achieve excellence
and the concrete rewards of hard work.
8. Music study enhances teamwork skills and discipline. In
order for an orchestra to sound good, all players must work together harmoniously
towards a single goal, the performance, and must commit to learning music,
attending rehearsals, and practicing.
9. Music provides children with a means of self-expression.
Now that there is relative security in the basics of existence, the challenge
is to make life meaningful and to reach for a higher stage of development.
Everyone needs to be in touch at some time in his life with his core, with what
he is and what he feels. Self-esteem is a by-product of this self-expression.
10. Music study develops skills that are necessary in the
workplace. It focuses on "doing," as opposed to observing, and
teaches students how to perform, literally, anywhere in the world. Employers
are looking for multi-dimensional workers with the sort of flexible and supple
intellects that music education helps to create as described above. In the
music classroom, students can also learn to better communicate and cooperate
with one another.
11. Music performance teaches young people to conquer fear
and to take risks. A little anxiety is a good thing, and something that will
occur often in life. Dealing with it early and often makes it less of a problem
later. Risk-taking is essential if a child is to fully develop his or her
potential. Music contributes to mental health and can help prevent risky
behavior.
12. An arts education exposes children to the incomparable.
