Music Class is for EVERYONE!

November 29th, 1975 President Gerald Ford passed a law (IDEA) ensuring the rights for students with special needs to receive equal access to education. This law being passed was exhilarating allowing those students a place they deserve in the classroom. But past academic classes the access to the art programs as well was an amazing opportunity. Music classes in general provide an outlet for student expression, especially in the general music classroom (elementary school). Accommodations and modifications can be so easily made to ensure each student is able to participate, there have been many videos surfacing on YouTube of the success teachers are having in real time in the classroom. Students are able to take part in a multi-sensory experience, as many systems in the body work together to create music. Bottom line is no matter who walks in the music classroom will have a purpose.

Going into teaching soon a fear from my inexperience was working with students with special needs. But after I completed my field experience in an elementary general music classroom I learned how beneficial and simple this process could be for my students and myself. I got to see and befriend many

children who loved music class because they got to express themselves

Female teacher playing drum for 
elementary school kids. The children
are in a circle playing on paint buckets.

in a more unique setting. I remember one child who was nonverbal and always had a hard time with interaction in the classroom. He would stand in the corner before class started and sway back and forth. The teacher could tell that dancing was something he enjoyed so she made sure to include an educational dance song once every lesson. This child would completely come out of their shell and the other students in the classroom would interact more. It was a great experience for those students and you could tell he got some much joy out of that. Now there is more of a push due to the many benefits of having special education students in the general classroom and to be with more of their peers. The arts is a fundamental part of this process. Like I talked about in my last post regarding the reduction of music class time it is important to consider an aspect like this as well. Music education is so important, all of our kiddos need that experience.

Don't Cut Music Class Time, The Students Need It

For the past 2 decades the place of art programs and their allotted time within the school day has been a pressing topic. In 2003 there was talk of a cut but it was not to fully demolish the arts but to reduce their time majorly to give more instruction time for academic classes. Knox County Schools (KCS) has revisited this topic several times since and Knox News has begun to feature articles defending the arts and their place in schools. This reduction would be detrimental to students' musical education and achievement. There are more overlaps than one may consider between music and academics. Math is a huge component in music, counting and figuring out the precise counts of rhythms is like an equation. On top of that critical-thinking and problem-solving skills are of the utmost importance in music, students must listen and adjust to each other constantly. Is that not what we are emphasizing in our academic classrooms as well? Music programs also assist students with self-esteem, self-confidence, sense of accomplishment, discipline, and social skills. If we reduce the time of music classes we are blocking our students from this balanced education. These factors contribute to these well-rounded students we are trying to influence. There are correlations between students in music and their academic success, if we look at all the benefits of band classes we are constructing individuals with drive and passion to do well in school.

If our goal is to help raise our students to be highly educated and well-rounded individuals, the reduction of music class time will only be damaging. Aside from just talking about academics vs. the arts I feel it is important to mention how important the activity is to the students. My high school band program is the reason I had any motivation in school, I was not the smartest in the room when it came to academics so I normally felt pretty defeated.

Several students playing trumpet
in music class

But music classes allowed me to show who I was, I felt seen. Not only did I build upon my knowledge but I made lifelong friendships, memories, and it contributed to my happiness. Many students had another element to consider, and that is that the activity is an escape. There was a student in my band that on the last day of his senior year his parents left him a note saying they wanted nothing more to do with him, he was an adult now and could hold is own. My director let the student stay with him over the summer rent free, and then continued to help him move into his college dorm. If we cut band time would that relationship have been that strong? That is probably one story out of some many just about the community that music classes bring. The next time you have the opportunity to voice the important of the arts I hope you consider all the benefits. Students need music, end of story.