The Universal Language of Music: Why Music is Important in Education

This capstone project focused on the need for increasing music opportunities in schools and the ways in which it increases literacy, particularly in an English Language Learners (ELL) classroom, where increasing English literacy is so vital. After interviewing a district music director, a high school English language development director, and a high school ELL teacher, three action options emerged as ways to provide more music in high school ELL classrooms. Based on the findings, an action was undertaken to help secondary teachers incorporate more music into their daily curriculum. UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF MUSIC 3 The Universal Language of Music: Why Music is Important in Education I have been singing for as long as I can remember. Music has always had a big influence on my life. It has gotten me through heartbreaks, relationship problems, fights with my parents, loneliness, and celebrations. It can pump you up before the big game, make you dance the night away, or console you in isolation. My childhood would have been a totally different experience without music. I loved the singing programs in school, learning to play the guitar is 4th grade and the flute in 6th grade. Choir became my peace in high school. Music was the only thing I was ever good at. I tried to play sports, but I really was not very good at them, and realized in high school, that I was contributing more to the team by not playing, then by playing. When asked what my talents are, singing is the only thing I name. Later on in life, my passions became singing and children. I loved having children, helping them learn, assisting them in finding their passions and encouraging them to be the best humans they can be. I continued to sing in choirs and surround myself with musician friends and live music. I also decided that I wanted to be a teacher and spread my love of children and music to make a difference in this world. After completing two years of schooling, I found out that I had thyroid cancer. My thyroid would need to be removed. The doctor explained that the vocal nerves are wrapped very close to the thyroid and when removing the thyroid there is risk of vocal damage or even losing your voice altogether, being left with only the ability to whisper. This possibility was devastating to me. Would I still be the same person if I no longer had a voice? I decided to not let this hold me back from the things that I wanted to do. I had the surgery over winter break, and was back in UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF MUSIC 4 school when the next semester started, and waited for summer break to do my radiation treatment. Luckily, although it did have some effect on my voice, I can still talk and sing. In continuing my education, I have focused a lot of study on the correlation between music and learning. The more I learned about the benefits of music and how it has connections to cognitive and language development, the more I was convinced that I was meant to be a teacher and use music to reach my students and enhance their learning. Music is more than a passion. It has helped me deal with many emotions in life. It can also help children deal with their emotions and outlook on life. On top of that, it has many proven benefits that can aid children’s learning and development of language and literacy. Music is a universal language that connects people. I am convinced that teachers should integrate music into their classrooms and that the children will all benefit from it. Literature Review ​Literacy can be defined as the ability to read and write proficiently. Literacy is the core to learning. Without the ability to read and write, learning will be difficult for all other subjects as well. Schools should use methods with proven benefits to improve literacy. When the University of London rolled out the Literacy through Music program (Bloom, 2012), there was unequivocal improvement in the literacy of the children that participated. In contrast, there was no notable improvement in the control group that did not participate in the Literacy through Music program (Bloom, 2012). Music increases literacy. In schools with high numbers of English Language Learners (ELL), English literacy is especially low. English Language Learners are those students who are learning the English Language in addition to his or her native language. According to an article in ​The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, ​only 4% of eighth grade ELLs and 20% of UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF MUSIC 5 students classified as “formerly ELL” scored at the proficient or advanced levels for reading on the 2005 National Assessment (Anonymous, 2007). Schools need to increase the opportunity for music education and incorporate it into the literacy curriculum. The problem is that in a school system that is constantly under pressure with budget cuts, music is often one of the first programs cut. Why is it an opportunity? ​Historically, music in education dates back to 1717 when the first singing school was introduced. In 1837, the first public school was established in Boston, then called “common school”. That same year, Mason, with three of his assistants approached the Boston school board and offered free singing classes in public schools. In 1838, music was declared a regular subject and Mason and his assistants were hired as teachers (K12 Academics, 2017). At the Yale Symposium in 1963, music professionals and education professionals gathered due to concerns about the music teaching in education. Educators were criticized for the lack of education that children were receiving that did not prepare them to expand their music education in college. The final report gave recommendations in many areas that included: Musicality development, music as literature, performing abilities, and teacher training. This sparked the beginning of many programs. As a response to that symposium, there was another gathering, the Tanglewood Symposium in 1967. This resulted in the “Tanglewood Declaration” that called for music to be included in education curriculum, and listed eight agreed upon standards (Boston University, 2007). Some examples of these standards are: 1) Music serves best when its integrity as an art is maintained, 2) Music of all periods, styles, forms, and cultures belong in the curriculum, 3) schools should provide adequate time for music in programs ranging from UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF MUSIC 6 preschool through continuing education, and the last example is standard 7) The music education profession must contribute its skills, proficiencies and insights toward assisting in the solution of urgent social problems as in the “inner city” or other areas with culturally deprived individuals. Currently, the National Standards for Music Education include three artistic processes: creating, performing and responding. Within these three processes are 11 common anchors. These anchors give students the opportunity to imagine, plan and make, present, evaluate and refine, and interpret music (NAfME, 2018). Figure 1 shows the current National Core Art Standards. NATIONAL​CORE ​ARTS​STANDARDS Dance, Media Arts, Music, Theatre And Visual Arts Creating Performing/ Presenting/ Producing Responding A process that guides educators in providing a unified quality arts education for students in Pre-K through high school. Anchor Standard #1. Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work. Anchor Standard #2. Organize and develop artistic ideas and work. Anchor Standard #3. Refine and complete artistic work. Anchor Standard #4. Select, analyze and interpret artistic work for presentation. Anchor Standard #5. Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation. Anchor Standard #6. Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work. Anchor Standard #7. Perceive and analyze artistic work. Anchor Standard #8. Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work. Anchor Standard #9. Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work. Anchor Standard #10. Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art. Anchor Standard #11. Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding. Figure 1. National Core Art Standards. State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (SEADAE). (2014). Retrieved from ​https://www.nationalartsstandards. org/ UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF MUSIC 7 Unfortunately, due to budget cuts determined by each state, music education is disappearing at a rapid rate. Niles(2013), author and documentarian, states that according to the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) music education funding is down about 20 percent since 2001. Public schools are no longer able to afford all of the elements of a liberal education, so they are abandoning arts, starting with music. Music is seen as expensive, non-essential and is not on “the test” that is being taught to. This trend undervalues the benefits of music, and leaves poor students, and emotionally disturbed students without access to the value of music on development as well as vital life skills (Niles, 2013). Figure 2 shows the decline for arts education, including music, for minorities between 1982 and 2008. Figure 2. Trend of Declining Music Education for Minorities. Reprinted from ​Arts education in America: What the declines mean for arts participation, ​by Rabkin, N. , & Helberg, E.C. , 2011, February 4, retrieved from​ ​https://www​. ​arts.gov​. U.S. Department of Education Secretary, Arne Duncan (2010) said this: UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF MUSIC 8 In America, we do not reserve arts education for privileged students or the elite. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds, students who are English language learners, and students with disabilities often do not get the enrichment experiences of affluent students anywhere except at school. President Obama recalls that when he was a child ‘you always had an art teacher and a music teacher. Even in the poorest school districts everyone had access to music and other arts. ’ Tod