We see in the paper that the Central Kitsap School Board is asking the hard question of whether to eliminate music from the regular curriculum. In these days of tough academic standards and the ever increasing importance of WASL scores combined with tighter money and increased public scrutiny of the school board's every move, we think it is great that they are asking the tough questions. Music is very mathematical in nature. In learning music theory, he doesn't even realize that he is learning mathematics while having all of that fun. Study after study have shown that kids with strong musical skills do better in math.
Music enriches our lives.
There is more to education than WASL scores. What a tragedy it would be if everyone grew up to be an engineer or an accountant. Yes, we need engineers and accountants but there is not an engineer within everyone. We were both given the opportunity to take band when we were in school and we found it to be very personally enriching. It has made as large an impact on our personal fulfillment as has our reading, writing, and math skills.