Keep Music Education in Schools Essay - 1696 Words

Due to the declining economy, school boards around the country have decided to cut funding to the music education programs. It is necessary to keep music education in the American school system because it enhances the development of skills that children will use for the rest of their lives. Musical development can start as early as before birth. Hearing is the first sense that a baby acquires and it is acquired in utero (McCutcheon 1). The first sounds that a baby hears are the mother’s voice and her heartbeat (McCutcheon 1). These sounds are familiar to babies after they are born, which is why recordings of heartbeats are used to calm them (McCutcheon 1). After birth, a baby’s sense of hearing becomes sharper and they absorb many†¦show more content†¦Younger children can experience music by hearing it, feeling it, and by experimenting different pitches in their vocalizations (National Association for Music Education 2). Adults can encourage musical development in infants by singing to them, exposing them to different selections of music, and discussing music and its relations with expression and feeling (National Association for Music Education 2). Music can be encouraged by parents in different ways. Jim McCutcheon says, â€Å"We decided to play classical guitar music for him [unborn son] in utero through headphones placed on her abdomen, and he came into the world very familiar with guitar sounds, and this began a lifelong enjoyment of guitar music!† It is very common to hear of mothers playing or listening to music while pregnant and it is evident that the child heard and remembered the music (McCutcheon 2). After birth and through childhood, children can learn musical elements through fingerplays like â€Å"eensy weensy spider† and by singing songs and being bounced on a parent’s knee (McCutcheon 2). John Feierabend says, â€Å"Over the last 100 years, these two methods of interacting with children have disappea red from our music culture.† During ages 6-18 months, the dendrites in the brain are the most responsive to stimulation (McCutcheon 2). Lee Ann Kinner says, â€Å"This is the time when they [children] should be most actively stimulated not just with listening toShow MoreRelatedWhy Students Should Drop Out Of High School1268 Words   |  6 Pages Music Literacy in Schools High school literacy is linked to the high school dropout rate. While the high school dropout rates have declined over the past decade, the facts that influence this phenomenon continue to be consistent. There are multiple reasons for why students would drop out of high school. 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