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TOP TEN ADVOCACY POINTS FOR PARENTS
Music Education Advocacy Resources on amazon.com
1. In a 2000 survey, 73 percent of respondents agree that teens who play an instrument are less likely to have discipline problems.
– Americans Love Making Music – And Value Music Education More Highly Than Ever, American Music Conference, 2000.
2. Students who can perform complex rhythms can also make faster and more precise corrections in many academic and physical situations, according to the Center for Timing, Coordination, and Motor Skills
– Rhythm seen as key to music’s evolutionary role in human intellectual development, Center for Timing, Coordination, and Motor Skills, 2000.
3. A ten-year study indicates that students who study music achieve higher test scores, regardless of socioeconomic background.
– Dr. James Catterall, UCLA.
4. A 1997 study of elementary students in an arts-based program concluded that students’ math test scores rose as their time in arts education classes increased.
– “Arts Exposure and Class Performance,” Phi Delta Kappan, October, 1998.
5. First-grade students who had daily music instruction scored higher on creativity tests than a control group without music instruction.
– K.L. Wolff, The Effects of General Music Education on the Academeic Achievement, Perceptual-Motor Development, Creative Thinking, and School Attendance of First-Grade Children, 1992.
6. In a Scottish study, one group of elementary students received musical training, while another other group received an equal amount of discussion skills training. After six (6) months, the students in the music group achieved a significant increase in reading test scores, while the reading test scores of the discussion skills group did not change.
– Sheila Douglas and Peter Willatts, Journal of Research in Reading, 1994.
7. According to a 1991 study, students in schools with arts-focused curriculums reported significantly more positive perceptions about their academic abilities than students in a comparison group.
– Pamela Aschbacher and Joan Herman, The Humanitas Program Evaluation, 1991.
8. Students who are rhythmically skilled also tend to better plan, sequence, and coordinate actions in their daily lives.
– “Cassily Column,” TCAMS Professional Resource Center, 2000.
9. In a 1999 Columbia University study, students in the arts are found to be more cooperative with teachers and peers, more self-confident, and better able to express their ideas. These benefits exist across socioeconomic levels.
– The Arts Education Partnership, 1999.
10. College admissions officers continue to cite participation in music as an important factor in making admissions decisions. They claim that music participation demonstrates time management, creativity, expression, and open-mindedness.
– Carl Hartman, “Arts May Improve Students’ Grades,” The Associated Press, October, 1999.
Compiled by Children's Music Workshop
I'M A PARENT...HOW CAN I HELP?
As parents, we see the word advocacy all the time. But sometimes it is difficult to know what a parent can do. Perhaps more importantly, it's tough to know what we should do! How do we know when it's time to advocate for school arts programs?
The easiest answer is . . . It is ALWAYS time to advocate for our school arts programs. Why? Because we live in a culture that places the arts on the fringe. We know that when it's time for budget cuts, the arts are almost universally identified as a place for potential reductions. We also know that if we are proactive in our support for the arts, we can dramatically decrease the likelihood that music will be targeted for cuts. We can stand prepared to speak against such cuts at the earliest stages of the discussion, rather than when it is almost too late.
Being proactive as an advocate means . . .
1. Speaking positively about the arts with our friends, neighbors, students and teachers. Negative comments and criticisms don't build strong music programs. In fact, they usually undermine the efforts of even the best teachers. Be a cheerleader for music. If you have a legitimate concern, try to work through it with the teacher.
2. Paying attention to the decision-making processes in our school district. Most Boards of Education post their meeting agendas and minutes online. It only takes a minute to check the agenda and see whether there are issues under discussion that will affect the arts.
3. Asking your student's arts teacher if there are areas that need advocacy. Parents don't always know all the behind-the-scenes policies that affect their child's music education. Sometimes the arts teacher's hands are tied by the budget, the attitude of administrators or a fellow teacher's unwillingness to "share" students. Many times a parent can say something to an administrator that a teacher cannot. But it is important to ask the music teacher first in order to gain a clear, complete picture of what is happening at the school and how you can help.
4. Attending performances, testifying at board of education meetings, gathering like-minded supporters on a facebook group, etc. The decision-makers in the school district are less likely to cut music if they know that there is already strong community support for keeping it in the curriculum.
National Association of Music Parents - www.amparents.org
Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network - www.kennedy-center.org/education/kcaaen/
Americans for the Arts - www.artsusa.org
NAfME: The National Association for Music Education - www.menc.org/resources/view/music-education-advocacy-central
Support Music.Com: NAMM Foundation - www.nammfoundation.org/support-music
VH-1 Save the Music Foundation - www.vh1savethemusic.com
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