Lukas Stanley

Position Paper 2

Music is a force that permeates every culture and society on Earth, but what is it that

really makes it worth teaching in contemporary public school classrooms? Music Education has

a very relevant function within schools, communities, and society.

Music Education in schools teaches many skills that are valuable both to music

intrinsically, and with external applications. The most basic intrinsic value of learning music in

schools is in the propagation of music as an art which will continue a historic, global legacy.

However, there are a lot of ways in which music education is useful beyond just teaching music.

It teaches young people how to work collaboratively. The human species is, by nature, social, yet

in many ways very egocentric. Music teaches group cooperation with the goal of a refined end-

product. There is focus on individual proficiency as well as how that proficiency fits into

creating the bigger picture. It emphasizes very fine attention to detail, and developing skills

concerning effective listening and the generation of creative ideas. All of these can be applied to

almost any field in the workforce and other areas of life. These abilities are not as readily

obtained in most other course offered to children in the K-12 system, because most of those

courses focus most heavily on each individual acquiring a pre-determined set of information and

being able to recall that information. They are largely deficient in tasks concerning creative and

interpersonal engagement at the same level which is required by a music class that is

performance centered.

Music education in the public schools also has a very positive impact on a community,

when it is utilized to its fullest potential. For instance, a community can feel pride for its high

school marching band. It is a source of enjoyment and comradery in the public eye, as well as
providing music at social functions such as parades, sporting events, and festivals. Creating a

program that generates highly skilled musicians and quality music means the possibility of

providing music for many community oriented events. For example, a musical can be

accompanied by musicians who are students, string quartets can be hired out for local weddings

and other intimate gatherings, and benefit concerts can bring the community together around a

common goal that can advantageous to the community. Few other disciplines within the public

school curriculum are as much in the public eye as music education. Many community members

already believe in the importance of music education as well according to a 2003 Gallup poll

which states that 79% of 1,005 survey participants believed music education should be mandated

in public schools, and 95% believed it to be a key part of a well-balanced curriculum. When the

community has a positive experience related to the music being taught in the schools, it reflects

well on the school system, the administrators, and on the students, which will inspire members of

the community to continue their support of not just music education, but all education in the

schools.

Finally, Music education is important in society at large. Music, in one way or another,

influences almost everyone. Whether they listen to it while they jog, at work, or while they relax,

many people enjoy music and can speak about it ways that express personal preferences or

understanding of musical ideas. This is not limited to just classical music, popular music, or

any one kind of music. New music is always being created, and old music is always being

replicated and performed, in some fashion, whether that is an orchestra playing a Beethoven

symphony or a garage band covering an 80s hit. Because music is so permeated through our

culture, it can be assumed that as a society, we have deemed music valuable to some degree,

likely due to the emotional response that it elicits in many people. At a very basic level, this is
exactly why we need music education: to keep something alive that is valuable. In order to do

this, public schools play the vital role of introducing music to the population, and in that process

inspiring a few to go on and shape the music of that generation while giving understanding to

those that dont go on to pursue a career in music.

In conclusion, music education is a vital component of education in contemporary

Western education because of the social skills it teaches, the furthering of a historic musical

lineage, its role in bringing a community together, and because music is valuable and enjoyable.

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