Music in the Classroom

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Music in the Classroom

In Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences there are eight main intelligences of varying degrees in every person. In schools today linguistic and logical intelligences are most strongly stressed leaving the other intelligences to be used outside the classroom. Sometimes even scheduled time for the usage of other intelligences is ignored: “Often teachers even let pupils do their homework in the periods that are assigned to class music while they occupy themselves with other activities such as completing the attendance register,” (Van der Lind 610). Music is one of these six intelligences, left to being used outside the classroom, and forgotten within, with the ability to connect students to learning in a different manner than through direct linguistic or logical connections. An improvement in teaching must be made to allow students another pathway to connect to topics and the current curriculum should be changed to include the musical intelligence as this pathway. Teaching styles would also have to be changed to include a more music oriented style of learning. This change should be made smoothly starting with the youngest children, and completely changing the teaching styles and curriculum before students can learn the current style of teaching.

Teachers of young children have learned most of their teaching methods over time just from working with the students. The most predominating theme is: “Play and music are related activities and are important for the child's development to a well-rounded adult. It is therefore very important that music and play should be included in the early childhood curriculum” (Van der Lind 610). These teachers have learned through working w...

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...the flag has or what Bernoulli’s principle means. Though by no means is incorporating music the cheapest way of instructing children, it has potential to be the most effective method for the amount of money spent. The gains from teaching children music are so immense, every other current method of teaching, though important and necessary, pales in comparison to music.

Works Cited

1. Adolphe, Bruce. “With Music in Mind.” The Origins of Creativity. Ed. Karl H. Pfenninger, and Valerie R. Shubik. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. 69-88.

2. Brualdi, Amy. “Gardner's Theory.” Teacher Librarian, Nov 1998 v26 i2 p26(1).

3. “Learning keys: music may give kids' minds a head start.” Prevention, Feb 1994 v46 n2 p24(2).

4. Ch Van Der Linde. “The Relationship Between Play and Music in Early Childhood: Educational Insights.” Education Summer 1999: v119 i4 p610

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