A Personal Philosophy of Music Education
Few would argue against the idea that we educate ourselves and our society so that we have adequate means with which to understand and interact with elements of the world around us. Subjects such as mathematics, language, history, and the hard sciences are granted immediate and unquestioned legitimacy in our schools, and with good reason. We encounter each of these elements of our lives on a daily basis. We need to have an understanding of these disciplines in order to interact with them, otherwise they are meaningless to us. I submit that the same can be said for the fundamental concepts of music. Music is something that we encounter in our society every day. It surrounds us. Indeed it would be practically impossible to escape. Like so many other naturally occurring phenomena, a discipline has been developed over centuries to help us interact with music, and that discipline is what I and those of my profession are charged with teaching.
Before addressing the need for music instruction in our schools I would like to briefly examine the need for education of any kind. Education is a means of making sure our society has a given set of knowledge. The set of knowledge we perceive ourselves as needing changes based on our surroundings and the issues we are dealing with. In American education's early history we perceived ourselves as needing a set of knowledge that included a common language and common view of history, as well as knowledge of those things with which we would interact every day. In many ways early public education was more a means of social control than an altruistic endeavor. In today's climate we see ourselves as having more diverse needs in our education...
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...ure we have a musically literate society. There are many more examples of this commitment throughout our history.
Essentially I believe that in today's society music literacy is a necessary skill for us all to have to successfully encounter and interact with the world around us. Reasons for teaching music as a school subject are consistent with the reasons that we educate ourselves about anything else. Furthermore, we have shown a commitment in the past to creating a musically literate society, and events in today's world only strengthen the need to continue that commitment.
Works Cited
Lebuta, Joseph A. & Smith, Deborah A. Music Education: Historical Contexts and Perspectives. (1997) Upper Saddle River, NJ. Prentice Hall.
Lehman, Paul R. et all. The School Music Program: A New Vision. (1994). Reston, VA. Music Educators National Conference.
Throughout history music has played an important role in society, whether it was Mozart moving people with his newest opera or the latest album from the Beatles. Where would society be today without music? With schools cutting their music programs, the next Mozart may not get his chance to discover his amazing talent. Music programs are essential to education. To fully understand this one must understand how music helps the human body, why schools have cut music programs, and why people should learn music.
Sheftel, B. (2002). Music Education Curriculum in Public Schools. PageWise, Inc, Retrieved August 6, 2003
In Aristotle’s Politics he discusses several different parameters in which music can be experienced in. He observes music in an educational aspect, a moral aspect, and in a political aspect. In each subject Aristotle breaks his observations of music down into two categories: is it being taught and used solely for pleasure and/or leisure or is it being taught and used for solely educational and/or business purposes? Out of all of these topics that have been observed and analyzed by Aristotle I am going to use the observations that Aristotle has compiled, my personal music experiences/case as a music major, and how music pertains in today’s current society to refute the ideas that Aristotle presented in The Politics concerning music and education
Music plays a major role in life for most people. It can soothe and excite, encourage sleep and encourage dancing, we can sing to it and ponder it. There are so many different uses of music and so many mediums through which to play it such as Pandora, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Beyond that, more songs every day there are new songs being written. Statistics show that ninety-five percent of all Americans think that music is a core part of a balanced and well-rounded education. The same study showed that ninety-three percent of Americans thought music belonged in the public schooling system, and seventy-nine percent even suggested that music education should be mandatory for all students. Still, studies show that a staggering twenty percent of high school students choose
With school budget cuts, and no music instruments, more and more people are beginning to realize the benefits of having music in education. Providing music as part of education helps develop intelligence that leads to greater success in school and in life. Everyone from VH1 Save The Music to The National Association For Music Education agree that, “Every student in the nation should have an education in the arts.” These two companies are doing everything they can to get out the information about music, and the importance of resorting music education as part of the core curriculum.
Steven, Kelly, N. (2002). A Sociological Basis For Music Education. International Journal of Music Education. 43. Pp. 40-49
By providing students with the opportunities to pursue their musical interests, schools are creating environments that foster twenty-first century skills. These skills i...
middle of paper ... ... Music was not taught in the high school I was in. To satisfy my interest in learning about music and how to play musical instruments, I had to find a source of education other than school; a great depiction in agreement with Graff’s claim that students are being limited by not considering their interests when creating curricula (Graff 197). In conclusion, education is broader than just falling into what the contemporary school system has to offer. Both Gatto and Graff proved this by explaining how conforming students to certain perspectives of education limits their potential in other educational branches that interest the students.
Many public schools offer music education as part of their curriculum. Although these classes are required, many schools choose not to allocate enough money into the music programs in favor of better scores on standard tests. Recently there have been many strides to strengthen the importance of music education.
...ls. There is so much that can be gained from arts education. It is imperative that music and art education remains in public schools. Because, even though it has been said many times before, the fact remains that the arts enrich us all.
Simpson, J.R. (2002, November). Energy and Buildings, Improved Estimates of tree-shade effects on residential energy use. ScienceDirect, 34(10), 1067–1076. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378778802000282
The beginnings of today's green revolution can be traced back to the environmental awareness of the 1960s and European design. New construction techniques have lead to the development of innovative materials and design concepts. Green buildings are designed, constructed and commissioned to ensure they are healthy for their occupants. Successfully designed green projects can involve an extensive array of factors, ranging from the resourceful use of materials, to careful consideration of function, climate, and location.
Sustainable buildings are becoming somewhat of a necessity in the world today. As the demand for green building develops, so does the demand for green building materials. Just as the old techniques and building materials seem to disappear in the assembly of things, they are now making a come back. Green building focuses on the efficiency of major resources like water and energy. As the cost for sustainable materials and products are on the decline, building green seems to be the most cost effective kind of design and construction. Looking specifically at green materials and their impact on the production of structures, it is evident that they are a prime choice for building material. The use of green materials should be promoted because they are better for the environment, more healthful for the consumer, and better for the economy.
Green Building may be defined as the processes of planning, designing, constructing and operating a building, while taking into consideration: the quality of the indoor environment, selection of the materials used, the way of using energy and water and the effect of the building on the site.
Firstly and foremost, public diplomacy is the better way in development of the international relations which is the way that the government and citizens and groups influence directly or indirectly using attitudes and opinions which is directly bear on another government’s foreign policy decisions including communication, information and propaganda. And the main purpose of the public policy is to have an influence over the decision of foreign government by shaping their citizens attitude. It is the diversity of ideas that create an attitudes and opinion toward other nations. On the other hand, for the nation to maintain a good public diplomacy, there is a need to build a positive image for its nation in order to be more advantageous in ...