In Here Comes the Boom, Scott Voss (Kevin James), a biology teacher, steps in to save the music program which is in jeopardy because of budget cuts. Voss, being a wrestler in high school, took up martial arts to help his friend Marty keep his job. Starting in fights where chickens are running around, going all the way to the UFC Championship, Voss gives his all to save something so important to students in his class. While this storyline may seem like a made up concept, and not every biology teacher is a secret martial arts fighter, moreover music programs get cut all the time due to the lack of school fundings. Recently released Tuesday January 30, 2018, President Trump is planning to reduce school budgets by $9.2 billion dollars (Kamenetz). …show more content…
That is money that will make school boards cut programs and extracurricular activities, like music because they are not core classes where standardized testing keeps them locked in place. While taking music classes, students score 19% higher in english than students who do not take any music courses (Bryant). But those standardized tests for the core subjects put music programs at risk for being removed from the school budget. While some school boards argue that cutting music programs is necessary due to budget restrictions, schools should not cut music programs because music helps with a students personal pride, improves self-confidence in their abilities, strengthens their other courses, relieve stress, and relate us to other countries in the world. First, when learning how to sing or play an instrument, it is difficult to get started.
Once this is accomplished, students gain personal pride in achieving this new skill. Music programs offer lots of chances for students to develop new talents, whether that is playing an instrument or singing a song. “Music programs in public schools help to foster a student’s sense of pride and self-confidence” (Hoffman 1), and with this newfound pride, students will develop more experience in other areas, like working with others and communicating with different people. Music plays an active role in student’s lives, and as core subject grades begin to rise, “music education remains a key component in a student’s academic success and in positive social and emotional growth” (Hoffman 1). Music forms dignity in a students abilities, offering to give the students a chance to develop their communication and social skills in a safe environment, and give themselves positive feelings about their accomplishments. Without music programs in schools, students will have less pride in their abilities and will not let them gain that safe environment to achieve these experiences with …show more content…
music. Second, music helps build self-confidence in students. And while music helps with students self-confidence, “music programs [can] also show effects on student motivation — apparently because students tend to enjoy music and [will] feel a sense of accomplishment when they become proficient with a musical instrument and with ensemble performances” (Catterall). With this motivation from learning a musical chord or note, confidence will grow in students and allow them to be more comfortable performing or speaking in front of a crowd or community. Self-confidence can also be gained by creative achievements, and “[in] a school district without the arts many students without an outlet for the creative capabilities and without options for expression of their talents” (Dickson) cannot express their own thoughts and opinions. Self-confidence helps improve a student’s abilities, constituting that cutting music programs is something that everyone should be against, including the school boards who get rid of it. Thirdly, Core subjects in schools can be strengthened by students taking music programs. Found in an experiment, “[there is] a strong relationship between sustained involvement in instrumental music across middle and high school and high level math proficiency in grade 12, particularly for students from the lowest income families” (Catterall). With this development, grades in math, a core subject, goes up because of music. Core subjects like math, english, and science will always be safe because of standardized testing, and while schools need these core subjects, it only adds more pressure to the students. Studies show that “students in top-quality instrumental programs scored 17% higher in mathematics than children in schools without a music program” (Bryant) because with the less rigorous classes, they can focus harder on their other core subject classes. Finding a way to keep music programs in the curriculum will help keep a students stress levels from getting to an unhealthy point. When music programs are cut and there is no longer music to relieve stress from the academic load, students will fall under the pressure, which is not healthy for them. When “schools are under tremendous amount of pressure to perform [well] on those tests,” (Hammp) it is tougher to branch out from the core subjects and take other electives. With high schoolers having to take standard tests like ISTEP and the SATs, they are under a huge amount of pressure. When choosing classes, “‘it really takes a leader with a lot of foresight and, frankly, a lot of guts to include other subjects in the curriculum when their livelihood is being tested’” (Hammp) because there are so many core classes students have to take it is hard to fit the others in. It is difficult to get in the extracurricular classes because students have to worry about how it will help them when it is time for a standardized test that will help them get into college. When they do fit in those non-core subjects into their schedule, their stress goes down. Music helps relieve some of the stress as a healthy outlet. Lastly, music is a language that can break through speech barriers because it is something that everyone understands. “Music crosses language, class, cultural, and political boundaries to share humanity through its beauty” (Hoffman) and it helps people from Russia or China to relate to people in America or Germany. Music is a unique way to learn about those different cultures around the world by having a hands on learning experience instead of reading it in a book. Learning how to sing in a different language gives a sense of accomplishment to students who have learned the music and mastered the song. Music can create “relationships between musical experience and emotion, and between our auditory and visual systems” (Catterall) and those bonds between people can last a lifetime. Cutting music programs gets rid of a key component to relating Americans to other parts of the world and vise versa. There are reasons schools have to cut music programs.
The budget for schools were reduced from $68.2 billion dollars to $59.0 billion in one year. With a $9.2 billion dollar cut in budget, schools will have to have sacrifices, and “with current state standardized testing and requirements for academic standards, core curricular classes will always be safe” (Dickson) music programs are the first to go. Music programs are not courses that get tested in, so they are not seen as an important factor to school boards. But when classes that do not have the rigor of other subjects they are not seen as crucial to the academics of a student. With the funds cut for schools, and the money still needed for books and paychecks for teachers, there are other ways to earn money for extracurricular activities like band or choir. “While music programs saw an average budget increase of 11 percent during the 1994-95 year, more than half of that now comes from outside fundraising” (Archer), like car washes, coupon cards, and bake sales. While band and choir take up lots of funds, for instruments, uniforms or robes, and trips the group may go on, fundraising takes most of the costs away. With fundraising, costs for music programs will not be as much as they would be without it. The students get more out of fundraising than they would with it being just a class where they studied and got homework. Music gives them ways to actively see what it is like to perform in front of the community as well as
compete in state competitions. While the school boards and others in opposition may argue that music does little to educate young minds, there is lots of evidence pointing towards music being beneficial for students. Music programs should not be cut because they give students the chance to gain qualities like self-confidence, personal pride, strengthened core courses, less stress, and connections to other cultures. Without these programs, there would not be the connections to other parts of the world, and there would be one less way to help relieve stress. Music has been apart of history for all the stages of human history. Without music, we would not have our National Anthem, school fight songs, or to listen to. Music is something anyone can learn, something that can be taught, instead of athletics where most naturally excel at. Anyone can be a musician, it is something easily taught. Music is the only language that makes sense to everyone all around the world. It crosses language barriers that bring people together without having them to both speak english or french. Music connects others in a way that speech, the written word, or actions cannot. Music is something felt inside of oneself and it is inside everyone. Cutting music programs gets rid of people unique voice and revoking that right from a student’s education is unjust and inexcusable. Music programs should not be the first to be cut when budget cuts are needed.
Research by Benny Andrews Andrews wanted to express black experience through his art, but he found it a very difficult thing to do. He was using nonfigurative expressionism, which became a personal movement for him. Andrews wanted to convey himself in a different way from other artists in order to create his own exclusive personality. I think his works are delicate, and cherished. He is a visual artist, writer, and teacher.
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.
There have been many studies done to find how music influences a child’s development. The College Entrance Examination Board discovered that students who took music appreciation classes had higher verbal and math scores than those who did not take the classes. (Stephens 2003) The U.S. Department of Education found that in 25,000 secondary schools, students who were highly involved in the music program did much better in math than any other students. (Stephens 2003) These studies and more have found that involvement in music increases chi...
Scott Momaday is an author that uses his roots to weave enchanting stories that reach into the heart of things that we ordinarily overlook. He uses nature as an instrument, to illustrate the beauty in the simple, nearly forgotten knowledge of the Native American people. His stories are rich with meaning, but in a subtle way that only really makes sense once you have experienced the same type of search for self. They are steeped in the oral traditions of his ancestors to make supremely compelling stories with layers upon layers of culture and knowledge that are easily relatable and understandable.
Cuts to education have been happening over the past four years. Teachers over the past 4 years have been nervous wondering if they will have a job to come back to the following fall and when they do come back they see an increased size in their classrooms. I recently spoke to an art teacher from the Dysart school
Since 2008, approximately 80% of school districts in America have experienced cuts within their arts budget (Metla, 2015). Legislation at the federal and state levels have enabled these drastic and controversial cuts. No Child Left Behind enforced Common Core standards ensured t...
In February 2010 Chicago Public Schools (CPS) reported their shockingly large budget deficit which will affect the 2010 / 2011 school year. The decreased state funding, increased salary and benefit costs, and the increase of operational costs for Chicago Public schools leaves a deficit of $700 - $900 millions dollars. This deficit of funds will have drastic affects on teachers including teacher and staff layoffs, school closings, and loss of teacher benefits. More importantly the effects of budgetary issues hits hard on our students’ increase the inequities of especially poor urban schools. These children have nothing to do with poor management of the funds for their basic right of an equal and highly performing education. There are an increased number of dilapidated school buildings, an increased number of charter schools, and a loss of afterschool programs such as music and sport activities, minimal school supplies, no transportat...
And there has to be - if they’re going to come up and be responsible human beings, that have to have education and the things like everyone else has. And the society has to accommodate that. So I guess I’ve always been an activist because of them.” In 1972, Roach started to teach at the University of Massachusetts as a full-time professor of music due to the shifting music climate at the time. What makes his style unique is that he sees a melody in a drumset.
Many schools consider art, music, and physical education programs ‘fluff’ classes, which is why when schools are looking for a place to save money those are some of the programs that are first to go. Claire Suggs, Senior Education Policy Analysts for the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, found that “about 42 percent of districts are reducing or eliminating art or music programs and 62 percent are eliminating elective courses” (“Cutting Class” #1). Art and music programs should not be cut because they allow students to explore their creativity and improve problem solving skills. On the
“Recent studies show that being involved in music classes makes it easier to learn other subjects and improve skills in other classrooms” (Brown, “The Benefits of Music Education”). A lot of people tend to overlook how much music education has an impact on the success of a student. Because of this, schools should be required to offer fine arts and music classes as electives for the students. Not only will this improve the students test scores, but it will also give the students a broader imagination and more creativity in and out of the classroom. In a lot of schools, fine arts and musical classes are the first to go when there are budget cuts. “Seventy-one percent of the nation’s fifteen thousand school districts have cut instructional hours spent on music and other subjects” (“State of the arts: should music and art classes be brushed aside”). Not only is it affecting the teachers who have specialized in the study of fine arts, it is affecting all of the students and parents who are actively involved in these programs. “Johnson, professor of music education and music therapy and associate dean of the School of Fine Arts at KU, found jumps of twenty-two percent in English test scores and twenty percent in math scores at elementary schools with superior music education” (Lynch “Music Boosts Test Scores”). With that being said, schools should be required to offer music and fine arts classes as an elective for their students.
Much too often in America today, modern music and art programs in schools are perceived to many as extracurricular activities rather than important subjects that are vital to a students learning and skill development. The truth of the matter is that encouraging music and art education in public schools has a much larger impact on student’s grades, academic performance, and the economy than the majority people realize. Within the next year city school budgets will be dropping by twenty five percent, and despite the fact that music and art programs have been showing a dramatic contribution to student’s learning, this substantial drop in funding for the programs will lead to no dedicated money for art or music programs (Mezzacappa). There is no doubt that a cut in funding for art programs will take a huge toll on students overall grades and test scores. Research has found that the studying of music and art facilitates learning in other subjects and enhances children’s skills in other areas (Brown). Furthermore, providing students with a creative outlet can do great justice in reducing the stress from many other classes and even offer insight for students in possible career paths involving the art field. The art industry today currently supports 4.1 million full-time jobs (Dorfman). By increasing the funding of music and art programs for students preschool through twelfth grade we can see a dramatic increase in the education of children across the United States, assist with skill development in young students, and greatly benefit the economy at the same time.
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
The Importance of Arts Education Jane Alexander, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), once said, “Many children are missing out on something which gives their education context, gives their lives depth and meaning, and prepares them to be the future workforce.” This “something” that she spoke of is music and art education. Unfortunately, she is entirely correct. We are currently seeing a dramatic cut in arts education curriculum in our public schools due to the limited amount of time and funding. In many cases, budget cutbacks mean arts education cutbacks.
Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Without music, life would be a mistake”. Music is almost as old as the human race and is as much a part of it as anything. So why would anyone choose to get rid of it? An Increasing number of schools across the nation are deciding to cut music education programs. This includes band, orchestra, choir, and general music classes. In 1991, 55.4 percent of public school eighth-graders took part in music classes at school. In 2004, this figure was just 49.1 percent. Money plays a huge role in this statistic: “...when funds are scarce, arts courses are usually the first to be dropped from a school’s curriculum” (“Arts Education”). While many argue that music education is an unnecessary cost for schools, it improves student’s overall well being.
The Scottish cartoonist responsible for presenting adults with a revolutionary science fiction comic book in the form of Jeff Hawke is Sydney Jordan. It was through this art form that he was able to inject fantasy into the mundane lives that most adults are accustomed to. Born and bred in Dundee, Scotland, Sydney Jordan grew up in a city where the publishing house D.C. Thomson released a plethora of comic books every week. Jordan’s memories of his childhood are consumed by the comic books he read in those days and the joyful and spirited conversations he had with his father about them.