Your School Music Programs - Has It Been Cut Back?
Your School Music Programs
Hopefully, you live in a school district that has not had to cut back on their school music programs. This is not the case for many schools, as some very good programs have had to be cut back, or cut out all together. This is a shame, as not only is music fun for children, it is also something that can help them with their learning. If you fear the programs in your school are going to be cut, you should have your say when it comes time for the decision to be made by the school board.
Even school districts that tend to have a better budget than others have problems with school music programs. I know that my daughter goes to a great public school that is in a rather high earning small city. Her art classes, along with some of the music programs, have been cut down. They have one teacher doing the job of two or three in each category, and that means smaller class times. Once person is now at three elementary schools when they could spend all of their time in just one school.
Some school music programs still offer what is known to most kids as music class. This is where they learn about music and do a lot of singing, and they may experiment with some instruments like percussion items or recorders. This may be tied with the school chorus programs. Of all the school music programs, these may be the safest. However, there are many instrumental programs that are being cut down, and that is when the students are going to suffer. Less instruments are available for children to learn with, and the teachers just don’t have the time to teach those with their own instruments as they have had in the past.
Some schools still have their instrumental school music programs, but they have been cut back. You may notice the marching and concert bands are much smaller in size than they use to be. You may see programs like jazz band, or other specialty bands, disappear all together. Some schools have been hit so hard that they have had to eliminate school music programs completely. This usually goes hand in hand with other cuts like arts and even physical education.
Some don’t flinch when such cuts are made to school music programs, but there are some things that they do not understand. The most important is that the rhythm that is found in music aids the brain in learning. Children who are into music are better in school. It is also something that gives children a break through the day when all other classes are very serious and can be very stressful. Both are beneficial to the learning process and will give children an edge throughout high school and college.
