Music education programs vital in elementary schools

Plato once said, "Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and charm and gaiety to life and to everything." Not only do I agree with Plato, I also believe music is essential to becoming a fully educated individual. 

Music education can benefit people, especially young children, in a variety of ways. Music possesses the ability to stimulate creativity, provide relaxation, create an outlet for emotion, and provide development for cognitive skills. Without experiencing music through education, individuals miss out on its positive benefits. Therefore, I believe all public school students across the United States deserve to take a music class. Though critics argue that music education is too expensive and not as important as more conventional subjects such as math and science, they must consider the advantages students lose when they do not receive music education. 

I was fortunate enough to have music education in public elementary school. I was able to learn about music by listening and creating my own. After five years of taking music classes at my elementary school, I walked away with more creativity which benefitted me in many ways. Throughout my educational career, the creativity I developed in music class allowed me to generate ideas and complete projects for other courses such as English and history. 

Not only did music class provide me with more creativity, it also taught me how to use music to relax. Many people agree that music has the power to relieve stress, evidence found, in the field of music therapy. For example, in the article, "Music Therapy with Children," author Leslie Blunt describes how one young girl expresses her feelings to her therapist by playing small instruments and singing her emotions. Music allows this young girl to release her pent-up feelings, which are the most common cause of stress. Students can benefit similarly in music class, where teachers are able to incorporate musical activities that allow students to express emotions. Once students discover the calming effects of music, they can apply them to their everyday life. 

Though I walked away from my music class with new relaxing techniques, I was also not aware until later in life that music class also positively affected my cognitive skills. In the article "Music Makes You Smarter" the author John Vitale discusses research related to music education and intellectual development. "Hallam's study, for example, demonstrates that musical instruction influences a child's perceptual and literacy skills, numeracy, intellectual development, general attainment, and creativity." This study shows that music can most definitely benefit the development of students' cognitive abilities. It is negligent for leaders, such as politicians, to advocate for the elimination of music education in public schools because they are ignoring the great benefits that music provides for students. 

Though I agree that music education can be pricey, especially in today's economy where public schools are often forced to cut their budgets, I also believe it is possible for music education to be provided at a lower cost. Students simply need to be exposed to the basics of music. Essentially a music class needs a teacher, a device to play music on, and a few instruments. It may not provide as many positive results as traditional music programs, but students are still given the chance to benefit from music's powers. 

Clare Avendon is a guest columnist for The Review. Her viewpoints do not necessarily represent those of the Review staff. Please send comments to cavendon@udel.edu.