Music Students example essay topic

"It had never occurred to me before that music and thinking are so much alike. In fact you could say music is another way of thinking... ". -- Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula K. Le Guin makes an excellent point in her quote; music and thinking are so much alike that it is almost as if they are one and the same. Music has a huge impact on the brain. It has been proven that it makes contributions to the development of cognitive and perceptual skills, refines the development of the brain and entire neurological system, and connects and develops the motor systems of the brain in a way that cannot be done by any other activity (Mickela).

Since music has such a huge impact on the brain, it is evident that music education is important and should therefore remain an important key factor of kindergarten through high school students' education. Many people will argue that music education is important and should remain in elementary through high school education. These people have looked at studies that show that music improves a student's personal expression, self-discipline, self-esteem, creative abilities, dexterity, coordination, thinking skills, and listening skills. It is through the improvements in these areas that the student advances in other areas as well, making them life-long learners. With the ability to have better thinking skills, listening skills, and creative abilities, the student improves in his or her writing, communication skills, as well as analytical skills, opening up a plethora of ways of learning, thinking, and interacting. Learning to read music benefits a student in numerous ways.

The student's ability to perform the necessary skills for reading, listening, anticipating, forecasting, memory training, recall skills, concentration techniques, and speed reading, are all enhanced (Mickela). The enhancement of these skills, combined with the improvements of the aforementioned skills, provides the music student with the possibility of earning a higher grade point average and higher SAT scores in all areas (no comma) than the student not in music. These statistics show that music education is vital for our students and should therefore be kept in the schools (Mickela). However, some people (no "would") view music education as a luxury that is simply too expensive. They feel that it costs schools too much money to keep these programs up and running. The instruments and their upkeep alone cost schools thousands of dollars.

Officials feel that this money could be better spent on textbooks and other less extravagant learning materials. Add in the often overlooked yet all-too-necessary expenditure of paying extra instructors to teach music, and the numbers begin to add up. Though this may not seem like a big deal, many school districts suffer from severe budget cuts. This is money that could be spent on more "practical" materials. Since these people feel that music programs cost too much money, schools have been cutting them completely out of their systems to save money. Recently many states, including California, have been removing music programs from school systems to balance their tighter budgets.

Many school systems, as well as educational officials, do not see music programs having any relevance in the long run on a student's education, so as schools face budget problems the "expendable" music classes are the first to go. These officials believe that since our world is progressing technologically at a rapid rate, students should instead focus on math and science classes since these classes will be the ones to aid them in the future with their careers. Since education is largely driven by what business says it needs in terms of trained workers, and in most businesses musical knowledge is not as essential as "the Three R's", school systems are removing these classes from the students' education. Another reason why music classes are being cut from students' education is because school districts are currently under so much pressure to produce high (or at least significantly improved) test scores.

This therefore forces teachers to focus heavily on prepping students for standardized tests. Math and language classes have been increased to two hours each a day, leaving little or no time to add music to the instructional day. While those points are valid, the officials fail to see that music programs are relevant and worth every penny. The rhythm and cadence in music help students with their reading. Rhythm and counting in music lead to the increased learning in mathematics. It is therefore clear why music students tend to out-perform non-music students on achievement tests in reading and math: the music student's brain is being stimulated in more than one way.

The student is utilizing both sides of his or her brain and training it in aesthetic literacy, as well as his or her perceptual, imaginative, and visual abilities. It is through music that these students are making huge improvements in their learning and important connections in their brains. Educational officials are failing to see just how important music is; it does in fact benefit the student, and can and will help the student with his or her future career. Music education is beneficial to students. If we want our students to have more self-esteem (you never mentioned self-esteem in your essay, don't throw it in here), higher test scores, and more personal expression (same with this, this is never mentioned), then music education needs to be kept in school systems. Though it may cost a lot of money to keep the music programs going, it is worth the price.

Music keeps kids busy and "off the streets"; it fosters self-discipline and patience through learning how to play an instrument and individual practice. Music builds our culture ensures there will be audiences for symphonies, orchestras, bands, operas, etc. in the future. Music education is the gateway to improvements in learning in other academic areas. It provides students with other ways of looking at things, with other ways of being mentally stimulated. This in turn makes life-long learners out of them, which is what teachers strive for.

For these reasons, music education needs to remain a key factor in students' education.