The glimmer is mostly gone from
”
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,
”
and
”
The Star-Spangled Banner
”
isn’t exactly gallantly streaming in the nation’s
classrooms.
Most children, in fact, aren’t learning children’s classics,
patriotic songs or folk tunes in school, a University of Florida
survey of nearly 1,800 music teachers finds.
By BEN FELLER
Free Lance wire services
The glimmer is mostly gone from “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” isn’t exactly gallantly streaming in the nation’s classrooms.
Most children, in fact, aren’t learning children’s classics, patriotic songs or folk tunes in school, a University of Florida survey of nearly 1,800 music teachers finds.
“American children’s folk music is a national treasure that holds keys to understanding our country’s people, their values, their history and their culture,” said Marilyn Ward, who conducted the research. “Without it, our nation could lose its heritage.”
The study highlights a bigger concern for music teachers this school year: the fear that budget cuts, combined with a federal focus on reading and math, has made music expendable.
“It’s taken a long, long time to bring music and the arts to the forefront,” said Nellie Hill, a middle-school music teacher in Maryland. Now, the priorities of leaders are changing, she said: “Pendulums always swing, and we’re starting that swing.”
The states’ worst fiscal crisis in decades has prompted lawmakers, school boards and principals to make unpopular cuts in many disciplines, including the arts.
Many music teachers seem even more troubled by the nation’s new elementary and secondary education law – not by its push to raise achievement, but by how it is playing out in their schools.
The No Child Left Behind law requires all students to be performing at their grade level in math and language arts by 2014, and schools must prove yearly progress until then.
To chart achievement, for example, all states by 2005 must test students in grades three through eight in math and reading annually, and at least once during high school grades.
Nothing in the law
suggests less focus on music; in fact, music is named as a core subject. But educators say school leaders are so driven to improve their test scores that music suffers in the form of diminished class time, fewer offerings and less personnel.
It adds up to unnecessary competition among teachers, said Aaron Paragoso, a music specialist. He’s had to fight to keep students from being pulled out of his class for extra instruction in other subjects.
“What subject do they parade out before the world to see when some official comes to school?” Paragoso said. “It’s not reading and math. It’s the chorus. It’s the band. It’s the orchestra.”
Educators say beyond music’s obvious values – the beauty of a saxophone, the harmony of a choir – there are benefits to academic progress.
Research shows that students engaged in music tend to do better in other subjects because of skills and discipline they develop.
“We are part of the solution, very definitely,” said Tim McConnell, who teaches elementary and high school music. “We can help with the reading and the math scores.”
Said music teacher Denise Heckel, “When you do music, it utilizes the entire person – the head, the mind, the heart.”
But are they preaching to the choir?
Leaders at the Education Department, who oversee the new law’s implementation, say they understand music’s value – led by Education Secretary Rod Paige, who considered a career as a musician. The law should not be viewed as a call to narrow curriculum, said Susan Sclafani, a counselor to Paige at the department.
“If you look at schools in states that have been doing accountability for a long time, they have given up on the drill-and-practice routine, because it didn’t help achievement,” she said. “And they brought back the arts… When you look at high-performing schools, what you find is a rich curriculum.”
How to find that balance is the challenge for superintendents and principals, she said.
“The bill does not ask that we test in every subject because we were worried that would be overkill,” she said. “That does not mean we do not expect that every child will have access to high-quality education in all of the core subjects.”
Music classes need not come at the expense of other subjects, according to MENC: The National Association for Music Education (formerly known as Music Educators National Conference), which represents more than 100,000 music teachers, students and other advocates.
The group developed national standards that call for music-education choices in every grade, from reading and composing music to playing instruments and improvising melodies.
“We don’t want a cultural caste system that relegates music to only those who can afford private lessons on the weekend,” said John Mahlmann, the association’s executive director.
Members of the music community have launched a Web site – http://www.supportmusic.com – that offers tips on how people can fight for strong music education in their towns.
Meanwhile, the new law forces schools to reflect on what’s working, and that’s smart, said Susan Brown, a kindergarten teacher and former music educator.
“As professionals, we need to be working together to see how we can maintain the integrity of the program,” Brown said. “It might look very different than what we’ve got now, and that’s the problem: Nobody has those answers yet.”
