Music is so much part of my life especially at home. My daughter was in choir from 6th grade through 12 grade. She has been in so many voice lessons, concerts, and competitions. My son has been in band since 5th grade and lessons since 4th grade. My father couldn't believe that I bought him a $300 drumset when he was only 10. Music is a priority for them so I made it a priority for me. Music has made wonderful memories for them and for me. It gave them a reason to go to school.
There is not enough music in our schools. In our district the elementary students get music once a week. Music should be a part of their day everyday. Behavior problems are often caused by boredom. Is there really a reason that students can't listen to music when they work? My daughter and son always play music when they do homework. The schools are so busy pushing math and reading but ignore the fact that music can help with both math and reading. I have never heard an elementary teacher say to the class for writing today you can write a song. A second grader could listen to a song and then write about what it means to them. I am excited about the posibility of trying this in the classroom. Music should be more of a priority especially for our younger students.
Final Blog Synthesis....
15 years ago
I agree that music should be used more in schools. I teach middle school advanced math and there are many topics that my students remember because of a song. They know a song for the quadratic formula, and a song to the tune of the macarena that says "when you divide by a negative number, when you divide by a negative number, when you divide by a negative number, turn the sign around" They are all silly but they work. I also remember lots of things from when I was in school myself in a song, like the states in alphabetic order, and a song that lists all the prepositions. Many of the things that have really stuck with me were learned in song.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I wish my own children's teachers had worked more with music and math. They both have struggled with feeling that math was too hard and pointless to them.
ReplyDelete