Beating the drums for music education

NASHVILLE, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- A higher percentage of college graduates who major in music are admitted to medical school than those who major in biochemistry (66 percent versus 44 percent, as reported in "Phi Delta Kappa").

While that statistic may surprise many, it is only one such "factoid," as they are called, to support the importance of music education for all children from the National Association for Music Education (MENC).

The MENC has hundreds of factoids readily available at its new website, www.supportmusic.com, a broadbased initiative to arm parents and educators with information to enrich or save music education programs in local school districts across the nation.

Despite the efforts of the federal government's No Child Left Behind program, which lists music alongside other core curricula such as reading, math and science, music programs throughout the United States are suffering from budget cuts, lack of teachers and/or instruments or lack of emphasis from school administrators.

"Education, as we all know, is suffering some pressures," said Michael Blakeslee, deputy executive director of MENC, a 90,000-strong membership organization based in Reston, Va. "Music education is suffering some general pressures. Budgets across the nation are being squeezed for lack of income...With the implementation of 'No Child Left Behind,' there are new demands for more testing for reading and math, and, in two years, for science. Because of that, schools systems are saying 'we don't have enough money for our needs. Something has to give, maybe music has to go.'"

The MENC, which has supported music education efforts since 1907, has created the supportmusic.com program, its newest advocacy outreach, as a means for local concerned parents and teachers to address the issues with decisionmakers, typically local school boards, rather than accept changes passively. The Web site, which uses illustrations by Tom Batiuk, creator of the "Funky Winkerbean" comic strip, takes a 1-2-3 approach to a community's problems, offering customized factoids for specific problems. In the end, an advocate has talking points or facts for a letter, "a kit that has everything you need to convince your school board," Blakeslee said.

"All we're trying to do is give (school boards) sufficient information so they can make informed decisions," Blakeslee said of the advocacy kit.

"School boards who basically make these decisions are political in nature and they listen to constituents," Blakeslee said. "They are honest people trying to do an honestly good job. If parents are able to go before them and write them letters and say we believe that music is vital, then they can impact those decisions.

"The main point is that there is broad agreement that music education is essential for kids," he said. "That point has to be made over and over again in every community across America for all our kids to have music education."

Indeed, the problem is not limited to a particular city or region, but is touching communities throughout the nation, Blakeslee said.

In Nashville, for example, in a town known as Music City, some middle schools have eliminated band and orchestra classes in favor of additional reading classes in an effort to boost overall reading scores, according to Metro Nashville Public School information.

When music is not offered in a public school setting, children who are interested in music, but who may not have the additional means to have private music lessons, are left out.

"We're heading for a cultural caste system," Blakeslee said, citing the division between the "haves" and "have nots" regarding music classes.

"Our public schools have a responsibility to at least give a good strong basis in this discipline of music," he said.

Enforcing the right for all children to receive music education in schools is a big job. Through the years, the MENC has partnered with numerous music-related organizations to get the word out, including NAMM: International Music Products Association, VH1 Save The Music Foundation, PBS, performance rights organizations Broadcast Music Inc. and ASCAP, and the National School Boards Association.

MENC also has enlisted support from some music industry heavies, including trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, who currently serves as artistic director of "Jazz @ Lincoln Center," cellist Yo-Yo Ma, veteran jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, composer Stephen Sondheim and actress and singer Vanessa Williams. Official spokespersons include Bob McGrath from "Sesame Street," musicians from the bands Goo Goo Dolls and Take 6, and country singer Carolyn Dawn Johnson.

"I can't even imagine what my life would be like without music," Johnson said recently from her Nashville home. "I feel sad for people who don't have that...I'm such a big believer in music, I feel like it should be part of school, something that is mandatory."

Johnson, whose next RCA Nashville album will be out in early 2004, started playing piano at 5, adding a number of band instruments to that repertoire in school. She currently plays, in addition to piano, flute, clarinet, alto and tenor saxophone, trumpet and guitar.

"The teachers who really loved music made such a difference in my life," Johnson said. "There's still a part of me that says maybe somewhere down the road, I'll teach and share that love of music."

Impressive facts, corporate partners and celebrity spokespersons help the cause, Blakeslee said, but he believes most people inherently understand the value of music.

"Allying celebrity status with the real facts is a formula that we hope will retain and improve music programs," he said. "All the research that we can cite is really interesting, but only serves to underscore what parents, teachers and students have known for generations. We all know at a gut level that music is important to our culture and helps students grow and develop."