October 31, 2005
Advocating for Music Education? Just having to think and worry about defending something so valuable to every child can make us feel indignant.
But, if you’re a parent of a young person who enjoys playing music, you may have already experienced, first-hand, the necessity of facing this issue. And if you’re a community member who loves music, you know how much music education has enriched your life.
The truth is, we have no choice but to defend school music programs. In a time of drastic reductions in school budgets, music can sometimes be misunderstood as not core to an academic curriculum. As an advocate of music education, you already know that participation in music is vital to a young person’s academic and social development: now it’s up to you to make sure that music education programs in your community continue and flourish.
Teaching vs. Learning – What Matters Most?
Since first becoming an active advocate for music education, I have asked over 30,000 teachers, parents, and school administrators to define the mission of education. In over 99% of the responses, adults define the mission as "teaching or educating children."
Asked the same question, the majority of students respond that the mission of education is "learning."
When you approach music education from a student’s perspective, everything shifts in a subtle, yet very significant, way, doesn’t it?
This is one area where advocates for music education have a really crucial role to play. If adults who are decision-makers aren’t able or willing to shift their perspective – from “teaching” to “learning” – it’s easy to see how school music programs end up as prime targets for cuts.
What’s a “Cut”?
Music "cuts" are any factors or actions that negatively impact a student’s potential to learn through participation in music programs. Threats to music programs normally come in one of two forms:
* Budgetary Issues: Enrollment decline, funding deficiencies, preference for funding other areas such as the perceived ”basics” (ie, math, English, science)
* Educational Reform: Middle schools or junior highs, block scheduling, school-to-work, tax vouchers, charter or magnet schools
As a music advocate, you have a choice, You can wait until you hear of decisions that “cut” into young people’s access to music making in your community, and then jump into the fray. OR you can become better at recognizing the threat before it happens, and keep your school’s music programs off the list of cuts! I hope you’ll do the latter.
Putting Students First is the Key
Fortunately for us, music advocacy has been with us since public school music education began. You can draw on the valuable experience of advocates who have been successful before you - and still make new strides on behalf of music education in our current educational climate.
Your message will only be well received if you are able to convey how crucial it is to “put students first.” Music advocacy is most effective when it is:
* proactive and collaborative - a music coalition must work together with music teachers and administrators to make sure official policy includes curricular music standards
* about learning – remember music education is not about what adults teach, it’s about what students learn
* focused on the students! - every decision should be prefaced with the question “what will the long-term effect be on students?“
A Note of Caution
On the flip side, music advocacy may be perceived as negative, and therefore be less effective, when it is:
* reactive or adversarial - acting to save a program that is proposed for reduction or elimination
* about money - raising taxes
* about conflict and power - the administration vs. the board vs. the teachers vs. community
* about teachers - job conditions, pay, benefits
* about saving jobs – losing individuals, not positions
* about adults! - or a focus on anything other than learning
Basically, a successful music advocacy campaign comes down to two primary components:
* a well-organized music coalition
* strategic use of the right information
A Little Advice
There are many ways you can work to head-off a potentially destructive situation. Just keep in mind: being an effective advocate for music education is about music for students - all students! Music advocacy is based on the belief that making music is essential to learning, the enjoyment of life, and the preservation of culture. Being effective as a music advocate, means focusing at least some of your energy on expansion of existing programs, and development of new ones, not only on defending music programs against cuts or threats of elimination. As an advocate for music education, you are part of a long and proud tradition of putting students first; together we can keep the focus on what’s most important – students participating in music!
Until next time,
John Benham
