March is “Music in our Schools Month”. Did you even know this was a thing? I think it is the coolest thing ever that a whole entire month is devoted to spreading the importance of music education. Some teachers develop special activities and certain communities use this time to promote the love of music education. Of course as a musician and music educator, I know how important having quality music programs in our schools is and I want to share my 3 reasons why.
1. Because music education matters
Music education truly matters so much. Like I’ve stated before, I started out at my first teaching job at a school that hadn’t had a music program for seven years. What the what?! Watching my students go from knowing little to nothing about music to developing a love for it was something truly amazing. Music education matters because without it, kids are not truly receiving a well rounded education that included the arts. Kids find success and feel a sense of accomplishment they didn’t even know they had within them when they participate in a music ensemble.
2. Because music advocacy matters
Maybe you’re in a community and they don’t understand the value of music education in our schools. What can you do? You can advocate for music education. Music in our schools month is the perfect opportunity to bring awareness to other teachers, principals, parents, politicians, and school boards. Explain to them why music shouldn’t be the first thing to go when budget cuts are made. If you need to, create pie charts, presentations, statistics, or have your choir perform to get your point across. A little advocacy truly goes a long way.
3. Because music changes lives
Music can truly change lives and I have seen it happen first hand. You never know who might be coming through your classroom door. One of your students could be the next Pavarotti or Mozart. Without being exposed to music at school, kids may never get another chance to experience music education. Students who didn’t know they had a natural talent in playing the recorder, could go on to play the clarinet, get a college scholarship, and continue on to play in symphonies as a principal clarinetist. A door was opened for me to start learning piano at school by my homeroom teacher. Without that opportunity, the interest may have never been sparked and I may not have decided to follow that passion.
What do you do to celebrate Music in Our Schools month? How do you advocate for music education? Do you have any personal stories about how music changed the lives of one of your students? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below or share your thoughts on social media as you share this post.
Also, I’d love for you to share this post or any of the resources on my website with a friend or colleague who you know NEEDS to see it.
P.S. Are you feeling frustrated or stuck as an elementary music teacher? Check out these free resources to help you teach elementary music with confidence!
