Music education often plays second fiddle to math and science in our society, but DoSomething.org and the VH1 Save The Music Foundation are trying to change that mentality.
The third annual “Battle for the Bands” campaign started March 1 and will continue until April 26. The campaign provides teens and young people a way to advocate their belief in the importance of music education. Participants can submit an original video or rewrite the lyrics of a favorite song to express their views on the value of music education. A mash-up of the best videos will be presented to politicians in Washington, D.C.
The “Battle for the Bands” campaign is a creative way to ensure legislators hear student voices and highlights the benefits of music education — benefits that are too often ignored.
A study on the impact of music education on middle school students showed that students in top-quality instrumental programs scored 19 percent higher in English and 17 percent higher in mathematics than children in schools without a music program, according to the Journal for Research in Music Education. A report by the College Entrance Examination Board in 2006 revealed that students with experience in music performance outscored their peers with no music education by 57 points on the verbal SAT and 43 on the math portion.
These findings show a direct correlation between music education and high performance in academic subjects. A 2006 U.S. Gallup poll indicated that 85 percent of Americans believe music is an important part of their life. But why doesn’t this belief correspond to what is being taught in schools?
It is a challenging economic time in which funding for education has been drastically cut. Public school officials are forced to work with dwindling budgets and make decisions about which school programs are most important — decisions that often lead to the loss or dramatic reduction of music education.
Music is an inherent part of our society. We use music to express our emotions and demonstrate our ideas. Music is indicative of our culture, and the music industry is a valuable component of our economy. We are born with an innate love of music and we should at least have a basic understanding of this art form that surrounds us.
More than 20,000 teens participated in last year’s “Battle for the Bands” campaign and DoSomething.org and the VH1 Save The Music Foundation hope to increase this number, but advocacy efforts shouldn’t stop there. Parents, teachers and students should continue to spread the message within communities so children can experience a complete education that includes music.
A world without music would be a boring, dismal place — where children score lower in math and science.