Music in Schools

Transcript

Hey, when I say school what do you think our parents think of backpacks, teachers, grades. People think that the more AP courses you take the more books you read the better you do on tests and assignments the better off you are, but they only see the academic side of school and for us sometimes writing papers and taking tests aren’t what we’re best at.

Through dance music and any other creative outlet, we’re able to express our feelings in a way that may be difficult to write down on paper. In our generation self-expression is crucial I don’t think parents and adults realize how important this is to us. We meet new people make new friends appreciate the time we spend in class because we love what we’re doing and the people were doing it with. We feel a sense of belonging and have a place where we can express ourselves without the fear of being judged but at some schools, money is tight and extracurricular classes aren’t funded the way they should be. And unlike core classes where textbooks and supplies are constantly replaced it’s annoying that music and arts classrooms have to work with the supplies they’ve had for years just because there are no funds.

Without funding for these classes, we are limited in the activities we can do and the things we create through music and arts or what make us who we are. We need to show adults that more money needs to be put towards music and arts because those are the things in school that we truly benefit from.

Have you ever had a song get stuck in your head? Maybe you hear part of a song in the morning on the radio and your mind is still playing it in the evening? It might not even be a song you particularly like, but it’s very hard to get rid of it. These songs, commonly known as ‘ear worms’ appear in our heads without our trying to learn them. Wouldn’t it be amazing if everything was that easy to learn? Well, it isn’t, but there’s a growing body of evidence showing that music has a tremendous positive effect on our brains. Music stimulates most parts of the brain, improving intelligence and memory and slowing the effects of brain disease.

Take languages, for instance. Studies have shown that music turns on the language-related networks in our brains. In a country like Finland, the average person ends up speaking between three and five different languages fluently. Some claim that the secret to their language learning success is in their music education. They traditionally teach basic music skills to children long before they go to school, and even when they’re still babies. Formal language lessons don’t begin until kids are nine years old, but you would have a hard time finding a Finnish adult who isn’t multilingual.

For students, the effect of music on learning can dramatically affect how well we remember new facts and information and enhance our learning. Certain kinds of music, for instance, can help us improve our concentration when tackling problems. It also encourages the mind to evoke emotions and produce visual images, both of which reinforce memory and learning. It’s been found that students of all ages generally find that music helps them to focus more clearly on learning tasks. But different types of music have different effects, so what you should listen to depends very much on what

you want to do. For instance, listening to lively pop music with lyrics encourages positive thinking and helps your motivation, and raises your energy levels towards the end of the day when you’re feeling more tired. But if you’re tackling technical problems that need a very deep level of concentration, such as writing an essay, then instrumental music is far more effective, particularly classical music. This helps to calm you down and put you in a more reflective mood. Mozart, I find, works particularly well.

If you need to learn something more physical, perhaps a skill in an art class, or for playing a sport, then listening

to the same music every time you have to do that task is very effective. The rhythm or beat of a tune, particularly something loud and upbeat, makes you want to move. These movements quickly become associated with the music, and complicated physical tasks become automatic. While the research isn’t conclusive, listening to music during the day appears to help maintain a positive attitude. This is what we call ‘mood management’. We’ve all experienced how music can change or enhance certain emotions, and research is being done into how music helps in getting over negative feelings such as depression or anxiety. Surprisingly, even sad music can make us feel happier. We seem to identify with the sad feeling, but if we’re feeling sad ourselves, it helps us process and resolve this and puts us in a better mood. Music can be used in different ways – not only for pleasure but also to improve your mind. So turn it up!