Public elementary school programs, partly non-athletic extracurricular activities, seem to be on the decline since the late-2000s. During the school day, music programs are rumored to be getting the ugly axe to make way for more core-essential, core-oriented reading and math courses.
With a high focus on fundamentals, schools K-12 seem to be disengaging students with music and pushing towards a more strict discipline.
At Haven Elementary School--in Savannah, Ga.--students receive a mere four hours a month with music teacher Chris Miller in his mobile classroom, barely outfitted with a desk and some chairs.
Principal Sharon Draeger says, "When I taught here we actually had a pretty good chorus."
"So, yeah, it was higher on the priority list. But now I think it's kind of been buried under things that come up higher," she continued.
Of the rudiment, music is not normally associated with the Southern digest of sports and high-test scores (in higher income areas, of course). While the focus aims primarily at core education and football scholarships, music takes a backseat.
But is this specific merely to the Savannah school district?
Russ Whitehurst, an education policy expert at the Brookings Institution, claims the statistics about music education report that 94 percent of public elemtary schools offer some kind of music classes, despite their cutting back hours--per a 2010 U.S. Department of Education report.
"I think music teachers are crying wolf, largely, if you look at the national trends," says Whitehurst.
"The perception that somehow kids are being drilled in reading and math all day doesn't line up with the facts," he stated.
Perhaps the Savannah school district needs to follow suit with the rest of the nation in committing to its music classes as part of the curriculum.
It may be wise to consider the implications of music as a core class, too.
If I can't convince you, maybe Roger H. Brown can.
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