Having a great musical experience isn’t for just one age group. But to start with the age group everyone thinks about when you says “music education” or “arts education”, earlier this month, my orchestra had its first kids’ concert of the season. Since my first instrument petting zoo when I was in youth orchestra, watching children experience music for the first time has been a joyful experience for me. It wasn’t much longer before I realized that I wanted to enable that experience and show a generation the magic and importance of a musical life. At this kids concert close to 200 kids, from infants to 10 year olds, learned about the importance of rhythm from our percussion ensemble through music and storytelling. The kids were SO excited coming in and leaving –this is why I do what I do. I think if I could facilitate musical experiences for the rest of my life, I will feel accomplished and satisfied. But I suppose facilitating extra-curricular, once a month activities are nothing if our nation’s leaders are calling for cuts to higher education in the arts.
Cutting music (and the arts) from the school day or saying an arts degree isn’t worth the money (currently #7, but look for Gov. Rick Scott) makes my blood boil. As a friend said “One day, some day, people are going to realize that these “soft subjects” (i.e.: the studies of our own human culture) are actually really important. Whatever happened to being well-rounded? Sophisticated? Even just educated?” She is exactly right. If students don’t have anything to read or write about, what’s the point of going to school? What about the high schoolers who are only showing up for school because they like their band, choir, or art classes? I grew up in Florida but moved shortly after Rick Scott was elected governor. He is a class-A dummy (and now you know my politics! I’m sure you couldn’t tell.). Here’s a quote, right from Gov. Scott: “You know, we don’t need a lot more anthropologists in the state. It’s a great degree if people want to get it, but we don’t need them here. I want to spend our dollars giving people science, technology, engineering, math degrees. That’s what our kids need to focus all their time and attention on. Those type of degrees. So when they get out of school, they can get a job.” Sorry, but I’ve got unemployed or underemployed friends who majored in “hard” degrees too, not just “soft” majors. The major doesn’t make the person or determine the job they get.
I didn’t mean for this to turn so political! Ah well. To bring it back to the beginning, our kids’ concert warmed my heart, even if in the middle of the second concert a little girl stood up and started screaming “MOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” at the top of her lungs 🙂
Internal Order 