The Necessity of Music Education

     The second humanities course of my junior year is called A Nation's Argument. My classmates and I have continued learning from A People's History by Howard Zinn, and we also listened to a lecture by Yale professor Joanne Freeman. We debated the views of these two historians in class, and spoke to two different guests. We met with Ace Katano, who is a public defender in LA County, and Ben Blair, the principal of Rogers Park Montessori to discuss rights leading up to this assignment. The culminating project of this unit was for us to write our own Declaration of Independence asserting our rights to lead our own independent study. I chose to focus on an independent study focusing on guitar, which you can read more about below.

Music Education

Music Class USA, Grunpfnul, 2011

Introduction:

GCE Lab School does not offer adequate classes educating students in music, and art classes in general can be difficult to fit into the schedule of many GCE students. Art and music are extremely important to human development and are a vital part of a well rounded education.

Purpose of Education:

Schools should prepare students to have a variety of ways to analyze and solve problems in their adult lives. While many skills learned in schools like research writing, scientific analysis, and the pythagorean theorem may not come up in jobs that a lot of people work, these all teach students a variety of different ways to think that students need to know.

Unalienable Rights:

Being provided with the skills needed to thrive after graduation is an unalienable right of students. It is the right of the student to be treated as a priority. By teaching students different skills and ways of thinking beyond the typical English and mathematics they are shown that they matter, and that our society cares about their outcomes.

Evidence:

Many experts agree that music education is extremely beneficial for students to have experience with, and the lack of a regularly running music class at GCE is a glaring absence. In the event that music education is inadequately available within the mandatory course load of a GCE student it is my right to create one myself.

Syllogism:

Premise 1: Students must receive the most well rounded and complete education possible.

Premise 2: Music classes are well documented to have many benefits to students.

Premise 3: As the curriculum is currently designed, there is not a music class that runs for a full term or more each year, only a civic term class that runs every three years.

Premise 4: GCE acknowledges the significance of music education by offering the aforementioned civic term course, and an after school music club, but stops short of offering a full elective class during regular school time.

Conclusion: A student is entitled to make their education more complete by pursuing an independent study of whatever form of music interests them most.

Guiding Question:

What method of instruction is best for me to improve my guitar playing skills?

In this independent study I intend to improve my abilities in guitar through a variety of different methods, and figure out what ways are best for me specifically to learn.

Necessary Supplies:

• Guitar (I have electric and acoustic)
• Guitar Tabs app
• YouTube (for video tutorials)
• Alfred’s Basic Guitar Method 1

 Necessary People:

• My friend Maya (long time primarily electric guitar player)
• My mother (longer time primarily acoustic guitar player)

Objectives:

• Make noticeable improvements to my guitar playing
• Learn basics of reading sheet music
• Be able to play several different songs from memory
• Be confident enough in skill to be able to explain what I am doing to others.

Students are entitled to a form of music education and it is vitally important to society and the student themself that they are given the option to explore it.

Sources: 

 “Why Is Music Education in Schools Important?” The Inspired Classroom, 11 Dec. 2020, https://theinspiredclassroom.com/2017/05/why-is-music-education-in-schools-important/.

“The Benefits of Music Education.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/the-benefits-of-music-education.

“Music Education.” Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Music_education.