Music Advocacy Statement Jeremy Finch Today I am here to explain to you why my music program should not be removed.

I could tell you about how music can benefit students' achievement in other subjects but I would prefer to start by telling why students should study music simply for the sake of studying music. After all, if music was really only a way to enhance a student's capabilities in other subjects, those subjects could simply absorb some music into their curriculum. Thankfully, this is not the case. Music first and foremost, enhances a student's quality of life. Paraphrasing from The Canadian Music Educator: music provides students with a way to communicate in a nonverbal manner, it enriches their lives and it gives them a safe environment to show improvement and achievement in.1 While two of those points may seem obvious, how music enriches a student's life probably needs more explaining. Teenagers often deal with a lot of different situations that stress them out in their day to day lives. Music offers something enjoyable to escape into. When playing music, you can stop worrying about what else might be going on in your life and simply focus on doing something enjoyable. In that sense, music can be a very therapeutic subject. Further evidence of this as shown again in The Canadian Music Educator is that music can often get through to people who are emotionally distant. There have been several cases where people with emotional disorders would not respond physically or verbally to their own families. However, music was able to illicit a powerful emotional response from them.2 For all of these reasons, it is clear that music enhances a student's quality of life. For me, being a teacher is

Morrison, C. (2006). Music education: Frill or foundation? The Canadian Music Educator, 48(1), 24-26,28-29. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/231185665?accountid=12063 2 Morrison, C

ensuring that students will be able to succeed in life. Having a higher quality of life is one way for those students to measure success. Another reason for why music should be studied is that it gives students the opportunity to develop their ability to work in a team. Choirs and bands are at their core, a team effort. Yes some individuals can shine in them but if the whole group cannot come together, their success will be limited. Good bands and choirs are constantly acting as a team. Most often this comes in the form of listening to the other students play or sing and adjusting to better fit each other's sound. Teamwork is an essential life skill. There are countless jobs that require employees to act as a team. Due to its development of students' teamwork skills, whether or not students continue on with music after they are done school, its benefits will be felt throughout their lives. A final reason for why music is too important of a subject to cut from school is that it connects students to the world outside of the classroom.3 Through music, students are able to experience a wide range of cultures that they might not ever get a chance to study. This includes Russian music, various African music, and many others. Depriving students of all these different cultural experiences could leave them with a more narrowed view of the world. In conclusion, I believe the music program is far too important to cut. It enhances students' quality of life, develops their teamwork skills and give students a way to experience a wider variety of cultures. Thank you for your time and I hope you will reconsider you decision to cut the music program.

Kuzmich, N. (2006). What is a music education? what should it be? The Canadian Music Educator, 48(2), 4-5. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/231185038?accountid=12063