Music in Our Schools

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting two articles relating to music in schools and education.

Marching Bands on the Wane
From the Arizona Republic in Phoenix:

Music teachers and experts say NCLB pressures to raise test scores have cut arts program budgets at the elementary level, leaving fewer student musicians to staff high school bands. One Arizona high school band director, who more than tripled the size of his band in the past three years through aggressive recruiting, points out that music programs may be the only hook keeping some students in school.

Read the full article here.

Music Deepens Students' Grasp of History

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

University of Pittsburgh music professor Deane Root has been holding summer seminars to show teachers how to use songs and lyrics to enrich the study of history, English and other humanities. Songs illuminate the issues of their time in a way that engages today's teens, advocates of Root's approach say.

Read the full article here (free registration required).