Let The Music Play On

It’s not often that I get a chance to make a serious point about something in which I deeply believe, and offer moving evidence of its worth at the same time.  In this post, however, I hope to do just that by using the real-life stories of two people.  I learned about them in e-mails I received from friends, and would like to share their stories with you here.

As you probably know, when schools receive funding cuts, among the first things to “go” are activities in the Arts.  District number crunchers are usually quick to say that when things need to be eliminated, subjects like art, music, and drama are tossed first because they do not directly contribute to higher test scores and academic achievement.  Of course I totally disagree, but that’s a subject for another post.  My focus today is specifically on music, and how it had a life-changing effect on a couple of wonderful young people.  And while it may not have brought up their test scores, it kept them going when the odds of doing so were stacked against them.

Because their stories are captured in video essays, I invite you to click on the titles, below, and see for yourself.  Both are visual tales in the Susan Boyle tradition.  When you’re done, I hope you can see why the Arts, especially music, should be an integral part of every young child’s education, and not an annual victim of the chopping block when times become financially tight.  And, if you believe strongly enough that what I’m saying is true, and that these video stories are merely more dramatic examples of what music does for kids in the classroom each and every day, I invite you to do THIS.  Let your district administrators know, that you want the music to play on for every child they have taken an oath to serve.

These are the links:

The story of a Korean boy.

The story of Jonathan.