As I am the youngest child, my parents decided to do things that they did not do for my older siblings. They neglected the approach of just enforcing education with their children because of their old school Caribbean ways and decided to "give me a hobby" or introduce me to something new. When I was six years old in the first grade, my parents decided to enroll me in piano lessons for nearly three years. Despite being without music for almost two years until middle school. I was determined to enroll in an Arts School so I can continue my passion for music. My middle school was a public school that was dedicated to the arts and required auditions for enrolling into the school. Here, there were almost 500 students in this building with different talents. Although I auditioned for singing and got in through this audition. I changed my program into Band where I was introduced to the program Education Through Music. Here is where I learned how to play the French horn in middle school and was able to foster new talents and showcase them to other schools with the program ETM
Education Through Music is a not for profit organization that caters to underrepresented and underprivileged schools who receive less funding than usual. Since 1991, Education through Music has partnered with these under-resourced schools to provide music as a core subject for all students. Education Through Music has been successful in their ventures by catering to thousands of students through 65 different schools. What makes Education Through Music different from most programs is that the music curriculum executes comprehensive, sequential and tied to grade-specific benchmarks
Despite personally wasting my parent's money and the funding giving by donors by no longer playing instruments. I believe it is essential for kids to have the opportunity to learn how to read and play music
Here is the website for
https://etmonline.org/about/
Hi Jenna,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate you pitching on this organization. Music can be such an integral part of one’s life. Music allows for a free-flowing expression of creativity, that one may feel uncomfortable to share otherwise. Music is much more than knowing how to sing or play an instrument: it is also a method of collaboration, in the way that people work with each other to make great pieces of music. There are so many benefits to playing music, including increased self-esteem, decreased stress, and memory improvement. At the bottom of this post, I am going to attach an article that lists several other ways in which music positively affects one’s life.
For me, music has been a way for me to become more confident in myself and my abilities, have fun partaking in a hobby that I very much enjoy, and has been a way for me to associate myself with a group of people that all share a similar interest. I have met some of my best friends because I was a part of my band in high school and have met friendly and influential people in the Wind Symphony here at Binghamton. I currently play bass clarinet in the Wind Symphony, but have in the past played piano, saxophone, drum set, and clarinet. I also do sing sometimes, though I am not the greatest.
Education Through Music is doing tremendous things, especially with providing the ability for schools to implement music programs into their curriculum. According to the organization’s website, ETM targets schools that have a relatively high teacher turnover rate (18%) and schools that have received decreased funding for arts programs (28% of the schools in low-income areas). The impact of the organization is significant: 59% of people who wanted to skip school did not, strictly because of the music program. Also, ETM is providing teachers with the knowledge and ability to teach music, as well as giving kids the ability to involve themselves with music. In general, ETM is letting music into schools that may not have the proper funding to implement it themselves; and it is a great thing to see because music can be so significant in one’s life. Music creates a community: it harbors a group of people that all share the hobby of music, whether it be listening to it, playing it, or creating it. Music also helps to establish a diverse culture within schools and allows those who want to involve themselves with that mode of expression to be able to.
I also appreciate the fact that the website published an impact report. The impact report provides a transparent way for people to see the impact ETM is having in schools. However, I am a bit wary about a couple of things regarding ETM. First, I am not entirely clear on how this organization implements a music program into schools. What is the process for selecting a specific school? How do they implement it, and at what scale? There seems to exist a lack of information regarding these questions, and it would be beneficial for people to understand how the organization goes about accomplishing its goals. Also, I am interested in knowing where the funding comes from and exactly how many schools have been helped thus far. As detailed as the impact report may be, it does not give specific numbers about the cost of the program or the number of schools that have been helped. Regardless, I am very much a fan of this organization and really appreciate you presenting it to the class.
https://musicedmasters.kent.edu/the-benefits-of-teaching-music-learning-an-instrument/
My first piano teacher was a soft-spoken, elderly woman. When she had to move to a different state, I was assigned to a different piano teacher. Unlike my first piano teacher, she was strict and yelled whenever I made a mistake. I often came home crying, begging my parents to let me quit. Fortunately, my parents let me take a break from the piano until I was ready to get back into it with another teacher. My final teacher showed me the true benefits of learning an instrument. She taught me how to act professionally during a concert setting which I could apply back to any formal event. She taught me how to have more confidence which allowed me to successfully become an accompanist for my middle school choir. She taught me how to focus my attention on the NYSSMA test, which also helped me get better grades in my academics.
ReplyDeleteThe effectiveness of Music Through Education relies heavily on the teachers that they hire. It made me glad to see how serious their hiring process was. On their website, they show a three-step process for getting hired. The first is an online application, followed by a Group Information Session & Teaching Demonstration, and ends with an individual interview. I also found it important that they require all of their music teachers to have degrees in music education, performance, or music therapy. In addition, if they are hired, each ETM Music Teacher receives informal observations from the program staff at least once a month and a formal observation twice a year.
When I heard your charity pitch on Education Through Music, it was essentially how happy you looked talking about your middle school band teacher that made me support the organization. It proved that Education Through Music has truly impacted people’s lives, and that means more than any statistic on their website.
Jenna,
ReplyDeleteThank you for shedding light to Education Through Music. Growing up in Queens all my life, I appreciate that you chose an organization that is so engraved in our public schools, especially in those that are underprivileged or underrepresented.
I grew up in the New York City public school system and I truly understand how important it is to have music or creative classes available to every student. In the schools I went to, there were several music classes that were offered to me, mostly violin and brass instruments. With that alone, I’m grateful that I had an opportunity to take these classes.
While I was in elementary and middle school, I never grasped the importance of taking music. I remember each class being tedious and difficult to take in. However, the one thing that these classes taught me was how to communicate with others and allowed me to see what an accomplishment looks like. The feeling of achieving something or learning an entire piece of music and then playing it on stage is absolutely invaluable.
There are so much other reasons why music education needs to be integrated in every school and why Education Through Music plays such a huge role in the community. A ten year research involving 25,000 middle and high school students has shown that they receive much higher standardized test scores if music classes are taken. Additionally, performing and creating music allows “teamwork, communication skills, self-discipline, and creativity.” These are all skills that definitely apply to the workplace and outside world.
It is absolutely crucial that the education system across the country allow creative classes, whether it involves music or even art. The question is: how can underprivileged or underfunded schools keep these classes ongoing? Education Through Music is a great organization that provides only for the New York City area. For nationwide reform, the United States Department of Education needs to think about how these classes are essential to the learning curriculum and create funding for schools.
https://thehumanist.com/features/articles/the-importance-of-music-education
- Jacob Yi
Hi Jenna!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this organization with the class. When you shared this organization in class, I was moved at your experience with Education Through Music. From personal experience, I can also attest to the positive affects music can have in one’s life. Music teaches positive self-expressionand creativity in addition to many professional skills like time management and how to work with a team.
Personally, music and the arts have been a huge part of my life since I was a child. I danced from the ages of 3-16, I started doing musicals in 3rd grade, and I have played an instrument since the age of 9. Music became a way for me to de-stress and be creative, which is why I am eager to support organizations like Education Through Music.
I believe it is even more moving that Education Through Music caters to underrepresented and underprivileged schools. Funding for the arts in public schools is always one of the first things to get cut, even though it is proven that the arts help raise overall grades and attendance in school. I love how ETM gives children a safe space to express themselves. It allows them to think outside of the box and keeps them in school if their parent(s)/caregiver(s) are working.
While I believe the organization is great, I did want to clarify a few things similar to the questions Ryan asked in his comment. The main thing I would love clarification on is how ETM goes about implementing music programs into schools? It is great that they post the impact report, but how does that impact physically happen? In addition, what are the costs of maintaining the programs in schools?
Sincerely,
Lexi Murman