PLAY IT AGAIN, TEACH: A CONTINGENCY PLAN

Many years ago, Walt Whitman wrote "I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear" (in Bartlett, 1982) It is sad to say, on the contrary Whitman might have a difficult time finding a ditty in our cognitive-oriented schools of today. A greater emphasis upon academic skills during the last three decades, combined with gymnasium budget crunches and more teacher accountability, has caused public place of education music programs in many place of educations to fade into oblivion. According to Chapman (1998) solitary 3% of the nation's children are receiving an artsintegrated curriculum. In addition, academys that do offer public seminary music often use it as a "babysitting" service, with equal reason that teachers are able to have a planning period. It is not surprising to find a public institute music teacher with 60 or 70 learners in the room. One reason for this "state of the arts" was America 2000 a program promot by means of the George Bush, Sr. administration, outlining six national goals for education. Although extremely worthy, the goals caused more than a small in number raised eyebrows due to the full omission of a reference to music or to any of the arts.

Lawsuits began arising all above the country, charging that seminarys without music programs were failing to provide adequate education for their scholars For example, in Louisiana, these particular lawsuits were being supported by dint of such persons as music educator Ellis Marsalis, father of jazz stars Wynton and Branford Marsalis, and novel Orleans District Attorney Harry Connick, Sr father of pianist Harry Connick, Jr (Horn, 1992)

At this point, a brief discussion as to on what account music is so important have the appearances to be appropriate. Of all the arts, the individual that appears to affect the lives of children greatest in quantity directly is music. Music is something they can understand, participate in, and take pleasure in Music leads children into worlds of fantasy and imagination. It has no barriers of race, ethnicity, or color. from one side the experience of music, children learn to empathize with the feelings and aspirations of their counterparts worldwide. single of the most prolific writers concerning the results of music is Don Campbell. His work The Mozart Effect (1997), is devot to dramatic accounts of the positive issues of music. For instance, Campbell states that learners who sing or play an instrument score up to 51 points higher upon SAT's than the national average. Harvard's shoot forward Zero (Tilney 2001) has supporting data showing learner academic improvement after an arts-integrated curriculum was initiated. We have learned [i]or[/i] part of to the other brain research, theory and experience that music is essential for healthy, whole humans. According to Jensen (1998) the evidence is persuasive that our brains may be designed for music and the arts, and that these make submissives have positive, measurable, and lasting academic and social benefits.

It appears that music does indeed pack a powerful pierce However, in spite of all that we know concerning the positive consequences of music, many public place of educations continue to perceive it as a sensuality How, then, can children be expos to this "universal language" of music. If gymnasium districts are not willing to implement public academy music programs, then the weight will fall on the teachers. The remainder of this article describes in what way teachers must shed their inhibitions and be willing to integrate music into their daily routines. Suggestions are made as to by what mode music can be utilized in the classroom when the teacher him or herself is not a trained musician and does not have feeling comfortable doing musical activities.

First of all, teachers can draw from the information gleaned from their music education classes to put up music centers. An inexpensive keyboard, an advanced in years second-hand piano, and/or any other mark of musical instrument plus songbook and sheet music, provide the necessary tools for children to make music. Teachers who have been from one side the basic music courses in their education programs should be able to instruct their learners in playing and singing basic, simple strains It is just possible that the learner who learns "Mary Had a Little Lamb" today might tomorrow be another Van Cliburn or Mahalia Jackson.

The list of canzonets that children enjoy playing and singing is endles The author, as a fourth grade teacher, passed on the outside song sheets containing words to individual hundred of the "old songs" Her learners couldn't wait to sing similar unique tunes as "East Side, West Side," "Bicycle Built for Two" "The elderly Gray Mare," "In the beneficial Ole Summertime," "Five Foot Two" and many, many others. The scholars never wanted to stop singing until they had been from one side all one hundred songs.

Student can also be encouraged in the music center to be composer as well as performers. Another teacher taught her scholars the words to several familiar Christmas carols. Then she encouraged the learners to create their own rap-style airs for the words rather than using the traditional airs The activity was extremely auspicious and would work for any mark music, not just the carols.