| Music Education in schools is a fundamental part of receiving a liberal education. Though music is mandated across the United States, it is still found to be substandard or non-existent in many districts. The defense supports music as a vital part of childhood development and its equality in merit and rigor with the core subjects: Math, Science, English, and Social Studies. This interdisciplinary study discusses neurological and biological analysis, cerebral dominance, developmental psychology, education philosophy, vocal pedagogy, affective growth, music's effect on an individual's health and future success, and political agendas. It also describes the reciprocal, communicative and communal environment of the music classroom. The position will establish that music programs are indispensable to the cultivation of critical inquiry skills, cognitive, social, and aesthetic development and they are the foundation of a child's cultural and communal identity. Its absence or compromise will inhibit the total, liberal education of America's youth. |
