Some cool Washington images:
[Children aiming sticks as guns, lined up against a brick building, Washington, D.C.?] (LOC)
Image by The Library of Congress
Woman putting on her lipstick in a park with Union Station behind her, Washington, D.C. (LOC)
Image by The Library of Congress
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sound of music reunion
Image taken on 2008-12-20 16:42:00 by George Eastman House.
Image taken on 1940-01-01 00:00:00 by The Library of Congress.
Image taken on 2008-12-15 04:55:49 by New York Public Library.
Image taken on 1940-01-01 00:00:00 by The Library of Congress.
Young children just love music and often it is through music that young children communicate for the first time, whether it be through gesture, smiling or action.
But is there more to it than that?
There is a growing amount of evidence to show that music enhances a childs ability to think, learn, reason and create and it is in the first five years of a child’s life that all of the formative brain development and connections are being formed. Music brain researcher, Dr Gordon Shaw describes music as “a window into higher brain Function”.
Here are three compelling reasons why we should be sending our children to music lessons while they are young.
Reason#1 – Music Makes Children Smarter
Neurologiacal Research indicates that because music involves ratio’s, fractions, and thinking in space and in time that it provides learning not only for foundation musical learning,but also learning for foundation math learning being a pre requisite to learning both these subjects at higher levels.
In a study carried out by Debby Mitchell at the University Of Central Florida it was found that young children with developed rhythm skills perform better academically in early school years.
In a paper compiled at a Music Educators National Conference, 2001, it was noted that high school music students score higher verbal and math score than their peers and in research done by Phi Delta Kappan, 1994 and a paper prepared by Peter H Wood, It was found that Music Majors are the most likely group of college grads to be admitted to medical school.
Reason#2- Music is a recognised form of intelligence
In an article called ” The Changing Workplace is changing our view of education”, Business week, 1996 it was said “The nation’s top business executives agree that arts education programs can help repair weeknesses in American education and better prepare workers for the 21st Century”
Howard Gardner, a renowned Professor of Cognition and Education wrote a book in 1983 called Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, suggests that there are many kinds of human intellegence and identifies musical intellegence to be one of them.
Reason#3 – Skills learned through music can transfer into skills which are useful in every part of a child’s studies at school and can help with general well being.
As Senator Jeff Bingaman said “Music Education can be a positive force on all aspects of child’s life, particularly on their academic success”
It was reported in a Texas Commission on drug and alcohol abuse that secondary students who were involved in band and orchestra reported the lowest life time and current use of all drugs.
Skills learned through the discipline can transfer into study skills, communication skills and cognitive skills useful in every part of a child’s school life and a Harvard university study named the “Mozart Effect” found that spacial- temporal reasoning improves when children learn to make music.
As Michael Greene the Recording Academy President and CEO said at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards in February 2000, “Music is a magical gift we must nourish and cultivate in our children, especially now as scientific evidence proves that an education in the arts makes better math and science students, enhances spatial intelligence in newborns, and let’s not forget that the arts are a compelling solution to teen violence, certainly not the cause of it!”
Every state, including Washington, requires the use of approved child safety seats for children under the age of 5. According to NCSA there is only a 90% compliance rate with respect to using approved safety seats for children under this age. The Washington State Patrol (WSP) recommends that for children who are under 1 or who weigh less than 20 lbs., the parents should follow the guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) by seating the child facing the rear of the vehicle. Children who are ages 1 to 4 and weigh 20 to 40 pounds can sit facing the front of the vehicle. Children between the ages of 4 and 8, or who are no taller than 4’9”, Washington law requires that booster seats (including lap and harness belts) be used. The WSP recommends that the booster seat also meet AAP guidelines. The child restraint system must be used properly according to the instructions of both the seat AND vehicle manufacturer.
The WSP also recommends that an approved booster seat be used if:
(1) the child’s knees do not bend comfortably at the edge of the seat,
(2) the child does not sit with his/her hips all the way against the back of the auto seat,
(3) if the lap belt does not lie on top of the child’s thighs,
(4) if the shoulder harness is not centered on the child’s shoulder and chest, or
(5) if the child cannot stay seated with the above conditions during the entire trip.
Notably, a recent study found that a key factor influencing the increased risk of harm to children in accidents is when the child is prematurely moved from a child restraint system up to an adult seat and then allowed to sit in the front seat too soon (Source: Partners for Child Passenger Safety Fact and Trend Report, 2006.).
Parents can visit the website of the Washington State Safety Restraint Coalition to check out the current Buyer’s Guide to Child Car Seats and Booster Seats.
Washington law also requires that children under the age of 13 must sit in the back seat of the vehicle when it is practical to do so. AAP guidelines also recommend that children under the age of 13 sit in the back seat regardless of whether or not the vehicle is equipped with a passenger-side air bag. The age of 13 may appear to be an arbitrary figure, but studies show that most children at this age are still smaller than the average adult. So to reduce the risk of serious injury, it makes sense that the law requires children under this age to sit in the rear of the vehicle.
Interestingly, children are not required to wear seat belts while riding on a school bus. The NHTSA has determined that school buses already have “built in protection” for children based on the special construction and size of bus seats so seat belt restraints are unnecessary. However, school bus crashes occurring at speeds greater than 35 mph still pose a serious risk of harm to children who are riding on the bus. There are certain precautions that, if exercised, can reduce the chance of serious injury in bus accidents. If your child’s bus does not have safety belts, teach your child to ride near the front of the bus and to never stand in the bus while it is moving. Studies have also shown that two children riding on a bench seat have a lower risk of injury than three (3) occupants riding in the same seat.
Schools should provide adequate adult supervision while children are boarding and exiting the bus. All bus stops should be located in safe locations that minimize the need for children to cross the street. Parents are well advised to trace your child’s normal route to and from school to spot potential danger spots and instruct your children where to walk and cross the street.
Image taken on 1940-01-01 00:00:00 by The Library of Congress.
Why is Music Important for Kids?
This question has been debated for as long as time has existed. Even the great Greek and Roman philosophers approached the question: is music something that should be taught and does it help the development of children? Plato answered “I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for in the patterns of music and all arts are the keys to learning.” And again “what then is the education to be? Perhaps we could hardly find a better than that which the experience of the past has already discovered, which consists, I believe, in gymnastic, for the body, and music for the mind.”
In all cultures of the world music plays an important role. While these roles may change depending on the culture it is impossible to separate music from the life of an individual. While some may argue the role of music in our lives it is impossible to escape it. Even in the popular culture of Australia it is impossible to go shopping without hearing music. Music provides a means of communication and expression of culture and individual identity.
Children are immersed in music from birth and will be for their entire life. If this is the case why teach it? Is not the constant immersion in music enough? To this I say; is the fact that we witness the results of scientific principals on a day to day basis result in the understanding of those scientific principles? No it does not and likewise for music it does not either. The day to day encounters we have with music can move us but the understanding of this music can help us grow as individuals.
In many cultures the family plays the main role in music education. Families are most commonly the ones that teach children the music of their culture. As young children, we are commonly sung nursery rhymes. These provide entertainment for the child and often information in small repeated fashion. Children learn through the repetition and structure that the information was delivered in. many nursery rhymes teach fundamental life lesson and therefore sets music up as a means of educating. Children learn from music from a young age and will continue to for the rest of their lives. In a world where globalization and consumerism are dominating cultural identities are drifting into the background and children are more likely to be sung pop songs as lullaby’s than nursery rhymes. The benefit of nursery rhymes and progressive learning has become an issue. Children are missing out on fundamental learning opportunities.
The Mozart effect which gained a large following in the 1990’s claimed that listening to Mozart as a baby will make a child smarter. While this movement was short lived and there is little proof that it works there has been no denying that children who learn music will achieve higher in other aspects of their academic life. In earning music children learn to express their identities, gain confidence and develop sense of time and space. A research team at the university of Munster in Germany discovered that students who study music have more developed abstract reasoning skills which are closely linked to learning in the areas of science and maths.
I do not believe that there is any argument to this question…music is a vital part of a child’s education and should be taken seriously. Listening to music is not enough! A child must learn to think musically and that is what will help assist the development of the child and their academic development.
written by Gemma Lee from www.shinemusic.com.au teachers of piano, saxophone, violin, singing, drums, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, flute and clarinet
