Chapter 3

Chapter 3/The Housewright Declaration
9/2/03

As future music educators, we are somewhat held accountable for the future of music education. I agree that it is up to me (us) to “lead the development of meaningful music instruction and experience.” For students to really understand and appreciate music, they must have good musical role models to follow. Having a good, positive music teacher makes for a much better experience for students and will make them more willing to be excited about it. Also, with new technology on the rise, music teachers must keep up to date and be able to use new technology efficiently and effectively. Overall, I agree with everything in the Housewright Declaration. All the points made are very practical and make sense in my perspective, and all of them are important points for music teachers to keep in mind in order to be effective.

The Housewright Declaration gives a lot of information on how teachers can have good music programs, but why exactly is music important to have in school curriculums? To me, one of the most important aspects of receiving a good education in music is the experience working with a group. In our textbook, Hoffer writes, “There are many benefits from participation in music activities – performing before an audience, getting to know a teacher who is a good role model, achieving recognition in terms of an award, and so on (Hoffer, 28). This quote actually touches on both the benefit of group activities as well as having a positive mentor or role model. There have also been studies done correlating music participation and SAT scores. “There is intriguing evidence about music and success in school – and presumably then in life. Students who participate in music generally score higher on SAT tests than students who are not in any arts courses” (Hoffer, 28). Questions arise as to whether music actually makes students smarter or if it is the smarter students who are naturally attracted to music. Although I can see this argument, I believe that music participation does actually make people smarter because of all the brain-action that goes into reading and performing music. Even if students do not continue to do music in college after high school, the music itself provides them with value in their community. With a background in music, people are able to continue until they physically cannot anymore by performing in community ensembles. Our textbook states, “For example, one listing of community orchestras contains over 1,600 entries, and there are thousands of church choirs and other amateur choral groups” (Hoffer, 28). Obviously, music is something that will stick with students for the rest of their lives. Another reason to have music in the curriculum is to give students a chance to think aesthetically. Being able to think aesthetically is a big part of performing something musically, rather than just playing the notes. An interesting quote in the book says, “Being involved in music without any aesthetic responses must be something like playing basketball without any baskets”(Hoffer, 25). Music without feeling is essentially empty, which is why aesthetic responses to music are so important.

Hoffer, Charles R. Teaching Music in Secondary Schools. 2001. Wadsworth; Belmont, CA.