Housewright Declaration/Chapter 3

“Housewright Declaration”

How does Vision 2020 impact your view of music education? Do you agree or disagree with the basic tenets of the Housewright Declaration? Why? Comment on at least two of your peers’ blogs.

Vision 2020 gives me a better perspective on the things for which music educators are responsible. Sometimes we get so caught up in our busy lives, we think all we are going to college for is to learn music and how to teach it. While that ideal is true, there is a lot more to music education. As music educators, we must lend equal opportunity for all to participate in our classrooms. If there is a lack of participation, it is our responsibility to search it out. We must also teach music in its various forms, familiar and unfamiliar, and keep ourselves educated on what is new to the music industry and music technology. Another thing music teachers do is to search for others to take their place and the place of their colleagues in other schools. This is something I have actually wondered about recently. Did my own music teacher see something in me and subtly encourage me and lead me down the path to a career in music education. She may have, but I didn’t even realize it until now. We must foster a love for music in our students, and encourage them to pursue music as a lifelong activity, and when we see the potential for a possible music educator, don’t be afraid to suggest it to them.

I do agree with the Housewright Declaration. Every point makes absolute sense. We need music in the world. Life would be absolutely and dreadfully boring without it. (In fact, when I imagine a world without music, I picture everything without color or mood—a bit zombie-like.) In order to keep music, we must teach a love for it by providing opportunities to perform it and learn it. Teaching music and getting it out into the public will not only benefit the students, but also all those who hear it.

Chapter 3

List five ideas about why you think music education belongs in the junior and senior high curriculum.

1. Music creates a better quality of life. Clearly the world would be quite drab without the sound of music. Just think of how many people cannot stand driving their car without the radio or CD player going. Think of how many people always walk down the hallways or down the street whistling. Hoffer states that without music, “something vital to [our] human spirit and psychological well-being would be missing. With no music, people would be ‘psychologically stunted,’ ‘artistically deprived,’ ‘spiritually limited’” (Hoffer, 21). He goes on to mention that about 48 percent of a lifetime is spent not working or sleeping (Hoffer 23). What can we do with it? There is definitely time for music, so it is important that we appreciate it and understand what is happening with what we hear and/or perform.

2. It is virtually impossible to escape musical influence. We encounter music every day: in the media, on the streets, in our cars, as we work, as we shop, etc. (Hoffer, 23). It is part of our lives and a large contributor to what makes life interesting (Hoffer, 23). Many people have musical preferences as well. Without music education, who could honestly explain why they like or dislike a particular style, artist, or piece? Music education is important for that reason. We, as educators, must teach the various concepts of music, and encourage our students to state their preferences using valid information based on what we teach them.

3. Music education creates the next generation of competent writers, performers, and critics. While there are a couple prodigies that come out of nowhere with amazing talent, most talented musicians do not. The talents of many of the world’s best musicians have been nurtured in school music programs. It is in music education that the great songwriters learn how to write, what to write, and why to write it a certain way. Without music education, as Hoffer says, “most [musicians] would be unable to use music notation at all” (Hoffer, 26). Music education provides “guidance” in creating and performing music, as well as drawing conclusions about what we hear.

4. Music can instill a sense of pride in oneself, a community, and beyond. We can all sense pride in music. When we hear a national anthem, a school song, an organization’s theme song, etc. we feel that pride and sense of belonging. People outside the schools appreciate music as well, whether they can find a way to phrase that appreciation or not—“they feel it intuitively” (Hoffer, 26). They may be proud of the students they see performing, or they may simply be proud to be part of the gift of music being shared.

5. Music education has benefits outside the music classroom. Music has been proven to increase intelligence in other academic areas, or at least starts a “cycle of success” in those students who elect to take music courses and makes them better because of it (Hoffer, 28). Music participation also increases group cooperation and leadership and encourages good performance habits not only for music but also for other types of performances (speech, acting, etc.).

Hoffer, C. R. (2001). Teaching Music in the Secondary Schools. Belmont: Wadsworth-Thomson Learning.