Advocacy: Use it or Lose it (Con’t)
total interest, school involvement, and the study of music.
-O. F. Lillemyr, “Achievement Motivation as a Factor in Self-Perception,” Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities.
Nations whose students consistently outperform the United States in tests assessing science achievement are the countries where music is a primary focus of the curriculum.
-James R. Ponter, “Comparing School Music Programs and Science Test Scores Worldwide,” NASSP (National Association of Secondary School Principals) Bulletin, February, 1999
Fortunately, for music educators there has been an advocacy inertia created by industry and the education community. This information is at our fingertips waiting for us to take action. The excerpts in this article are from the CD-ROM, “Essential Music Advocacy,” available from David Madera at Focus On Excellence 800-332-2637. This is a collection of indexed articles and lists ready to be printed and distributed: to parents, administrators, school newsletters, newspapers, music booster newsletters and e-mail, at parent teacher conferences, open houses, concerts, wherever school information is exchanged. You don’t need to spend valuable time searching the Internet, it is all there for you to add energy to your inertia.
Music manufacturers have packets that include posters, pamphlets, videos and scripted power point presentations designed for presentation to businesses, school boards, administration and parent groups. These can be presented by a parent, student or yourself. NAMM (National
Association of Music
Manufacturers), has created a complete advocacy campaign entitled, The Einstein Kit, that can be easily instituted by any support organization. Contact Sharon McLaughlin 800-767-6266 ext. 129 or
www.namm.com. Another useful advocacy site is
musicachievementcouncil.org
Great concerts, of great music, variety, lots of kids, festival ratings, great teaching and, yes, trips, parties and awards all contribute to a successful program. These build tradition and an inertia that can
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nurture and grow a program. But, none of these addresses the academic benefits of music participation and the integral part it plays in student achievement, attitude, self-worth, enhanced creativity and problem solving skills gained through the study of music. They don’t reflect what is happening to the brain. So when another force (block scheduling, expanded core instruction, budget constraints, high school, academic load or the junior year) comes along, it becomes easy to dismiss band or orchestra as an expendable frill.
Ongoing advocacy is an essential element in any successful program. It brings students to the program, can help keep them in the program, create a demand for a vital and supported program, encourage parents to select music for their children and to keep them there year after year, establish a positive attitude among fellow educators regarding the impact on student learning music has and more. But, these attitudes do not change with a flood of action after that another force hits. The course is too altered by then and it takes years to create your own force to redirect the impact.
I am not suggesting music education will vanish from our schools without an active advocacy program. I am concerned with the diminished effectiveness such programs will have on students both cognitively and affectively. Will music programs be able to offer rewarding performances of quality literature, involving a significant portion of the student body? Or, will they have to settle for adequate performances of acceptable literature, by a small fraction of the student body? Will overall student creativity and problem solving skills be enhanced by music study or limited in the pursuit of higher MEAP scores?
As music educators and artists we understand the benefits gained through music performance. And, an engineer understands the benefits of the car he or she designs. But, the marketing guys sell that car, not engineers. Music educators need to step off the podium and onto Wall Street. Before students can realize the magic (art) and benefits of music making, we need to get them in the seats by educating them, their parents, the administrators, school board and core
subject teachers regarding the enhanced academic, creative and societal skills achieved through music making.
We are the only ones who can create the advocacy inertia. We cannot expect people to make an informed decision regarding music participation if we do not inform them. We must be that another force that changes the inertia of perception that music is a wonderful and rewarding frill into the inertia of recognition that music is a vital cross-curricular academic discipline that enhances all learning. And, it is wonderful, enriching and fulfilling.
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William W. Gourley is the Vice President/General and Educational Consultant for the Marshall Music Company of Lansing, Michigan where his responsibilities include the oversight of sales and marketing, editing and writing Marshall’s educational newsletter, mentoring music teachers
throughout the state, lecturing at universities, presenting workshops and coordinating educational programs and seminars for music educators. His articles have been published nationally and most notably in the Keynotes Magazine. Mr. Gourley is the conductor of the Dexter Community Band and the Ann Arbor Civic Band. During his twenty-five years as a music educator he taught in the Dundee and Chelsea school systems, served on the conducting staff of the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and founded and conducted the Southeastern Michigan Honors Band, a high school student ensemble that toured throughout Europe. Mr. Gourley serves as a faculty member of the Conn-Selmer Institute and is in demand as a clinician, adjudicator, guest conductor, and lecturer for student and adult ensembles in the state and nationally. Mr. Gourley received a Bachelors and Masters of Music Education from Michigan State University. He has served as a district and state Executive Board member and Committee Chairman for the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association (MSBOA) and is a three- time recipient of the MSBOA District XII Outstanding Band Director Award. Mr. Gourley is a past chairman of the Michigan Chapter of the American School Band Directors’ Association and was awarded the Stanbury Award as Michigan’s Outstanding Young Band Director of the Year. Bands and orchestras under his direction have performed at prestigious festivals, music conferences, and concert venues throughout the United States, Canada and Europe and have gained a national and international reputation of excellence for their musical proficiency and artistry.
May/June 2011
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