Tri-M News Sarah Sacco, Tri-M Chair
Advocating for the Future
We had the privilege this past March of taking students from our Tri-M chapter to Fine Arts Education Day at the Capitol. While there, we met with legislators to advocate for music in our schools. We wanted to ask them to support legislation that helps fund music education. While preparing for the meetings with our local legislators we discussed with our students what they thought the legislators needed to hear about music in our schools.
We knew we needed to share the facts and the data to support our request, but would that be enough? Everyone has heard the fact that caffeine is bad for you, but the majority of us still choose to drink soda, coffee, or tea everyday. Everyone has heard the fact that daily exercise is good for your health, yet the majority of us choose to stay on the couch instead. So would it be enough to just share the facts and data about the benefits of music education with our legislators? We believed the answer was no.
Almost every decision we make comes from some sort of emotion. It is one of the reasons why it doesn’t matter if we just play or sing every note, rhythm, dynamic, and articulation correctly. If it doesn’t move someone it isn’t
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as effective. However, if you can touch someone’s heart you can make a difference. The power of music can drastically change ones emotional being. This is a very powerful weapon.
When we met with our legislators the students decided to not just share facts and data but also the emotional impact of music education. They shared what having music in their lives meant to them. They shared how being involved in music kept them coming to school, got them through deaths in their families, and gave them strength in times of trouble. They also shared how being involved in music gave them life skills like commitment, dedication, hard work, organization, communication, and so much more. They tried to pull at their heartstrings and then hit them with the facts and data. They believed this was the key to reaching them because emotion can bring change.
I think advocating for music in education is something EVERY Tri-M Chapter needs to get involved with. I know not every one of my members is going to go on to major in music or even continue performing after they graduate. They CAN all continue to advocate for music in our
schools, however. If we give them the proper training and tools, these students could become the voices that help save music programs across the country. These students are our future and I want to arm them with every possible tool, experience, and skill they need to help keep the future of music in our schools bright.
Luckily NAfME has resources for us to achieve this goal right at our fingertips. If you go to
nafme.org/ advocacy you will find resources to help you stay up to date on the latest music advocacy needs. I urge each one of you to take some time to explore the website and share the information with your Tri-M members. This summer, get together with your chapter executive board and plan how in 2017-2018 your chapter is going to advocate for music in our schools. Take some time to train your members on how to be a lifelong music advocate and how to fight for our future. You won’t regret it!
Another great way to prepare your Tri-M members for the future is by attending the 2nd Annual Missouri Tri-M Summit on September 12th &13th, 2017 at Missouri State University.
See SACCO, pg. 40 29
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