did you knowdid you know

1. Did You Know? Music is important to the education of your child.

3. Did you know� Music majors are the most likely group of college graduates to be admitted to medical school. 66% of music majors who applied to med school were admitted. The next closest group were biochemistry majors (44%)

4. Did you know� Music participants receive more academic honors and awards than non-music students � And the percentage of music participants receiving As, As/Bs and Bs was higher than the percentage of non-participants receiving those grades.

5. Did you know� High school music students score higher on SATs in both verbal and math than their peers.

6. Did you know� College-age musicians are emotionally healthier than their non-musician counterparts. In an University of Texas study, tests measuring performance anxiety, emotional concerns, and alcohol problems � musicians had fewer battles with the bottle and seemed to have a surer footing when facing tests.

7. Did you know� The world�s top academic countries place a high value on music education. Hungary, Netherlands, and Japan stand atop science achievement and have strong commitments to music education at elementary and middle levels for both instrumental and vocal music.

8. Did you know� �The nation�s top business executives agree that arts education programs can help repair weaknesses in American education and better prepare workers for the 21st century.� � Business Week, October 1996

9. Did you know� Middle school and high school students who participated in instrumental music scored significantly higher than their non-instrumental peers in standardized tests as shown by studies conducted in Georgia and Texas.

10. Did you know� The term �core academic subjects� means English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography. No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, Title IX, Part A, Sec 9101 (11)

11. Did you know� Brain imagery shows increases in parts of the cerebral hemisphere and in the thickness of neural fibers in children who begin string instrument study by the age of 7, compared to children not exposed to this kind of learning.

12. Did you know� What is most important is not how many brain cells one has, but the number of interconnections among brain cells. Early childhood musical experiences where the baby is an active participant aids in the development of the neural networks necessary for later music processing. From Musicality from Birth to Five, Donald A. Hodges, University of Texas at San Antonio

13. Did you know� Good pitch discrimination benefits learning to read by enhancing the second, phonemic stage of learning. The relationship to music education is straightforward, because such training invariably involves improvement in pitch discrimination. - from Music and Cognitive Achievement in Children by Norman M. Weinberger

14. Did you know� There is nothing more dangerous to school music programs than hidden cuts which do not appear to affect music budgets. While it may seem the district has cut each area equally, a music department with four line items could have 4X as much cut from its program.

15. Did you know� Sometimes hidden cuts occur in areas that seem unrelated to music � a cut in summer school programs may affect beginning instrumental lessons. Changes in elementary staffs may reduce beginning choral and instrumental programs that will, in a few years, sharply reduce music enrollment in higher grades.

16. Did you know� In Florida, one full credit of fine arts (music, art theatre, dance) is required for high school graduation.

17. Did you know� The high school fine arts requirement is under constant threat � and (as of 2008) now includes a number of practical arts (workforce) courses.

18. Did you know� Every time a legislator or a school board member hears from a constituent about the importance of music education, it raises the importance of music education for that elected official.

19. In Champions of Change: the Impact of the Arts on Learning The arts reach students not ordinarily reached, in ways not normally used. This keeps tardies and truancies and, eventually, dropouts down.

20. In Champions of Change: the Impact of the Arts on Learning Students connect to each other better: greater camaraderie, fewer fights, less racism, and reduced use of hurtful sarcasm.

21. In Champions of Change: the Impact of the Arts on Learning The arts change the environment to one of discovery. This can re-ignite the love of learning in students tired of being filled up with facts.

22. In Champions of Change: the Impact of the Arts on Learning Arts provide challenges for students at all levels, from delayed to gifted. It�s a class where all students can find their own level, automatically.

23. In Champions of Change: the Impact of the Arts on Learning Arts connect learners to the world of real work where theater, music, and products have to appeal to a growing consumer public.

24. In Champions of Change: the Impact of the Arts on Learning Students learn to become sustained, self-directed learners, not a repository of facts from direct instruction for the next high-stake test.

25. In Champions of Change: the Impact of the Arts on Learning Students of lower socio-economic status gain as much or more from arts instruction than those of higher socio-economic status. This suggests the gifted programs need to expand their targets.

26. Did you know� Music helps you think by activating and synchronizing neural firing patterns that connect multiple brain sites. The neural synchrony ensembles increase both the brain�s efficiency and effectiveness. The strongest studies support the value of music-making in spatial reasoning, creativity, and generalized mathematical skills.