Music Education Extinction

Music education is headed towards extinction. Music education is headed towards extinction because of egotistical and self-serving music educators. Allow me to explain. There are thousands and thousands of adults alive in the United States right now who were in band and/or orchestra in elementary school and/or middle school and/or high school. If all or even some of these people actively and passionately supported music education, music education would have a much, much better chance of surviving. The problem is that these thousands and thousands of people have absolutely no respect or appreciation for music or the people who have dedicated their lives to playing it, composing it, or teaching it. They have no idea who Leonard Bernstein or Duke Ellington was. They do not listen to recordings of classical or jazz music. They would never even consider attending a live performance of jazz or classical music and they do not and did not, in any way, encourage their own children to join band or orchestra in school. The reason these former band and orchestra students do not have any respect or appreciation for music is because they were not taught to have any respect or appreciation for music. The reason these thousands and thousands of former band and orchestra students were not taught to have respect and appreciation for music is that music educators themselves do not benefit directly from teaching their students to have respect and appreciation for music. Music educators do not receive plaques or trophies for teaching their students to have respect and appreciation for music. Music educators earn absolutely no respect from other music educators for teaching their students to have respect and appreciation for music. Music educators egos and reputations do not benefit from their students being taught respect and appreciation for music. Music educators egos and reputations do benefit when their ensembles win competitions and receive Superior ratings at festivals. Very few music educators deserve the title of music educator. The vast majority of people who consider them selves to be music educators are in fact music competitors. They believe that their only purpose is to win competitions and beat other music educators at festivals and competitions. The vast majority of music educators care about their own egos and reputations far, far more than they care about their students or about music or about music education. This is why music education is headed towards extinction. If music educators had been doing their jobs for the last fifty years, we would have an unstoppable army of people who supported music education right now. Yet, music education is headed towards extinction, and those thousands and thousands of former band and orchestra students simply dont care. Thousands and thousands of former band and orchestra students dont care about music education because music education did not care about them. If music educators want to know whom to blame for the current precarious state of music education, all they need to do is look in the mirror.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Music Education
• Music Educator
• Music Educators
• Band
• Orchestra
• Marching Band
• Concert Band
• Music
• Education
• Music advocacy

[Danzona40]

Ultimately, I would argue that I don't disagree our system of education is the problem - but I don't believe that any music educators in our country are intentionally devaluing music education for the sake of competition - quite the contrary, in fact. My colleagues nationwide are very interested in helping each of our students learn to love music through the challenge of instrumental performance - but the sad fact is our administrators and in many cases, our communities - don't understand it.

[moderndaywarriorAZ]

@Danzona40 I also do not believe that music educators are INTENTIONALLY devaluing music education for the sake of competition. They just don't realize how bad things are. Instrumental music is almost completely extinct in the U.S. outside of government funded institutions. There is little, if any, interest in instrumental music in the real world, even from former instrumental music students. The problem is that students do not learn to love music by simply playing musical instruments.

[Danzona40]

The reality is that as music educators who wish to survive in the modern public education construct, we must perform to the satisfaction of people paid to assess us from a position of ignorance, in many cases. Achievement demonstrates success; non-achievement communicates failure. The person who makes the most difference to a student is the one who can communicate to them the difference between competing for a rating and making great music - and who can teach them how to do both at once.

[moderndaywarriorAZ]

@Danzona40 If "achievement demonstrates success" for music educators, then I suppose an educator's ensembles must score well at music festivals to demonstrate success. But, who are the judges at those festivals? Answer: current and former music educators. So, music educators are forcing each other to spend all of their class time preparing for performances and no class time teaching students music appreciation. Music "educators" are doing it to themselves and music education is dying.

[johnny52013]

I think this is a load of bullcrap. Check your sources. If it's that bad where you live, I feel sorry for you. I hope your outlook changes soon. If you're somewhat of an advocate for music education, you would be posting videos on how music education benefits this nation, not whatever personal issues you may have come across thru experience.

[moderndaywarriorAZ]

@johnny52013 The "personal issues" I have come across through 30 years of experience are that instrumental music in the U.S. is dead and instrumental music education is dying and that, instead of trying to save instrumental music education and instrumental music, music educators spend all of their available class time teaching students how to play music and none of their class time teaching students WHY to play instrumental music or WHY to listen to instrumental music. How very sad.

[moderndaywarriorAZ]

@Danzona40 Of course, nobody wants to "attend a concert where most of the kids played like hacks." But, if school music ensembles played slightly less challenging material, which would make some class time available for teaching music appreciation, the students, the parents, and the administrators would NOT know the difference. Only the music educators would know the difference. The problem is that music educators are obsessed with what other music educators think and nothing else.

[moderndaywarriorAZ]

@Danzona40 Yes. I agree. Kids are "bombarded daily by media images of solo rock artists and indie bands". This is why it is more important than ever for instrumental music educators to teach respect and appreciation for instrumental music to their students. Music educators are teaching their students ONLY what they need to know in order to perform well at concerts and festivals. This is why instrumental music outside of schools is dead and instrumental music education is dying.

[moderndaywarriorAZ]

@Danzona40 Ahhh...somebody finally noticed the Rush reference. I have heard the "demands of our administrators" argument many, many times. In 30 years of first-hand personal experience with music education, I have never even heard of a music educator losing his position because of poor competitive performance. Even if it has happened, it is an extremely rare occurrence. This argument is just a way for music educators to justify their endless obsession with beating each other.

[thepianoplayer416]

Always interesting to listen to discussions about music education.

CBC the main radio broadcasting station in Canada used to air mosty Classical music but over the years reduced the Classical segment to just a few hours a day replaced by other popular forms of music.

Children's TV programs tend to promote popular music over something old-fashioned for ad revenue. Parents enroll their kids in private music instructions what they see as discipline.

Uploaded keyboard playing videos.

[Danzona40]

Thus, it falls to us to encourage kids to make music in the organizations we have, where we are in constant competition with that same mass media that sells the lie that everyone can be a star, and everyone can sing pro, play in the NFL, and get accolades for themselves - when the POINT of making music in a band, orchestra or choir is do do it TOGETHER and do it WELL, so that others will WANT to listen. Would YOU want to attend a concert where most of the kids played like hacks?

[Danzona40]

While I can see your point (and great handle, btw, have you always been a Rush fan?) - I would argue simply that there is not a clear way to satisfy the demands of our administrators and keep our jobs, and simultaneously encourage kids to take up instruments and play in a concert band. Kids are bombarded daily by media images of solo rock artists and indie bands, none of whom could describe what a French horn or an oboe is, let alone play one.