A few months ago, I read this short NPR article , which boasts that music should be taught for creativity over test scores.
The NAfME spokesperson quoted in the article cites Broader Minded, which is NAfME's new advocacy tool that stresses a more "complete argument for music education", including sections about areas like improving collaboration and communication, as well as emphasis on grit and emotional intelligence, among others. I'm excited at the potential of a perspective like that of Broader Minded for NAfME, as it is based in advocating the arts for their intrinsic qualities--things we already do in music classrooms--not on external, roundabout measures, like reading scores.
While I am happy about the perspective of Broader Minded, I very much hope this is a stepping stone to more substantially-supported arguments and that it encourages future research. Currently, each 21st-century skill or area of brain development cited is supported only by short narratives from music teachers, students, and parents. While these are undoubtedly valuable, they do not provide a substantial, research-based argument. In some cases, research does not exist--a great reason for more research on these cognitive habits.
I have to take some issue with the NPR article title's reference to creativity. Nowhere in the article to we hear creative acts referenced--what we do hear about is children learning Wade in the Water by rote. If we mentioned rote learning in any other subject, it would be labeled as the antithesis of creativity. Yet by being musical, we somehow get a pass on using that word...
The NAfME spokesperson quoted in the article cites Broader Minded, which is NAfME's new advocacy tool that stresses a more "complete argument for music education", including sections about areas like improving collaboration and communication, as well as emphasis on grit and emotional intelligence, among others. I'm excited at the potential of a perspective like that of Broader Minded for NAfME, as it is based in advocating the arts for their intrinsic qualities--things we already do in music classrooms--not on external, roundabout measures, like reading scores.
While I am happy about the perspective of Broader Minded, I very much hope this is a stepping stone to more substantially-supported arguments and that it encourages future research. Currently, each 21st-century skill or area of brain development cited is supported only by short narratives from music teachers, students, and parents. While these are undoubtedly valuable, they do not provide a substantial, research-based argument. In some cases, research does not exist--a great reason for more research on these cognitive habits.
I have to take some issue with the NPR article title's reference to creativity. Nowhere in the article to we hear creative acts referenced--what we do hear about is children learning Wade in the Water by rote. If we mentioned rote learning in any other subject, it would be labeled as the antithesis of creativity. Yet by being musical, we somehow get a pass on using that word...
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