I asked my Aunt Mary, active music education advocate and singer in the Madison-based band Rosewood, to do some research on a local music booster group of which she has been a member for many years: the Madison Music Association. Oddly enough, her name also lends well to my attempts at alliteration...

A few summers ago I was out in my backyard planting flowers when I heard a curious hammering sound. It sounded like construction but too specific and metered. (My husband and his brother spend their lives on building sites: I know what construction sounds like.) For the next few weeks I heard this sound from time to time and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what it was. I cannot remember how I finally became enlightened to the fact (or who told me), but it turned out to be a woodblock metronome belonging to the marching band, the newest part of the music program at Madison High School. I was very excited to have them practicing so close to my house, mainly because I was in marching band in high school and have many fond memories of those days of practice and football games. However, I could not believe that our high school (that I knew was filled with so many talented teens) did not have a marching band before this summer.

I had been a member of the Madison Music Association (MMA), a non-profit corporation, for many years, since my oldest was in first grade. In fact, I was the MMA liaison between the elementary school and the high school. I had only attended a few meetings, so it made sense that I had no idea we didn’t have a marching band. By the time the year was over, that new marching band leader took those kids from beginners to award-winning marchers. It was amazing to see what a little passion, and a lot of hard work, had created. 

The MMA was established sometime in the 1970s primarily to supplement the music program. I have seen it transform over the last 10 years and in particular the last 3 years it has become a phenomenal force in the Madison public school system. The goal in the by-laws of the MMA is to create a meaningful relationship between the parents, students, music and arts faculty, and the public. It supports the students, faculty and all the visual and performing arts programs of the Madison Public Schools, kindergarten through twelfth grade. The organization constantly provides assistance and encouragement, along with financial assistance to applicants of the summer music program and aid in defraying administrative expenses associated with arts education.

The MMA officers are a group of parents of Madison K-12 students currently participating in any of the music or art programs. The officers include a president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer with 1-year terms. The past few years, the MMA has been working on getting itself more well-known. It has been low-profile for a long time but through hard work and advertising with posters, banners, websites it has come a long way.

It's just $20 to support arts education in Madison schools and become a member of MMA.

Let me tell you, I have been the membership coordinator for over 7 years and have watched membership go from paper to electronic. I spent many a summer stapling and stamping to get those membership packets out in time for the August mailing before school starts. Now you can get the membership form online (see below), print it out and send in your dues!

Today I got to visit St. Nicholas Primary School in Oxford! I was shown around by my mum’s cousin (my first cousin once removed) Harriet who I last saw when her family came and visited New York City a few years ago. It was great to see her again and I am very grateful she arranged the visit to St. Nicholas.

When the Base’s kids first walk in (on the 8-11 side), they do some individual work and then move into a bigger group to work on handwriting skills (this includes OT hand-strengthening exercises and other activities to focus and quiet the group). They put up the day of the week (along with other things) on a Velcro board, then moved to a dance activity (which they do every Tuesday). At least one student joined the mainstream class at this time, but most of the students combined with the other side of the CIRB and went into the assembly hall. Here they did some physical exercise, dance routines, and following of simple directions: the kids seemed to have a great time. Next was music with rhythm, memory, and singing games and songs. Some of the kids got very involved with the activities and looked like they were enjoying them! When the groups broke up again, I stayed with the younger kids and saw math and counting practice along with a size comparison activity. Then came lunch, break, and play time (students had an 30 min for lunch and 30 min for recess), at which point I moved back to the older group to observe and participate in silent independent reading, stations, board games and “choosing time” (kids get to pick their own activity). Finally, students were dismissed at 1450 (mainstream students left at 1515).

One of the more interesting things I got to see was the station time the older kids did towards the end of the day. Essentially they were puzzles or activities meant to challenge them, like “build a copy of this out of blocks” or “draw the mirror image of this design.” There was very little if any verbal instruction from the adults and it was fascinating because I could actually see their minds working as they solved the problems given to them. The board game time was also a valuable part of the day as the adults worked on social skills like being gracious winners and not getting too “bent out of shape” after a loss. There seemed to be a focus on social skills, which is extremely valuable for kids with Autism, and they made a point to go over how to behave in certain situations.

After the students had left for the day, I asked the adults some questions about their school and the system as a whole. The biggest thing they said needed to be improved was that the government and schools needed to begin treating students as individuals. For example, it would be unreasonable to require that students must pass English and math to leave school, since for many special education kids that is an unattainable goal. The adults also said that SNPS was very good at providing creative outlets for the kids and that often the school observes a week-long theme (this week was “Science Week”). Students also have the opportunity to participate in many extra-curricular activities, as well as having a fair amount of the day put aside for physical activity. Specifically, the kids in the Base went swimming once a week and horseback riding every 3 weeks, along with practicing dance routines and break times.

Overall I met some great teachers and assistants, whose patience and caring were boundless. I really did learn a great deal and I had a blast while doing it. I want to thank Harriet for arranging the opportunity, as well as the staff and administration of St. Nicholas Primary School for welcoming me into their wonderful school!!!

The greatest thing about music in schools is that it encourages so many great values and principles. Rehearsal is the most abundant aspect of music, and it instills principles like hard work, dedication, the importance of practice, and the drive for perfection, while at the same time teaching kids that if something isn’t perfect, it's OKAY! I have never had a music educator who stresses perfection over expressing emotion and having fun.

Since there are so many, I’m going to break down the benefits of music education into two aspects: emotional and practical.

All-in-all, there are many clinically proven benefits to music education, as well as those observed first-hand by teachers and students in the field. Music education has given me so much and has provided me with skills I continue to use today.

Welcome to Musical Madness March! The theme of many of the posts and articles this month will be specifically based on music education. There have been countless proven benefits that music education can provide, from improved language ability and spatial intelligence to better performance (pardon the pun) on standardized tests, all while teaching the value of hard work and perseverance. According to The Telegraph, choir singing “boosts your mental health” even more than playing a team sport does! Larger vocabularies, better overall academic performance, and bigger paychecks are just some of the measurable long-term benefits, not counting the friendships made that last a lifetime or other qualitative benefits.

Over the next four weeks, you can look forward to posts like the ones below, all with contributions from past and present music educators and students!
- The benefits of music education and its impact on kids (with input from music educators as well as past and current students)
- The impact of extra-curricular musical activities on students, educators, and the school community
- A look inside one of New Jersey's premier children's choirs, the New Jersey Youth Chorus
- The long-term effects of music education on career path and educational attainment
- A look at the impact music education has on the community at large.
- The impacts of musical education from a mom's perspective

I have taken input from over several dozen current and past students and educators and will be featuring first-hand accounts of their experience with music education. Several guest authors will also be making contributions as well!

This whole month will culminate in the unveiling of a new portion of TheOxfordObserver.com, so stay tuned!