Letter from Dr. Gene Aitken
22 July 2008
Hello all:
It is exciting to hear of the first meeting with NMES in Kathmandu in a week or so. Congratulations to all of you for your vision making the NMES organization a reality...very exciting! I sincerely enjoyed spending time with all of you as well as working with the ensembles, teachers and students at the Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory. Again, a very special thanks to Mariano and his teaching staff for making the event a terrific experience for everyone, and to Nirakar for his continued support of all the faculty, staff, teachers, and students.
For the first newsletter I thought it might be a good idea to share with you a few thoughts to help justify having music in the academic curriculum during the daytime hours, versus as a co-curricular or extra-curricular subject. There have been numerous educational and statistical studies that attest to the connection between music and academic achievement.
Davidson School in August, Georgia (grades 5-12) which has a long history of music and arts program, has continually been #1 academically in the United States for many years. In the school districts surrounding the St. Louis, Missouri, many high schools have as many as three to four high school orchestras, wind ensembles, choirs, and other music organizations whose students are continually in the top 10% of their graduating class academically. And the list goes on.
In other parts of the world, the Australian Council of State School Organizations (ACSSO), shares the opinion of many countries, including China, that there is no disputing the value of music to children (November 2007).
There are numerous research studies that confirm music participation in elementary through high school grade levels increase all areas of a child's intellectual development as well as helping the students learn, through the discipline of music, communication and cognitive skills. In addition, music helps students develop a positive attitude about school and to work effectively in the school environment without resorting to violent or disruptive behavior.
There is a relationship between high self-perception, high cognitive competence scores, general self-esteem and participation in school music programs. A study by the Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities (Lillemyr, 1983), a connection was found between students having high musical competence and high motivation to achieve success in school. Students with interest and competence in school music were found to have positive correlation with cognitive competence scores.
Additional studies have shown that achievement and participation in school music programs increases the students' self-image, self-esteem, confidence, concentration, memory, hearing acuity, grade-point average, communication skills, appraising, and the ability to work with others as part of a team.
Music as an academic subject within the curriculum is important. It is a unique symbolic mode for expression that can inspire and motivate students. There is no doubt that music can make significant contribution to the students' success in society, school, and life as well as in developing the intellect.
Best to all,
Dr. Gene Aitken