Using Music to Close the Academic Gap - Lori Miller Kase - The Atlantic - 73 views
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George Hess on 13 Oct 13Why isn't music in the Common Core
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Bob Calder on 14 Oct 13Research demonstrates that music doesn't help as such. The same effect can be got from any discipline where practice and persistence are important. The musical component can be duplicated with explicit phonemic instruction in a short time. You would be better off drawing because it is the only non-academic that has a direct academic relationship - with geometry. The evidence for that has to do with the above, plus junction recognition and visualization. The only thing I didn't touch on is openness to new experience which has a strong correlation to measured intelligence. That's a component of the arts in general.
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George Hess on 15 Oct 13I'm aware of the studies and also of the garbage science like the "Mozart Effect." While they don't support the correlation, they are also not definitive. This appears to be a valid study and it is working. Whether the reasons are because they learn practice and persistence or something else is irrelevant, a correlation still exists. Maybe it's just that music is fun and the way we learn music--practice, reflect, refine, repeat--is a good model for learning in general. It's certainly better than standardized tests. Personally, I don't feel a need to justify music's existence by its value to other subjects. It represents some of humanity's greatest achievements. That should be enough.