Arts Education!

FINALLY! Word is getting out to the academic world - something I have preaching for many years.

The President of Cornell University, David J. Skorton, has endorsed the growing recognition of the importance of arts and music in the making of young scientists...

It is through the study of art, music, literature, history and other humanities and social sciences that we gain a greater understanding of the human condition than biological or physical science alone can provide.

The article titled, Why Scientists Should Embrace the Liberal Arts: Science alone isn't enough to solve the world's problems, is just one in many that support the arts as crucial to a child's education. 

I am willing to bet that Cornell looks for students that have a background in the arts. That brings up a good point....

Q: What looks good on a student's resume when applying to college?
A: An education in the arts!

An arts education is not only crucial for the education of the child as stated by David J. Skorton, but for colleges, there are selfish reasons.

A friend of mine, who just happens to be a professor at Yale, once told me that students have a better chance of getting in to Yale if they can offer something to Yale. What does that mean? That means, if the student is interested in being in the Yale band, orchestra, chorus, drama, dance, etc., they have a better chance of getting in. He said that Yale gets thousands of 4.0 applicants that had only focused on academics in high school. For Yale, they are a dime a dozen.

A former student of mine went to Notre Dame. What helped him get in? He played in the band. One doesn't just attend Notre Dame, one lives Notre Dame.

Students, and parents, need to understand what the colleges have been telling us for years...

It's not what the college can do for you, it's what you can do for the college.

If the student has that special interest, other than academic and sports, that can set them apart from the others, they are sure to get a second look.

What does all this mean? Colleges look for well-rounded students and the arts are high on the list. Did you know that there are many colleges that give out arts scholarships to students that do not even major in the arts. If your child does wants to major in music, colleges are throwing money at students that play instruments like tuba, trombone, French horn, bassoon, oboe, and also to male singers.

The art that I teach is music. People always tell me that I am lucky that I teach music because "All the good kids do music." My response to that hasn't changed in years...

It's not that the good kids do music, it's that they ARE good kids BECAUSE they do music.

Why should parents insist on an arts education? Check out this video on the value of music education:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peVNUmm_OlM

The article from the Cornell president:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-scientists-should-embrace-liberal-arts/?&WT.mc_id=SA_W...