Schools Feel Effects of Cutting Classes

When a school is faced with handling a budget cut, it has to find a way to save money. One of the first options schools consider is cutting out music classes. At first, this seems like a good idea. The school does not have to continue paying for equipment and teachers. Students can have more time to focus on other subjects such as math and science. Everyone seems to win. It is better for the school to just get rid of the music classes. Or is it?

Some schools have gone as far as to stop teaching music classes altogether. Interestingly enough, the removal of music and other art programs has actually made these schools’ problems even worse-both in terms of the amount of money the schools have to spend and children’s academic performance. With the music and art programs gone, students have no way of expressing their creativity. Imagine a child sitting at a desk listening to a teacher talk all day long with the only fun part of the day being recess. School becomes less interesting for students, so attendance decreases. Children can no longer be human at school and cause more disruptions. This forces schools to hire more disciplinary staff, which costs more money. Furthermore, students are less compelled to learn. Studies have shown that students that have not had a musical education score lower on standardized tests. Students need a creative outlet in order to succeed, and many schools fail to take this into consideration. The plan for schools to save money by removing music programs actually backfires. These schools cannot compete with ones that do provide students with a musical education.

I found an article that tells of the Milwaukee School District and its fight against budget cuts. The school district has seen the effect budget cuts have had on the music and art programs. Many people in this school district realize the importance of music and arts, but have had difficulty keeping these programs in their schools.