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Philosophy
Music is a crucial part of every child’s education because it encourages the appreciation of life in a unique and invaluable way. Music is one of the largest outlets for cultural expression. With greater musical understanding comes a greater manifestation of one’s own culture as well as a respect for other cultures. The appreciation of music is crucial to really enjoying life. It is a profound expression of what it means to be human. Though many students have opportunities to discover music outside of school, the job of the teacher is to continue to transfer the joys of music that have originated in both past and present, outside our back door or halfway around the world. The opportunities provided in an organized education allow students to gain society’s collected knowledge of music. This allows students to build upon what is known about music now in order to make their own musical discoveries. In this realm of learning, students will discover their individuality. School education should be broad-based and include access to many forms of musical learning. Therefore, specialized music courses should be offered in order to increase participation in public schools. Students should have an opportunity to discover their own talents and be inspired by the talent of others. The main goal of music education is to teach students how to become intelligent consumers of music. Whether or not they continue to perform musically post-graduation (though the hope is that they will), they will have had experiences that help them to identify with a whole world of musical ideas. |