Thank You for the Music

The latest argument against narrowing the curriculum to the subjects tested under NCLB comes via a Harris Interactive poll, which links studying music in school to success later in life.

The poll found that among individuals making more than $150,000 a year, 83 percent had participated in music in school. The poll also links music education to pursuit of higher ed, nothing that among people with postgraduate degrees, nine out of 10 participated in music.

According to a news release from the music education association that worked with Harris on the poll:

“Research confirms that music education at an early age greatly increases the likelihood that a child will grow up to seek higher education and ultimately earn a higher salary. The sad irony is that ‘No Child Left Behind’ is intended to better prepare our children for the real world, yet it’s leaving music behind despite its proven benefits,” said Dr. John Mahlmann, Executive Director of MENC: The National Association for Music Education. “While music clearly corresponds to higher performing students and adults, student access to music education had dropped about 20 percent in recent years, thanks in large part to the constraints of the No Child Left Behind Act.”

There’s no argument that music education is important and that it’s a shame NCLB has squeezed it out of so many schools. Still, in my more analytical moments I have to wonder if all the correlations add up. I think the most telling finding Harris reports is that the higher the household income, the more likely a person participated in music. “Participation in music” wasn’t defined solely as public school-based music classes or activities, so let’s assume some of these high-earning postgrads who answered the poll came from homes where parents could pay for music lessons or band camp. In fact, it’s so well documented that higher household income is positively correlated to how much a child eventually earns and how far he or she goes in higher education that it’s tempting to wonder if the household income, not the stint in the school chorus, is why a respondent is pulling down $150k now.

But this isn’t to denigrate a poll on a worthy topic, it’s to pose some follow-up questions that need to be asked, and quickly, before NCLB strips the last tuba and music stand from the middle school band room.

The poll also links music education to personal fulfillment, which is an interesting observation. Maybe in a few years we’ll see a study that links NCLB to a lack of personal fulfillment in life.

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