Funding for Ontario music and arts instruction depends largely on location and school size, and funding, often heavily influenced by fundraising efforts (People for Education, 2018). Less than half of Ontario schools employ a specialist music teacher, down from nearly 60% in 1998 (People for Education, 2018). Should we be worried that students have less access to music instruction than in past decades?

The Effect of Music on Students

Learning music has been shown to improve spatial-temporal reasoning, especially when using standard musical notation (Hetland & Winner, 2001). It has also been demonstrated to improve students’ numeracy (Hunter, 2005), reading ability, and motivation to learn (Deasy, 2002). Participation in the arts more generally has been shown to have a positive effect on students’ behaviour, confidence, collaboration skills, and feelings of empathy, among other things  (Hunter, 2005). The effects of music on students’ school experience cannot be overstated.

After experiencing significant challenges related to student engagement and teacher satisfaction, Educators at Bates Middle School in Annapolis, MD began integrating the arts, including music into their classrooms in order to teach important content across all subject areas (Edutopia, 2012). Since introducing an arts-integrated approach, achievement in reading and math has improved significantly, and suspension rates have dropped by 23% (Edutopia, 2012).

These are just some of the benefits of music in the classroom. Music is also a great tool to connect with students. It can be an entry point into their out-of-school lives and can engage students who do not feel that school is relevant to their lives or interests. Further, it can provide a fun way to introduce a lesson, “hooking” students to the day’s task.

Integrating Music Through Transmediation

Other than specialized music instruction, there are many ways to integrate music (and the arts in general) into other subject areas. One of these is through Transmediation (Harste, 2014). Transmediation involves taking language and moving it to art, music, math, dance, or drama (Harste, 2014). Students can practice Transmediation involving music by responding to texts through song. Like a written response to a text, Transmediation requires students to think deeply and critically about what it is they are reading in order to form a thoughtful response. This type of activity accomplishes Ontario Arts Curriculum targets for Junior Learners like applying the critical analysis process, and creating and performing music (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2009). It also touches on Ontario Language Curriculum objectives, including reading and understanding a variety of texts and making meaning from them (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2006). Musical responses might be performed for the whole class, or solely for the teacher.

So, why music?

Music in classrooms improves student learning and wellbeing. Beyond that, music is enjoyable. Adding music to your classroom is a great way to “hook” students into the lesson and can provide a much-needed moment of relaxation during an otherwise busy school day. Music also allows students to share information about their culture, family, and interests. Knowing your students is critical as a teacher, as it allows you to provide higher-quality, more relevant instruction. Further, it allows you to connect with students on a personal level. If your students know that you care, and are interested in their lives outside of school, they will be more engaged in the learning process.

Recently, there have been some positive developments related to music education in Ontario. The 2018 Budget included an announcement that an additional $21 million would be invested in the arts of the course of three years (Ontario Ministry of Finance, 2018). This is encouraging news. Perhaps the Ontario government has recognized that a decline in specialized music instruction in schools hurts all students. With some luck, this is just the beginning of a trend towards better funding for music and arts programs in Ontario, and an appreciation of their contributions to student achievement and wellbeing.

References

Edutopia. [Edutopia]. (2012, August 29). Arts Integration for Deeper Learning in Middle School. Retrieved November 9, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPbKUF2zbyw.

Deasy, R.J. (2002). Critical links: Learning in the arts and student academic and social development. Washington, DC: Arts Education Partnership. Retrieved from: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015064205522&view=1up&seq=116.

Harste (2014). The art of learning to be critically literate. Language Arts, 92, 90-102. Retrieved from: https://uottawa.brightspace.com/content/enforced/116671-2199TR0249601E100/Learning%20to%20be%20critically%20literate%20Harste%202014.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=jAY9oERIMlpoVHBabCT9a39R6.

Hetland, L., & Winner, E. (2001). The Arts and academic achievement: What the evidence shows. Arts Education Policy Review, 102(5), 3-6. Retrieved from: https://journals.scholarsportal.info/pdf/10632913/v102i0005/3_taaaawtes.xml.

Hunter, M.A. (2005). Education and the Arts research overview. Sydney, Australia: Australia Council for the Arts. Retrieved from: https://www.ampag.com.au/wapap/Campaign/2-education-EducationAndTheArtsResearchOverview.pdf.

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2006). The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8: Language. Retrieved from: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/language18currb.pdf.

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2009). The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1‐8: The Arts. Retrieved from: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/arts18b09curr.pdf.

People for Education. (2018). Arts education. Toronto: People for Education. Retrieved from: https://peopleforeducation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Arts_2018_For-web.pdf.

Ontario Ministry of Finance. (2018). 2018 Ontario Budget. Chapter II: Growing the Economy and Creating Good Jobs. Retrieved November 9, 2019, from http://budget.ontario.ca/2018/chapter-2.html?_ga=2.262984975.2056454600.1573349721-1834079564.1573004344#section-4.