Introduction

=INTRODUCTION = For as long as I have been teaching, I have been interested in the role of music in educating children. In the course of my career as a music teacher, I made a number of observations that lead me to believe that music, in any shape or form, has a profound impact on the quality of students' lives, their social skills and their ability to express themselves. My hunch, for many years, has been that the academic achievement of music students is greater than the achievement of children who have not been exposed to music instruction. I am not alone in this belief. It seems that anyone who is or has been involved in either studying or teaching music agrees with me. Moreover, my conversations with other music educators often seem to center on why this belief, so obvious to us, goes unnoticed to other teachers and administrators. There is a large and growing database of articles, which seems to indicate that music is as beneficial as my colleagues and I have assumed. There have been studies, which prove that our musical predisposition is a part of our biological heritage. Also, there is statistical data which links test scores to music instruction. It is obvious that not making music an integral part of the school experience is as unethical as ignoring any other subject. We can just imagine the outrage among the community if language arts or science were eliminated, just because someone thought that other subjects were more important. Interestingly, this is exactly what happens to music instruction when we fall on hard budgetary times. The first solution is to cut one of the programs in its entirety. Instead of evenly distributing the budget cuts, too many administrators decide to completely eliminate music programs. By doing so, the people in charge tell us that music is a frivolous activity used only to prepare and motivate students to work on the //serious// subjects. When that happens, the arts community is in an uproar, but we are not listened to since the perception is that arts education is //our// agenda. It seems that there is a great need for the teaching community to hear what one classroom teacher thinks of music in the classroom. My case study will focus on one third grade teacher who chooses to use music on a regular basis. My objective is to tell her story, to examine the beliefs, attitudes and perceptions that prompt her to make music an integral part of her students' educational experience. I am going to use the words of one teacher and her students to show how music can be integrated in the classroom. My conclusions will demonstrate the obvious and unconditional need for music to have a permanent place in our classrooms. @Part 1 Methodology