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Thousands of children are failing to learn to read and perform math well enough to succeed in school and beyond (No Child Left Behind state assessments). Not only have new curriculums failed to close the gap, they are resulting in disengaged, unmotivated students and unhappy, over-stressed teachers. Additional time has been allocated to reading and math by taking it away from human needs such as eating, talking, moving and singing.
This is a serious mistake. Singing is a natural, primary source for learning that activates more areas of the brain than any other activity. Singing folksongs and playing games attracts and enlivens children, builds vocabulary and fluency, and strengthens neurological pathways necessary for linguistic and logical thinking. Children’s “play” is actually their “work”. Some Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) students are beating the odds. Over 3000 students whose classroom teachers have taken the courses, Want to Teach Reading and Math? Try Singing! and A Song a Day are singing down the halls, on the busses and at home. Not only are they posting higher achievement in reading and math, teachers report that their students are happier, and that they are happier, too: My kids…are still loving school and the singing is a big part of it. Their fluency has gone up. When I applied singing…with my students it was as if a bomb of enthusiasm had struck the class (high school teacher). …the learning was looked upon by the children as ‘playing a game’. It was considered ‘fun’ and not ‘work’. … I have used this knowledge of their great love for song and movement to get them to do things that need to be done. Aren’t I terrible? Elizabeth Olson, PhD, Park View Montessori music teacher, and I have instructed 120 MPS teachers over the past three years. Some have conducted research examining the effects of daily singing and affirming parallel concepts among reading, math and music on math and reading achievement. There have been many positive results. Lincoln Elementary kindergartens, some of the lowest in the district in letter sound acquisition in the fall, outscored all other Minneapolis schools in winter 2006 and 2007. Lincoln was #1 in the increase in phonemic awareness from fall to winter…of ALL the Minneapolis schools. Coincidence? I think not! I think singing!!!!! A Wenonah third grade class that sang fifteen minutes a day dramatically outscored another third grade class on timed multiplication tests. Second graders increased reading fluency. Hard-of-hearing students gained in language acquisition. Developmentally-delayed babies through three-year-olds increased non-verbal gestures. …they were much more focused, happier, calmer, more receptive to the next activity and to each other, and their learning was deeper. Our English Language Learners have done well in district assessments and I contribute part of that to all the singing we do in our classrooms. Many teachers have been so enlivened by singing that they want to continue for their own health and well being. …in all the classes I have taken over my 26-year career, this class is the only class to which I have ever looked forward (HS foreign language teacher). Putting more music back into my life was like therapy after a trying day and like a celebration of a good one. Although I started out each class tired, by the end of the session, I was rejuvenated and excited to try something new when I went to school the next day. Thus, we are launching Sing for MPS!— community recreational singing for all MPS employees. Proceeds will be donated to AchieveMpls, the nonprofit foundation for MPS students. … I bet there is scientific research to prove that singing keeps you young. I sure hope so because I can’t afford to retire until I’m 67! At the very least, singing will continue to keep me excited and motivated to teach. Singing and moving transform the experience of being alive. Engaging the mind, body and spirit creates happy, lively, high-achieving classroom communities where no child is left behind. Ann C. Kay is the founder and director of the Center for Lifelong Music Making where she launches transformative ideas aimed at tipping the nation toward a musically able and active population. She teaches courses for Minneapolis Public Schools and Hamline University. A former elementary and junior high music teacher, Ann was also associate director of graduate music education at the University of St. Thomas where she advised master’s theses and founded and directed the Kodály approach certification program. She has served as president of the national Organization of American Kodály Educators, chaired numerous conferences, and presented over 60 workshops for music teachers in the U.S. and Taiwan. For more information about the Center for Lifelong Music Making, visit their website www.LifelongMusicMaking.org.
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