The Impact of Music in Schools: An Exploration of Benefits and Controversie

Introduction:

Is listening to music while at school a benefit, or is it a distraction? Is it possible that by not allowing students to listen to music during class, they’re being hindered from reaching their full potential? A dilemma that many teachers face daily is the decision of whether or not to allow students to listen to music during class. Most schools have policies in place that do not authorize the use of music while in class or in school entirely. Many students listen to music every day while not at school, so they shouldn’t be deprived of this while at school. Music can have a significant impact or influence on an individual’s life. Schools should allow students to listen to music during class because it can help ease anxiety, encourage participation, and maintain motivation in students.

The Ubiquitous Influence of Music:

A form of art that is involved in the everyday lives of humans worldwide is music. Music is everywhere throughout the typical human day. Humans engage or listen to music differently depending on their surrounding circumstances. Music is played while in the car, in waiting areas, while waiting for a call to connect, and in a variety of other places. The diversity of music allows it to serve multiple purposes other than entertainment. A few purposes that music serves are as a form of therapy, expression of emotions, motivation, and numerous other reasons. Another purpose for music is it helps memorize different things. For example, many individuals learn the alphabet by listening and reciting the song regularly. The majority of individuals love the sound of music. There are different genres of music around the world with a touch of uniqueness based upon the distinctiveness of one’s inclination.

Music’s Evolution and Impact:

Music has evolved drastically since it was first introduced to humans centuries ago. Music has since then gone through different periods.  Those periods included, but are not limited to, The Renaissance, The Classical, and The Romantic, just to name a few. The current period of music is The Modern period. Every period has added something unique to the advancement of music. Music has always been shaped by the encircling circumstances going on in the world.

For example, during the Civil Rights movement, artists used their songs to display what was going on in their communities through their lyrics. By adding lyrics to the sound of instruments, music was used to express different emotions. The lyrics can evoke feelings of emotion that many people are able to correlate with what is going on in their own personal lives. The diversity of music allows it to be a great component to everyone in the world, including school children. Music can be very useful if it is used to its full capacity.

Diverse Viewpoints on Music in Schools:

With every decision made in schools, there are different perspectives given from opposing viewpoints. Before enacting rules in schools, the administration listens to different standpoints from teachers, parents, and sometimes students. Those with different opinions typically believe that their outlook is generally correct rather than their differing counterpart. Therefore, they choose to ignore the importance of the opposing views. A few individuals would say that music should continue not to be allowed in school because it causes distractions to students. Meanwhile, others believe that music should be allowed in school because it is more beneficial than harmful. Allowing music in school helps reduce anxiety, encourage participation, and enhance motivation among students while in class.

Alleviating Anxiety Through Music:

A reason why schools should reconsider allowing students to listen to music during school is because it can help reduce anxiety. Dealing with anxiety is stressful, but dealing with anxiety while at school could be very hectic. Having different coping mechanisms could help reduce the levels of anxiety. One coping mechanism is listening to music. Whether played aloud while in class or amongst students with their personal headphones in, the sound of music can be beneficial in reducing anxiety. To better understand this, readers can look at a study conducted on the measures of state anxiety by the influence of music (Davis and Thaut 168). In this study, researchers concluded that participants who suffered from anxiety levels decreased when they listened to music. The power of music helping reduce anxiety can be seen through Music Therapy.

References:

Davis, W. B., & Thaut, M. H. (2008). The influence of preferred relaxing music on measures of state anxiety, relaxation, and physiological responses. Journal of Music Therapy, 45(4), 519-534.