Why Rock?
Children with music training perform better at school. Learning music and performing in an ensemble provide important skills that continue to positively add to a young person’s growth with positive results throughout their life in their:
- self awareness
- self management,
- relationship management, and
- social awareness,
The Boston Rock Academy is committed to bridge the gap in a young person’s educational development from the reduction of arts funding so important in a well-rounded education.
Children in grades 6-12 with music education and ensemble opportunities foster personal growth, increase self-esteem, and strengthen teamwork skills.
The Boston Rock Academy offers ensemble learning to all students willing to participate, regardless of their ability to pay. We have designed our programs to succeed and have a model proven beneficial for students and parents alike and to accomplish this, the Boston Rock Academy is asking for our support.
Here’s what the experts are saying …
Intellectual Development and Academic Achievement
The musician is constantly adjusting decisions on tempo, tone, style, rhythm, phrasing, and feeling–training the brain to become incredibly good at organizing and conducting numerous activities at once. Dedicated practice of this orchestration can have a great payoff for lifelong attentional skills, intelligence, and an ability for self-knowledge and expression.
A growing body of research reveals the beneficial effects of music on education performance. Research indicates that music plays an important role in the brain development of a child. Furthermore, researchers believe that children who have more exposure to music and music training benefit from enhanced brain activity which has been shown to increase students’ abilities to perform certain academic tasks. In addition, many practical life skills are acquired through music learning and music training. Music education is believed to deserve the status as an equally significant core subject. A review of the literature demonstrates the benefits of music education, discussing the influence of music on the child’s brain development, academic performance, and practical life skills. “Music in the Classroom: Its Influence on Children’s Brain Development, Academic Performance, and Practical Life Skills”; Yoon,-Jenny-Nam; M.A. Thesis, Biola University, 2000
Music making provides the most extensive exercise for brain cells and their synaptic interconnections. New brain research shows that music improves our brain development and even enhances skills in other subjects such as reading and math. Music enhances creativity and promotes social development, personality adjustment, and self -worth. “The Music in Our Minds; Educational Leadership”; v56 n3 p36-40 Nov 1998; Weinberger,-Norman-M
Students who report consistent high levels of involvement in instrumental music over the middle and high school years show significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12. Absolute differences in measured mathematics proficiency between students consistently involved versus not involved in instrumental music grow significantly over time.” “Involvement in the Arts and Human Development: General Involvement and Intensive Involvement in Music and Theater Arts”; James S. Catterall, Richard Chapleau and John Iwanaga; The Imagination Project, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies; University of California at Los Angeles, September 1999
The U.S. Department of Education lists the arts as subjects that college-bound middle and junior high school students should take, stating “Many colleges view participation in the arts and music as a valuable experience that broadens students’ understanding and appreciation of the world around them. It is also well known and widely recognized that the arts contribute significantly to children’s intellectual development.” In addition, one year of Visual and Performing Arts is recommended for college-bound high school students. Getting Ready for College Early: A Handbook for Parents of Students in the Middle and Junior High School Years, U.S. Department of Education, 1997
Social Skills and Professional Development Increases
Studying music encourages self-discipline and diligence, traits that carry over into intellectual pursuits and that lead to effective study and work habits. An association of music and math has, in fact, long been noted. Creating and performing music promotes self-expression and provides self-gratification while giving pleasure to others. In medicine, increasing published reports demonstrate that music has a healing effect on patients. For all these reasons, it deserves strong support in our educational system, along with the other arts, the sciences, and athletics.
Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., Leading Heart Surgeon, Baylor College
Casals says music fills him with the wonder of life and the ‘incredible marvel’ of being a human. Ives says it expands his mind and challenges him to be a true individual. Bernstein says it is enriching and ennobling. To me, that sounds like a good cause for making music and the arts an integral part of every child’s education. Studying music and the arts elevates children’s education, expands students’ horizons, and teaches them to appreciate the wonder of life.
U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, July 1999.
The nation’s top business executives agree that arts education programs can help repair weaknesses in American education and better prepare workers for the 21st century.”
“The Changing Workplace is Changing Our View of Education.” Business Week, October 1996.
Secondary students who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances (alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs). Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Report. Reported in Houston Chronicle, January 1998
An Auburn University study found significant increases in overall self-concept of at-risk children participating in an arts program that included music, movement, dramatics and art, as measured by the Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale.
N.H. Barry, Project ARISE: Meeting the needs of disadvantaged students through the arts, Auburn University, 1992
Positive academic developments for children engaged in the arts are seen at each step in the research—between 8th and 10th grade as well as between 10th and 12th grade. The comparative gains for arts-involved youngsters generally become more pronounced over time. Moreover and more important, these patterns also hold for children from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds.” “Involvement in the Arts and Human Development: General Involvement and Intensive Involvement in Music and Theater Arts”; James S. Catterall, Richard Chapleau and John Iwanaga; The Imagination Project, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies; University of California at Los Angeles, September 1999
A 1991 study on the influence of music on social skills, particularly the affect of music on Alternative Solutions Thinking and Consequential Thinking, two skills in cognitive problem solving that underpin social adjustment, showed the children who had participated in music showed significantly greater improvements in Alternative Solutions Thinking and Consequential Thinking scores and in a 7-month follow-up retained significant improvements. “The influence of music on social cognitive skills; Ulfarsdottir,-Lilja-O; Erwin,-Philip-G ; “Arts-in-Psychotherapy”; 1999; Vol 26 (2): 81-84
