2 posts tagged “early childhood music”
At least there's no research to support that yet.
Kindermusik, a very popular early childhood music program (They can stamp out programs—and "certified" teachers—like McDonald's does burgers.), asks potential teachers if they believe that "music is a key to all kinds of learning."
All?
Do they really think that Mozart was socially intelligent? or that musicians are all good at math? or that was an eloquent speaker? or, conversely, that Einstein or Hawking would have to be good musicians? As if music causes one to have other kinds of intelligence? Forgive the rant, but they've got to get with the current research on neuroscience and cognitive psychology! Really. It's bothers me that they, and many others—so-called leaders in music education—perpetuate a [potential] myth: that music will somehow enhance children's cognitive abilities.
In my experience, there are several children in every school who have exceptional music talent, and yet have very low achievement in all, or almost all, of the traditional school subjects. Does that not ring true to anyone? And so, because these children do not succeed in math, or reading, they are systematically denied the opportunity to participate in the one thing in which they would have success.
It's saddening.
So far, this is just one big experiment.
Questions I've found most people ask include:
- When should my child start music lessons?
- What can I do to develop my child's natural talent?
- What if I don't sing in tune? Might not I damage my child's musical development?
Let me know if you have questions and comments.
Thanks for blogging with me.
