Clairbourn School

musicEDUCATIONBut overall, the primary reason to have a strongmusic program is the tandem cross-discipline learningexperience that students can’t get anywhere else in theeducational spectrum. Music develops, involves, andteaches the whole person. According to extensive studiesand books by MENC, Bennett Reimer, and David Elliott,music involves the student more thoroughly and completelyKevin Tie plays the xylophone.in the intelligences of learning than most other subjects. Itinvolves the student in creative self-expression, developsan understanding and appreciation for art, beauty,and aesthetics, and at the same time, it involves thestudent in the logical, pragmatic, and technical thoughtprocesses involved in playing instruments. Students learnmemorization, calculation of rhythms, meters, tempo andduration, and perform those calculations at high speeds.They develop and apply small and large motor skills,hand-eye coordination, and dexterity, while simultaneouslyutilizing “higher level learning” by analyzing, listening,evaluating, and making minor adjustments to improvethe musicality of the performances. The above activitieshappen in tandem in music education. Perhaps this iswhy studies overwhelmingly show a wealth of benefi ts,including better performance, on timed tests such as theSAT and increased scores on IQ tests.Overall, the goal of music education at Clairbourn isnot to create small professional musicians, but instead todevelop in the student a love for music, an ever-expandingmusical intelligence, and give them vital skills to furtherother areas of their personal and academic development.Clairbourn is well on its way to meeting that goal thanks toDr. Robert and Dr. Jane Cheatham, who were the catalystsfor getting this wonderful program started. Anyone whowould like to support the continued success of Clairbourn’smusic program can go to the school’s website at www.clairbourn.org/donations/ to contribute to the Dr. RobertT. and Dr. Jane A. Cheatham Family Music EndowmentFund. The school is indeed grateful for everyone whodemonstrates that one or two people with vision can makea huge difference in the lives of our students.Data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 showed that music participantsreceived more academic honors and awards than non-music students, and that the percentageof music participants receiving As, As/Bs, and Bs was higher than the percentage of nonparticipantsreceiving those grades.Source: NELS:88 First Follow-up, Source Date: 1990-01-014 BRANCHING OUT SPRING 2008