In response to the proposed recommended changes to the Island’s Music Service, an amateur Island musician shares with us her argument for keeping peripatetic music teachers, citing that poorer children wouldn’t be able to afford music lessons and the quality of Island music education would drop immensely.
She lays out for the record music’s academic, social and economic benefits for all Island pupils; argues the case for properly qualified music educators; and debunks the myths of music and elitism. Ed
A premature and premeditated preliminary?
What is the IW Council up to with our Music Service this time? Whilst tomorrow’s meeting is just a “discussion on options before a public consultation”, it’s probably more than that.
For those of you unfamiliar with local government and procedural motions, doing “options for recommendation” greatly influences the subject and direction of a public consultation. It’s is a very common political tactic used by many local councils to narrow the debate and then frame the focus of the subsequent “public consultation” onto redundancies, and not necessarily onto what’s best for the pupils and the Music Service.
Due diligence required
We can’t go to public consultation, reviewing the preferred “option 2″ (redundancies of the Island’s qualified peripatetic teachers) based on inconclusive budget figures and without evidence-gathering by a broader public consultation.
We first need an exhaustive public consultation on the whole of the Music Service to give the due diligence to children’s needs and to review ways to increase pupil demand and revenue streams. Then “options” can be developed after all of the educational and budgetary facts, a preferred option then recommended, and a final public consultation on that recommended option.
Premature urgency of discussion
As our children’s education is in the crosshairs, this must be thought through very carefully and not be a knee-jerk reaction to conjected budget possibilities. The urgency around this discussion seems premature if not fabricated, as the potential budgetary problems are not for a few years’ time.
In true defence of the Scrutiny Panel, none of whom allegedly are qualified music educators, the IW Council unfortunately has placed them in a position to mould a debate on how to educate children in music, a subject that they understandably can’t yet know anything about, bar a few questionable budget numbers. How can one “recommend” anything without knowing the facts first?
It’s not elitism – it’s about every child: the benefits of quality, accessible music education
It’s so important to protect the Music Service because it’s not about training up talented children for conservatoire or paying for rich kids on the Island to get lessons – in fact it’s the absolute opposite.
The Music Service is what keeps music on the Island from being elitist – it provides music education for ALL children, regardless of talent or their families’ finances.
These qualified, caring, peripatetic music teachers love teaching any child who discovers something special and beneficial from learning and enjoying music.
Teachers know the benefits of music
Music is core education because it strengthens and underpins the critical thinking skills for many academic subjects and provides valuable life skills that can’t be found in the traditional classroom settings.
Numerous research studies demonstrate the real connection between critical thinking in maths and learning music, as well as brain stimulation for language and expression. Children learn how to work collaboratively, leadership skills, public speaking, creative and positive thinking, concentration and self-confidence. Some children with challenges at home or who struggle academically find success in music which carries confidence and performance into their academic schooling.
Island talent in the music industry
Music is one of the country’s greatest exports and, from the Beatles to Adele, carries the Union Jack’s reputation far and wide.
The Council should be protecting and growing the Island’s music industry, because we are good at music. The Isle of Wight boasts one of the country’s excellent music education programmes (for now), and we also are reputational leaders in music performance, including our large and small festivals. Our Island has also produced many home-grown internationally acclaimed superstars in classical music, musical theatre, jazz and rock.
So why would we willingly put our children, teachers, reputation and economy in such jeopardy by altering an excellent Music Service?
Even children with talent need teachers
Music is one of the few school subjects that any Island child from any economic background – with a little talent, a good music education and a lot of hard work – can “make it big”. It is one of the few industries that Islanders can and do “spin-out” well – not only because we train excellent musicians and attract teaching and performing talent, but also because start-up costs for can be minimised by using technology creatively, therefore reducing the need for frequent, expensive cross-Solent travel.
You need good music teachers to make this happen. Who will educate our future music stars? People born with talent still need teachers, and even Pavarotti had life-long coaches. And who will be the good music teachers of the future?
The educational damage of bad music teachers
Can’t anyone teach music as long as they know how to play or sing and have achieved their Grade 8? The loud, simple answer to this is a resounding no.
Just like any other academic subject, there are awful teachers without proper teacher training about childhood development and psychology who can ruin a child’s interest, ability to learn, and even cause emotional damage. Like with sports, being taught bad technique and form in music carries a huge risk of physical body damage.
The mayhem of the mainland Music Services
The mainland Music Services that lost their professional qualified teachers have been a massive failure. The quality of music education plummeted or disappeared entirely. For the few Services left, anyone who passed their grade 8 when they were teenagers is fumbling around trying to understand pedagogy. No experience, no teaching qualifications. Just because you can play or sing doesn’t mean you know how to teach.
If the Island peripatetics are made redundant, they will be forced to teach privately to make a living or will have to move to the mainland in search of work. There are – and always will be because mainland teachers can’t afford to cross over the Solent – a limited number of qualified music teachers available to the Island.
So hiring on a “casual” basis won’t work because there won’t be a pool of qualified teachers from which to hire.
Alleluia! Don’t let this be the “Final Chorus” of the Music Service!
We cannot allow the music to become an activity for the Island’s elite few.
The Council has a responsibility for delivering quality, inspiring and safe music education. We cannot let the “Sound of Silence” be our comment on the future of music. We cannot afford to make short-sighted mistakes that could jeopardise our children’s best possible education.
The risks of getting this wrong are too great.
I urge the IWC Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel to not make any recommendations on the “options”, formally or informally, and, instead, put the whole of the Music Service out to review under public consultation, so that it receives the true time and consideration for proper educational and fiscal strategy – for our children’s sake.
We must stop music education, our cultural heritage and the music industry on the Island from dying a painful death.
Image: Hans S under CC BY-ND 2.0
