Elementary Music Education Leaves Much to be Desired

BY: ADRIAN PATTERSON

SEPTEMBER 2, 2022

When I think back to my years in elementary school I remember the things that I enjoyed most. I had little to no interest in music. Fast forward to the present and most of my life is in music from being in bands to the Summer Musical.

The bulk of my enthusiasm came from outside of the school system. I now feel like I was underexposed to my biggest interest. This to me is indicative of a lack of inspiration for the music programs in elementary schools across the country. And further the lack of quality non “core” classes in our curriculum.

Even though the school system has music programs, I think it should be doing more to inspire students to flourish on their own. The set up for most musical curriculum in elementary school goes as follows. From kindergarten to 4th grade the students get fed history that means very little  to 5-10 year olds. Then in 5th grade they finally let you create some music on your own. They hand you the best conduit they could muster, a plastic recorder. This experience left me jaded. Is this music? I asked myself. 

In some schools across the country they won’t even offer you this experience. So my question becomes not what is the quality of the music education, but where is the music education? I think having more angles to inspire children to achieve beyond scholarly subjects is very important. Think of how your life has been enriched by great art. I think music should be taught in such a way that people will take it way beyond the classroom whether that’s for recreation, education or creation.  Do you think it could be better if the curriculum was more open to courses with less “employable” teachings?