args

Tourney Round 2, Debate No. 12: Art and/or Music are Important in Grade School

I have not said that art and musical education is as important as mathematics. Undoubtedly, math is a more useful skill. However, that does not mean that all classes that are not reading, writing, and arithmetic should be removed from the grade-school syllabus. Before I begin, I'd like to clear up a few things: Also, it should be noted that a job may require skills it does not need. For example, physics and maybe even Algebra make sense for an electrician, but geometry? No. I think what they're looking for more than individual skills is a well-rounded, high-school education. I was not trying to diss mathematics or suggest it should be removed from the syllabus, either, and it seems to me that my opponent wasted too much time on that particular tangent. Okay, now to business. I made a fourth argument, which my opponent seems to have ignored. Music skills have been proven to raise IQ levels. (http://www.apa.org...) This is something that should not be ignored. IQ is a general marker of success, and if music boosts that, then it should be a priority. I talked to my girlfriend, who is quite an excellent pianist and has Japanese musician friends. She stressed again that musical skills have a direct correlation with IQ, and that American public funding of music makes it easier for low-income parents with gifted children to realize their potential. Also, it should be noted that it is a fallacy to see that Japanese schools have less musical education than ours do, and that theirs test higher. Japan speaks a different language than we do. Does that mean they're all stupid? Of course not. You see? A similar fallacy. You just can't connect the two without any other data. For example, there is far more discipline, less vacation, and stricter rules in Japanese schools than in American ones. Could that be a factor? You make a strong case against teaching art and music in grade school. However, as far as I know, every public school in the nation still does. Why is this? Obviously, they see something in it that you do not. They see that art and music are valuable skills, even if you aren't going into an art or music related career. They see that these skills raise IQ, and give students a creative outlet. Let's face it: making a papier-mache volcano from instructions is not the same experience as doing what my fourth grade art teacher did: put on Beethoven's fifth symphony and told us to draw what the music related to in our heads. The fact is, art and music are merely more esoteric ways of achieving the same goal as reading, writing, and arithmetic: the forming of a well-rounded individual student. Music and art classes should be taught in grade school because they are best taught in grade school; in some ways, it's the period students learn best. And musical skills especially must usually be started early. Mozart, for example, started composing small pieces at the tender age of five. (http://en.wikipedia.org...) Art and music are important in grade school and an essential part of meritocracy, the great equalizer: parents who are too poor to pay for their children's music lessons can, through the taxpayer-supported school system, still give them a good musical education. Art and music are important in grade school. Thanks for the debate, British Guy.