Why Congregational Singing

How many of you ever want to have children? No, this isn’t a speech on dating, courtship, marriage, or anything like that. This is far more important. Let me pose another question: How many of you want your children to be intelligent? These may seem like silly questions to you, and that’s because they are. It’s also silly to remove a vital part of a child’s education because lack of funding, or lack of interest. Today I would like to show you why music education is a vital part of a child’s education.

Transition: And I’ll show you this under four major labels. First,

I. Music Education brings success in society

A. Music is a part of the fabric of our society.

B. Each culture uses music to portray their values and ideas.

пÑ"Є QUOTE: ““When I hear people asking how do we fix the education system, I tell them we need to do the opposite of what is happening, cutting budgets by cutting music programs…. Nothing could be stupider than removing the ability for the left and right brains to function. Ask a CEO what they are looking for in an employee and they say they need people who understand teamwork, people who are disciplined, people who understand the big picture. You know what they need? They need musicians.” вЂ" Mike Huckabee

пÑ"Є QUOTE: “Many colleges view participation in the arts and music as a valuable experience that broadens students’ understanding and appreciation of the world around them. It is also well known and widely recognized that the arts contribute significantly to children’s intellectual development."

II. Success in school and learning

A. Students of music continue to outperform their non arts peers on the SAT, according to reports by the College Entrance Examination Board. In 2006, SAT takers with coursework/experience in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal portion of the test and 43 points higher on the math portion than students with no coursework or experience in the arts. Scores for those with coursework in music appreciation were 62 points higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math portion.