1. Welcome Parents and Students All information is from the NYSSMA website and their Advocacy Tidbits for Music Educators link. Musical examples performed by Dallas Brass. A brass quintet with percussion that performs around the world and will be performing on the Carthage stage on April 12, 2011 at 7:30pm. Keep and eye on the Carthage CSD website ( for ticket information.

2. How does music impact student learning?
-Draws on multiple intelligences and accommodates a variety of learning styles.
-Offers a means for creative expression.
-Transforms how students are perceived by others, revealing abilities in learners previously unrecognized by others.
-Builds community by providing opportunities for group work and cooperation.
-Connects learning experiences to the “real world” of work by building time management skills, discipline and commitment.
-Teaches three processes of life-long learning: critical thinking, creativity, and reflection.

3. 15 ways music and other programs in the arts help students develop and grow:
Develops creative thinking.
Provides a means of self-expression and communication.
Serves as an emotional release.
Strengthens a student’s self concept and confidence.
Increases self-understanding.
Heightens aesthetic awareness and sensitivity.
Enhances the ability to visualize.
Encourages creative problem-solving and decision making
Develops appreciation for the individuality of others.
Leads to the integration of the individual.
Serves as a balance to classroom activities.
Aids Physical coordination.
Develops work habits and a sense of responsibility.
Aids the adult in understanding and helping the child.
Generates JOY!!!

4. How do schools benefit from strong music and other programs in the arts?
-Intensifies student motivation to learn.
-Better attendance among students and teachers.
-Increased graduation rates.
-Improved multicultural understanding.
-Renewed and invigorated faculty.
-More highly engaged students.
-Development of a higher order of thinking skills, creativity, and problem-solving ability.
-Greater community participation and support.

5. How education in music and other arts relate to learning life skills:
-Students can develop empathy and compassion-the basis of relating to and cooperating with others.
-The multicultural aspects of the arts foster appreciation and acceptance of diversity.
How music and other programs in the arts build the skills that employers value:
An education in the arts encourages high achievement.
Study of the arts encourages cooperation and compromise.
Study of the arts helps students to think and work across traditional disciplines. They learn both to integrate knowledge and to “think outside the box.”