Picture by Daphne Frantzis
By Maya Joseph
Opinions Reporter
Most students at Newton South take three to four years of a language. Whether it be Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian, Latin or Sign Language, all world languages are prioritized and treated like core classes that merit a spot in the busy schedule of a Newton South High schooler, yet there is another language that is often forgotten: music.
Music is universally expressed, understood, written, read, and appreciated. Therefore, it should be considered as much of a language as the ones offered here at South. If it was, a considerable number of South’s students would take advantage of the opportunity to study and learn another form of expression, music, that comes more naturally to them.
“Music is a way that human beings can express themselves, what’s inside them emotionally without the restriction of words,” said Lisa Linde, a music teacher at South.
Music offers free reign for expression with notes rather than words. The purpose of language and music parallel one another: giving people tools to communicate with the rest of the world.
Learning music requires understanding how to read notes and sheet music. Through playing some students even compose music, practicing how to write. The elements of learning a language are mirrored in music.
“When learning how to play an instrument you end up learning how to read, write and communicate with people. Music is a language in itself,” said Eitan Joseph, a senior at Newton South.
People understand one another through music, analyze the notes and use it to communicate with others. If language is a tool of communication, so is music.
Additionally, the Newton South music department is a hidden gem that many students do not recognize as an academic opportunity to truly learn something useful to their growth as people. If it was treated as the universal and endlessly important language that it is, many students would spend their four years at South uncovering a musical understanding, as well as attempting to learn a traditional foreign language and being able to have both forms of speech available to them.
These students who speak and understand the language of music are often unable to engage in the music program at Newton South because it is not prioritized the way core classes are. Music is an elective that takes up the spot of a free period, which stressed out students desperately need, thus they do not always invest in it.
If music was treated like a world-wide language, such as Spanish or French, and credited as an academic or even a dialect, many members of Newton South would find that they are not bad at languages, but are simply better at reading, writing and understanding music. Although successfully striving towards fluency in a language other than English is inevitably useful to those who are able to pursue it, there is a wide range of students whose strengths lie in other realms of creativity, such as music.
They might be much more successful in a music course than a traditional 6000’s world language class and should be more encouraged to explore the music department as well as the world language department.
“We need to be a school that doesn’t just say we value music, but also acts upon it,” said Linde.
Even if music will not receive the same academic credit as a language, students would reap benefits from music if it was integrated more into classroom curriculum.
History and English teachers can use music to represent the culture of the time period studied or era when a book was written. By listening to the sentiments of that period, students can understand the context of the book and the history of that moment. In language classes, students can be exported to the countries of their language by listening to the melodies and lyrics of their music.
Barbara Helmrich of the College of Notre Dame in 2010 conducted a study comparing standardized test scores for Maryland’s algebra assessment of six thousand middle school students with and without musical instruction. Helmrich used these test scores to find if a correlation exists between higher algebra scores and if the students received music instruction. She concluded that there was a significant difference in algebra test scores with students who received music instruction outperforming the students who did not.
Helmrich explains that musicians process music in the same regions in the brain as adolescents process algebra. By using music, teachers stimulate and strengthen those neural connections in that region of the brain, helping students perform better on math tests.
The bottom line is that Newton South should work to recognize that all students learn, think and study differently, by not only offering, but also giving credit to a range of creatively academic opportunities and integrating music into the classroom.
