It's a fact...

Music education helps children in their studies of other subjects. Several smart people have concluded this. Here are some quotes from various smart people on this subject:

1. On the basis of observations and experiments with newborns, neuroscientists now know that infants are born with neural mechanisms devoted exclusively to music. Studies show that early and ongoing musical training helps organize and develop children's brains. -"The Musical Mind," Susan Black, The American School Board Journal, January 1997.

2. Two research projects have found that music training--specifically piano instruction--can dramatically enhance children's spatial-temporal reasoning skills, the skills crucial for greater success in subjects like math and science. - Neurological Research, February 1997; Rauscher and Shaw, and Neurological Research, March 1999; Shaw, Graziano, and Peterson.

3. School leaders affirm that the single most critical factor in sustaining arts education in their schools is the active involvement of influential segments of the community in shaping and implementing the policies and programs of the district. - Gaining The Arts Advantage: Lessons From School Districts That Value Arts Education; President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and Arts Education Partnership, 1999.

4. Physician and biologist Lewis Thomas studied the undergraduate majors of medical school applicants. He found that 66 percent of music majors who applied to medical school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group. Forty-four percent of biochemistry majors were admitted. As reported in "The Case for Music in the Schools," Phi Delta Kappan, February 1994.

5. Students who study music and the arts score higher on the verbal and math portions of the SAT than students with no coursework or experience in the arts. - Profiles of SAT and Achievement Test Takers, The College Board, 1998.

6. A 1997 Gallup Survey on Americans' attitudes towards music revealed that 89% of respondents believe music helps a child's overall development and 93% agree that music is part of a well-rounded education. - Americans' Attitudes Towards Music, The Gallup Organization, 1997.

7. The very best engineers and technical designers in the Silicon Valley are, nearly without exception, practicing musicians. - Grant Venerable, "The Paradox of the Silicon Savior," as reported in "The Case for Sequential Music Education in the Core Curriculum of the Public Schools," The Center for the Arts in the Basic Curriculum, New York, 1989.

8. The publication Academic Preparation for College: What Students Need To Know and Be Able To Do states that "preparation in the arts will be valuable to college entrants whatever their intended field of study." - The College Board, New York, 1983 [still in use].

9. An education in the arts readily engages a wide variety of learning styles and increases learning potential for students. Schools who have integrated music and the arts into the curriculum have seen an increase in test scores and student attendance and a decrease in drop-out rates. - "The Arts and Student Achievement: Ideas for Schools and Communities," background paper for the Goals 2000 Satellite Town Meeting, ArtsEdge.