[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10900]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING BENEFITS OF MUSIC EDUCATION

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 13, 2000

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 266 
to recognize the great benefits of music education. Americans are known 
around the world for our unique contributions to modem music. But we 
are far behind many other industrialized Nations in recognizing the 
educational benefits of teaching music to our children. In Japan, it is 
mandated by the Ministry of Education that every child, grades one 
through nine, receive two hours a week of music instruction. In Germany 
students must take two, 45-minute classes of music education a week.
  Unfortunately, in America, the trend over the last several years has 
been to cut back on music education programs. This is occurring despite 
mounting evidence that music education can actually alter brain 
development in children and improve their reasoning skills. A study 
from the University of California at Irvine found that elementary 
school students in Los Angeles who took piano lessons boosted their 
math performance. From the body of data available, researchers have 
concluded that there are genuine long-term changes in the wiring of the 
brain that enhance children's abilities to understand how patterns work 
in time and space.
  The educational benefits are clear and according to a recent Gallup 
poll, nine in ten Americans believe that music education should be a 
part of every student's day.
  Mr. Speaker, I have had the privilege of working with the GRAMMY 
Foundation, the non-profit arm of the National Academy of Recording 
Arts and Sciences. The GRAMMY Foundation is dedicated to advancing 
music education in schools. We recently held an event here on Capitol 
Hill to announce that the New American schools, a non-profit 
corporation established by President Bush to identify new ways of 
teaching, has welcomed the GRAMMY Foundation's Leonard Bernstein 
centers for artful learning into their portfolio of cutting-edge 
educational models.
  The GRAMMY Foundation brings music to thousands of children through 
their ``GRAMMY in The Schools'' program which exposes high schools 
students to careers in the music industry.
  And the Foundation created Smart Symphonies, a classical music CD 
based on brain research to benefit the development of infants. I 
applaud the efforts of the GRAMMY Foundation to make music and art 
education available for all children.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this Resolution in the hope that children of 
all ages across this nation will have access to quality music education 
programs. If we foster the creative impulses of our children, the 
possibilities of their success in life will be boundless.

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