By Sofia Williams
Managing Editor
The MBUSD music programs held a “Meet and Greet” event for the MBUSD music community on Wednesday at Costa to discuss the future of the music programs in MBUSD schools and meet Dr. John Benham, a music education advocate and educator.
The meeting began with an update from Benham on his work with MBUSD music faculty, with whom he led a meeting from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the District Office’s boardroom earlier in the day. During the meetings, Benham helped faculty to create a vision for the music program by developing curriculum, teaching methods, and forms of instruction.
“The focus [of the meeting] was to draft a curriculum and adopt it so there is a clear understanding when it comes to the music discipline,” said Costa orchestra director Peter Park. “Most people will understand what a math curriculum or social studies curriculum looks like, but there are many misconceptions about music curriculum. Being able to get an educationally-grounded curriculum, and to have that be a clear, working, living document within our school community, is a huge benefit.”
Benham first met with the MBUSD Music Department staff on Aug. 23 to establish preliminary goals for the Music Department during the 2022-23 school year. The Wednesday session was primarily held to expand on those goals and enumerate them into a written curriculum, according to Park.
“We had a curriculum meeting with all the district music teachers, and it was wonderful because
we have not had enough of them,” said Park. “It was an opportunity to examine and explore all of our current teaching practices and curriculum and gain a better awareness of our goals as music educators.”
According to Benham, if elementary music instruction begins after fifth grade, secondary music enrollment experiences a 65% drop. Without the elementary feeder system, students are broken up into different classes, increasing the amount of teachers needed and the overall cost to the district. According to Benham, a structured curriculum is essential to ensure that students’ music skills remain with them as they transition into adulthood.
“When music educators work with students, they are creating a lifetime learning experience,” said Benham. “All the music curriculum, including the national standards, stop at Grade 12. In reality, music students are lifelong learners, and they should learn to be independent in their music education throughout their time in school.”
According to Benham, the average rate of attrition for students in these programs is estimated at around 50% after elementary school, but MBUSD is greatly exceeding this number in every grade but the junior year. According to Benham, however, the board is still working to identify the cause of this rapid decline in enrollment.
“We don’t know [why so many students are not choosing to continue in music programs], because we don’t have the statistics,” said Benham. “What can we do to get those numbers where they should be? We don’t know, but we are in the process of identifying that.”
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