A History of Music Education Advocacy

Author(s): Michael L. Mark

Source: Music Educators Journal , Sep., 2002, Vol. 89, No. 1, Special Focus: Changing
Perspectives in Music Education (Sep., 2002), pp. 44-48
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. on behalf of MENC: The National Association for
Music Education

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3399884

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms

Sage Publications, Inc. and are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access
to Music Educators Journal

This content downloaded from

136.158.7.28 on Fri, 15 Sep 2023 22:54:46 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 A History of Music Education Advocacy
c-
o By Michael L. M a r k
I _

0^
(.1- By providing

key information
UL
to those in ormer Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said,
U
"Knowledge is a form of capital, much of it formed by
-A government investment in education. ... Politics has
D government, school
become a process that deliberately seeks to effect such
z administration, and outcomes as who thinks what, who feels how."l In this
statement, Moynihan verbalized the reason why music education
needs to be its own advocate. Advocacy is the way that we as music
the general educators can explain to policy makers, as well as to the general
public, the reasons why our profession is important and why we
community, music need their support to continue serving the needs of society. As
advocates, we need to tell the nation that music education is vital
(-
education advocates and dynamic. The apparent simplicity of this message belies the
U
a) expertise and sophistication required to ensure ongoing support
.L have gained for the profession. Because many important developments, curric-
ular and otherwise, result from public policy-laws, government
policies, and regulations-advocacy is indispensable to music edu-
a) recognition for music
cation. For as long as music has been a curricular subject in the
United States, its direction and focus have been subject to controls
o as part of the core imposed by public policies created by local school boards, state
Q education agencies, and the federal government. Advocacy must
curriculum.
00
Ct ensure that such policies are crafted by informed judgments based
UJ on knowledge.

Michael L. Mark is professor

emeritus of music at Towson
University in Towson, Mary-
% 10,ie.
land, where he also served as ,,,,I \ %
dean of the Graduate School.

44
This content downloaded from MUS I C EDUCATO RS JOU RN A
136.158.7.28 on Fri, 15 Sep 2023 22:54:46 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 Advocacy for school music goes economic recession of the early 1970s served the organization well by testify-
back at least to Lowell Mason, who forced education policy makers to ing on Capitol Hill.
persuaded the Boston School Gradually, economic conditions
severely ration their limited resources.
Committee to include music as a cur- The high cost of music instruction improved, and music programs gained
ricular subject in 1838.2 Since then,proved too much to bear in some a stronger footing-thanks in part to
countless other advocates have built school systems, especially those in MENC's advocacy efforts. Its 1986
on Mason's success in cities, towns, which the rationale for arts education briefing paper to the arts education
and villages, as the practice of includ- was not convincing to policy makers. community stated:
ing music in the curriculum spreadFortunately, professional arts educa-
across the country. Boards of educa-tion organizations, especially MENC, Clearly, the advocacy move-
tion began to accept the threefold were already becoming effective in ment is on the cultural formation
rationale advocated in Boston in communicating their stories to those scene in force. The arts education

1838-music as intellectually, moral- responsible for allocating precious community must relate to the
funds. At that time, MENC began to
ly, and physically good for children.3 advocacy movement as positively
Around the middle of the twenti- refocus its efforts from public rela- as possible without giving up the
eth century, educators began search- tions to government relations, al- intellectual ground on which the
ing for more effective curricula, meth- though it has continued to maintain a whole notion of serious educa-

ods, and materials to prepare students strong public-relations program as tion in the arts disciplines is
for effective citizenship in a rapidly well. (See the sidebar for a list of advo- based."7
evolving society. The constant threat cacy resources.)
created by the cold war, the techno- In 1986, MENC and the American
logical advances affecting all Amer- Council for the Arts (ACA) invited
icans, the civil rights movement of the thirty-one leaders of arts and arts edu-
1960s, a growing economy, and other cation organizations to a meeting in
societal factors required an education- Philadelphia, where they formed the
al system capable of keeping up with Advocacy is the way that we Ad Hoc National Arts Education
continuous change. The need to Working Group. A product of the
respond to these conditions spawned explain to policy makers, as well meeting, "The Philadelphia Resol-
a school reform movement that con- ution," presented a unified statement
tinues to this day. The cause of music as to the general public, the on the need for arts education and for
education, a force that has been an
reasons why our profession is effective advocacy: "A broad cross sec-
active participant in this reform, will tion of national arts organizations
only merit continued economic sup- important to the needs agree ... that we pursue development
port to the extent that policy makers of local, state, and national policies
know the advantages of music in our ofsoiety. ' that result in more effective support
schools and why these advantages are for arts education and the profession-
so valuable. al teachers and artists who provide
it."8
A Formal Public Relations In 1988, an ad hoc coalition con-
Program sisting of MENC, the National
Formal advocacy efforts began in Communicating with Association of Music Merchants (now
1966 when, in anticipation of its Government Agencies called NAMM: The International
forthcoming Tanglewood Symposium, MENC began its government-rela- Music Products Association), and th
MENC appointed Joan Gaines as tions efforts by working with legisla- National Association of Recordin
director of its new public-relations tors and their staffs and by presenting Arts and Sciences became the National
program.4 Gaines traveled extensively, government-relations training to state Coalition for Education in the Arts
spreading the message of music edu- and divisional MENC units. Training (later called the National Coalition for
cation to the public and coaching sessions have become a routine part of Music Education), with the mission of
music educators to make their own national, regional, and state music developing and monitoring policy
education conferences ever since.
public-relations efforts more effective. affecting education in the arts. In
MENC print advertisements and radio 1990, this coalition created the
Once again the focus shifted, this time
and television announcements blan- National
from government relations to advoca- Commission on Music
keted the country, and its publicationscy-a term that encompasses a wide
Education, which heard testimony
public forums in Los Angeles,
included Approaches to Public Rela-variety of activities. By the 1980s,
tions for the Music Educator in 19685 MENC had acquired considerable Chicago, and Nashville and at a 1991
and the January 1972 issue of Musicexpertise in advocacy, had participated
national symposium in Washington,
Educators Journal, which focused oncontinuously and actively in legisla-
D.C. The list of commission members
public relations. tive agendas, and had taken formal
included many familiar and respected
names, such as Steve Allen, Leonard
MENC's efforts were especially positions on a number of diverse fed-
critical at a time when the worldwide Bernstein, Ernest L. Boyer, Dave
eral issues.6 Several MENC presidents
SEPT E M B E R 2 0 0 2 45
This content downloaded from
136.158.7.28 on Fri, 15 Sep 2023 22:54:46 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

American Council for the Arts. Why
We Need the Arts: 8 Quotable
Speeches by Leaders in Education,
Government, Business and the Arts.
NewYork:ACA Books, 1988.
Arts, Education, and Americans Panel,
chaired by David Rockefeller, Jr.
Coming to Our Senses: The Signifi-
cance of the Arts for American
Education. New York: McGraw-
Hill, 1977.
Benham,John. School Music and "Reverse
Economics" (video). Reston, VA:
MENC, 1991.
Birge, Edward Bailey. History of Public
School Music in the United States.
1928. New and augmented edi-
tion. Reston,VA: MENC, 1966.
Catterall, James S., Richard Chapleau,
and John Iwanga. "Involvement in
the Arts and Human Develop-
ment: General Involvement and
Intensive Involvement in Music
and Theater Arts," in Champions of
Mark, Michael L, ed. The Music Educator
Change: Involvement in the Arts and
Human Development. Washing-
ton, DC: Arts Education
Partnership, 1999. (www.aep-
Mark, Michael L., and Charles L. Gary.
arts.org/Advocacy.html)
A History of American Music
Connecticut Public Radio. The Music
Education Project Radio Reports
(CD). Reston,VA: MENC, 1995.
Cowden, Robert L, and Robert H.
Klotman. Administration and Super-
vision of Music. 2nd ed. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth Pub., 1991.
McLaughlin, John T. Building a Case for
Arts Education: An Annotated
Fowler, Charles. Can We Rescue the Arts
for America's Children? Coming to
Our Senses-- 0 Years Later. New
York:ACA Books, 1988.
MENC. And Music for All. 2nd ed.
Getto, Elissa 0., comp. TIPS: Public
Relations. Reston,VA: MENC, 1988.
Hansen, Dee. Handbook for Music
Supervision. Reston, VA: MENC,
2002.
Jensen, Eric. Arts with the Brain in Mind.
Note. For more information on many of these resources, consult the MENC Web site at www.menc.org or call 800-828-0229.
46
136.158.7.28 on Fri, 15 Sep 2023 22:54:46 +00:00
Alexandria, VA: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum
Development, 2001.
Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts
Education (KCAAEN). Schools,
Communities, and the Arts: A
Research Compendium. (www.
kennedy-center.org/education/
kcaaen/)
Labuta, Joseph A., and Deborah Smith.
Music Education: Historical Contexts
and Perspectives. New York:
Prentice Hall, 1996.
Mancini, Henry, and Tim Lautzenheiser.
Let's Make MusicA Way of Learing
(video). Reston,VA: MENC, 1991.
Mark, Michael L Contemporary Music
Education. 3rd ed. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth Pub., 1996.
Mark, Michael L Music Education: Source
Readings from Ancient Greece to
Today. New York: Routledge, 2002.
and Community Music The Best of
"MEJ." Reston,VA: MENC, 1992.
Education. 2nd ed. Reston, VA:
MENC, 1999.
McLaughlin, John T., ed. Toward a New
Era in Arts Education. New York:
American Council for the Arts,
1988.
Bibliography of Major Research,
1990. Lexington, KY: Kentucky
Alliance for Arts Education, 1990.
Reston,VA: Author, 2001.
MENC. The Gifts of Music. Reston,VA: York: McGraw-Hill, 1982.
Author. 1994.
MENC. Implementing the Arts Education
Standards (series of 5 brochures).
Reston,VA:Author, 1994.
This content downloaded from
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Advocacy Resources
MENC. Kid's Voices: Young People Talk
about Music. Reston, VA: Author,
1996.
MENC. Music Makes the Difference:
Music, Brain Development, and
Learning. Reston,VA:Author, 2000.
MENC. Music Makes the Difference:
Programs and Partnerships. Reston,
VA:Author, 1999.
MENC. Promoting the Profession:
Recruiting and Retaining Music
Teachers (brochure). Reston, VA:
Author, 2000.
MENC Southern Division Special
Projects Committee. Working
Together for Quality Music Education
for All Students (series of 7
brochures). Reston, VA: MENC,
1988.
NAMM: The International Music
Products Association. Music Ed-
ucation Advocate's Toolkit Reston,
VA:Author, 1999.
National Coalition for Music
Education. Something to Aim Fo
(video). Reston,VA: MENC, 1994
National Commission on Music
Education. Growing Up Complete:
The Imperative for Music Education
Reston,VA: MENC, 1991.
National Endowment for the Arts.
Toward Civilization:A Report on Arts
Education. Washington, DC:
Government Printing Office, 1988.
Reimer, Bennett, ed. Performing with
Understanding: The Challenge of the
National Standards for Music
Education. Reston, VA: MENC,
2000.
Remer, Jane. Changing Schools through
the Arts: The Power of an Idea. New
Swanson, Bessie R. Music in the
Education of Children. 4th ed.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub.,
1981.
MUSIC EDUCATORS JOURNAL
Brubeck, Rep. Thomas J. Downey,
Morton Gould, Karl Haas, Whitney
Houston, Senator James M. Jeffords,
Shari Lewis, Henry Mancini, Barbara
Mandrell, Marilyn McCoo, Rep.
President Clinton spoke ab
Agreements and vision statements
produced at these summits have beennecessity for music education:
used in a variety of advocacy activi-
ties. Learning improves in schoo
environments where there are

Raymond McGrath, Robert Merrill,
Dudley Moore, Luciano Pavarotti,
Itzhak Perlman, and Andre Previn.
In that same year, MENC pub-
lished the Commission's report,
Growing Up Complete: The Imperative
for Music Education,9 which was dis-
tributed to Congress, the White
House, parent groups, arts and educa-
tion organizations, major corpora-
tions, advocacy groups, and individu-
als concerned about the role of the
arts in education. Growing Up
Complete became a key element in
advocating for the inclusion of arts
education in the important legislation
entitled Goals 2000: Educate America
Act,10 a Congressional act that hadarts education. In 1979, the presti-
Advocacy at the State Level comprehensive music and arts
State music education associations programs. They increase the abil-
have also been involved in advocacy ity of young people to do math.
for many years. Many have formed They increase the ability of young
statewide coalitions, following the people to read. And, most impor-
lead of the national coalitions. These tant of all, they're a lot of fun.14
organizations endeavor to educate
policy makers-such as state legisla- Former Secretary of the U.S.
tors, school board members, and Department of Education Richard
principals-about music education. Riley also shares a strong conviction
State coalitions also undertake specif- regarding music education:
ic issues that affect music education
within a particular state. I have long believed in the
important role that music can
Other Advocacy Efforts play in helping students learn,
Professional arts education organi- achieve, and succeed. Music-as
zations are not the only advocates for well as theater, dance, and the
visual arts-are wonderful

originated with the six Nationalgious Arts, Education, and Americans forums to exhibit and explore
Education Goals established by Panel, chaired by David Rockefeller, what makes us uniquely
President Bush and the state gover- Jr., published the book Coming to Our human-our creativity. And
nors in 1990. Congress passed the Senses: The Significance of the Arts for allowing children to explore
Goals 2000 act in 1994 during the American Education: A Panel Report12 their creativity and that of oth-
Clinton administration. that described the status of arts edu- ers is an important part of teach-
The most significant music educa-cation at that time and offered a dire ing and learning.15
tion project in which the federal gov- warning for the future of American
ernment has participated is the estab- culture if the arts were not taken As past MENC president Paul
lishment of the National Standards Lehman made clear, the role of advo-
more seriously. Rockefeller wrote:
for Arts Education.11 The National cacy by arts education organizations
Standards and assessment are prod- If we want our world to be is important:
ucts of Goals 2000. The arts were not
still, gray and silent, then we
among the core subjects in the origi- should take the arts out of The standards project has
nal bill; it was only after extensive school, shut down the neighbor- given arts educators control of
advocacy efforts that Secretary of hood theatre, and barricade the the agenda in the debate over
Education Richard Riley agreed to museum doors. When we let the arts education. It has enabled
include them. This achievement is the arts educators to lead the discus-
arts into the arena of learning,
most consequential, far-reaching we run the risk that color and sion. This was not the case pre-
result of the MENC advocacy pro- motion and music will enter our viously. In past years, for exam-
gram to date. The inclusion of world- lives. 13 ple, initiatives in arts education
class standards in legislation demon- were routinely taken by advoca-
strates the high level of sophistication Coming to Our Senses is a powerful cy groups or other organizations
of MENC's advocacy program. reminder that arts education in the with no competence or experi-
Following the triumphant conclu- United States needs attention if the ence in arts education, and not
sion of the advocacy effort that pro- arts are to remain a vital force in our surprisingly, nothing worth-
duced the National Standards, the culture and our lives. while or permanent happened.
National Coalition for Music Educa- The list of members on the But now MENC has seized the
National Commission on Music
tion sponsored a 1994 music educa- initiative and has proven that it's
tion summit in Washington, D.C.
Education reflected the practicea major
of force on the Washington
Representing forty-eight organiza- enlisting notables in many scene.
fields to Don't underestimate the

speak for music in the schools.

tions involved in a variety of music significance of that achieve-
education interests, the participants ment.16
During the last forty years, spokesper-
discussed cooperation on a widesons have come forward from the
range of issues. More than seventy- What Do Advocates Advocate?
entertainment industry, as well as the
corporate, political, and military
five organizations sent representatives This historical overview of music
to a third summit, held in 1998. education advocacy begs the question
fields, among others. Recently, former
SEPT E M B E R 2 0 0 2 47
This content downloaded from
136.158.7.28 on Fri, 15 Sep 2023 22:54:46 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
of what advocates say when they Education Program; the establishment of
speak to the public and to policy the cabinet-level Department of Edu-
makers. Music educators sometimes cation; the 1979 White House Conference
on the Arts; the Career Education Act of
disagree on the content of advocacy
1978; legislated authority to conduct a
statements, which might include vari- lI L K C L;u ls u c
ous music education philosophies,
baseline survey of the status of arts educa-
tion in the schools, which resulted in the
arguable results of research or prema-
ture interpretations of research,National
or Endowment of the Arts' Toward
Vision 2020
bumper-sticker-type slogans. The
Civilization: A Report on Arts Education
question of what advocates actually
(Washington, DC: Govertment Printing
Office,
advocate is beyond the scope of this 1988); and the White House
article but should be of central interest Conference on Education in 1980. MENC The Housewright
to all music educators. has also provided expert witnesses to testi- Symposium on
fy at numerous Congressional hearings.
the Future of
Conclusion 7. MENC, K-12 Arts Education in the
Advocacy for music education hasUnited States: Present Context, Future Needs; Music Education
been an unfolding story of communi- Briefing Paper for the Arts Education
A
Community (Reston, VA: MENC, 1986;
cation by professional leaders as well
as by highly recognized figures in reprint, 1989). Presented for discussion and
In a report of the 1999
comment
many other fields. Advocacy does not by Music Educators National
Conference, National Art Education
drive the profession; rather, it reflects symposium led by MENC then-
music educators' beliefs, purposes, Association, National Dance Association,
President June Hinckley, today's
and accomplishments. In this way, National Association of Schools of Music,
National
advocacy has continually informed Association of Schools of Art and outstanding music educators
the nation of the value of music edu- Design, National Association of Schools of present a vision that will guide
cation and has been responsible-atTheatre, and National Association of
MENC through the next twenty
least in part-for the continued suc-Schools of Dance.

cess of the profession. Advocacy helps 8. John T. McLaughlin, ed., Toward a years. Includes exploration of
us fulfill our role in the democratic New Era in Arts Education (New York:
key questions such as
process-ensuring that we have theAmerican Council for the Arts, 1988), 7.
opportunity to inform policy makers 9. The National Commission on Music "Why do humans value music?"
Education, Growing Up Complete: The
of why they should sustain their sup- "Why study music?"
port of music education. Imperativefor Music Education (Reston, VA:
MENC, 1991). "How can the skills and
Notes 10. H. R. 1804, Goals 2000: Edu knowledge called for in the
1. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, as quoted cate America Act (PL 103-227). Available
National Standards best be
in George F Will, "Daniel Patrick on-line at www.ed.gov/legislation/GOALS
Moynihan: An Exemplary Public Life,"2000/TheAct/ taught?" and more.
International Herald Tribune, 19 September 11. National Consortium of Arts
Also presents the Housewright
2000, p. 11. Education Associations, National Standards
2. Lowell Mason, as quoted in Edward
Declaration-MENC's most
for Arts Education (Reston, VA: MENC,
Bailey Birge, History of Public School Music 1994).
important vision statement
in the United States (1928; new and aug- 12. Arts, Education, and Americans
since the Tanglewood
mented edition, Reston, VA: MENC, Panel, chaired by David Rockefeller, Jr.,
1966), 55. Coming to Our Senses: The Significance of theDeclaration-honoring the
3. Michael L. Mark, "The Evolution ofArts for American Education (New York:
legacy of Wiley Housewright,
Music Education Philosophy from McGraw-Hill, 1997).
Utilitarian to Aesthetic," Journal of 13. David Rockefeller, Jr., Coming to Our past MENC president.
Research in Music Education 30 (Spring Senses, back cover.
Edited by Clifford K. Madsen.
1982): 17. 14. As quoted in Michael L. Mark, Music
4. Michael L. Mark and Charles L. Education: Source Readings from Ancient 2000. 240 pages.
Gary, A History of American Music
Greece to Today (New York: Routledge, ISBN 1-56545-128-7.
Education (New York: Schirmer Books, 2002), 67.
#1 660.
1992), 318. 15. As quoted in Michael L. Mark, Music
5. Joan Gaines, Approaches to Public Education: Source Readings, 292. $30.00/$22.50 MENC members
Relations for the Music Educator (Reston, 16. Paul Lehman, "The National
VA: MENC, 1968). Standards: From Vision to Reality," Music
To order, use the MENC Resource
6. For example, the reauthorization of Educators Journal 58, no. 2 (September order form on page 71.
the Elementary and Secondary Arts 1994), special insert. a

48 MUSIC EDUCATORS JOURNA

This content downloaded from
136.158.7.28 on Fri, 15 Sep 2023 22:54:46 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms