In a guest opinion piece in Thursday’s (9/13) Holland Sentinel (Michigan), Holland Symphony board member Jean Olney writes, “Area school administrators and school boards: The Holland Symphony Education and Outreach Team urges you to ensure that all of the students in your school district reap the benefits of a full, comprehensive education in the arts. This week (Sept. 9-15) is National Arts in Education Week, reminding us of the need to maintain arts education as core academic subjects in the curriculum. … The Holland Symphony specifically supports your teachers and students in the orchestra and band programs as well as the general music teachers in the lower grades who lay the foundations for musical understanding and knowledge. … Research has shown that continual learning in music and theater correlate to greater success in math and reading, and that students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are the ones who benefit the most. To succeed in today’s idea-based economy, students must masterfully use words, images, sound and movement to communicate. Music, theater and art provide these skills and knowledge.”
Posted September 14, 2012
