by Docsynic

Created on: April 02, 2009   Last Updated: April 03, 2009

In teaching music, we teach our children culture, art, and positive self-expression.

How much are our kids learning from watching television, playing video games, instant messaging, and texting? All of these activities, though mostly mediums for connectivity, serve to disconnect our children from a society that they should be connected to.

If a child learns to play a musical instrument, or even uses their voice for song, they are expressing a part of their heart. They express a part of their soul. And self-expression is one of the most cathartic means of dealing with stress.

Today's society is filled with stressors. There are stressors at home, on the street, in school...some children even work. Aside from the externals, there are also internal stressors. Children are trying to learn to cope with a world that is ever changing, with bodies that are ever-changing, and emotions that can, sometimes, feel even foreign.

Kids need to let things out. Why else would they throw fits, cop attitudes, engage in defiant behaviors, and do...all those things that kids do? And children are naturally artistic. Most of them love to draw, sing, and dance. Why not influence those skills?

One of the best ways to keep children out of trouble, and away from drugs, and the violence and criminal activity that inevitably follows, is to involve them in positive activities. Get them involved in positive 'social' activities, where they can connect with other people, who share common interests. It teaches them how to be a team player. It may give them confidence in an area they never had confidence before. How would a child know that they had a special skill, if they were never given the opportunity to learn. Just imagine how much of a loss it would have been, had Mozart never had been given the chance to compose music. It teaches them comradery, and joy of feeling like you are a part of something bigger than yourself.

My most favored memories revolve around the years I took choir. I hung out with girls I wouldn't have hung out with given any other situation. They were different races, cultures, socio-economic backgrounds, and some were even from different countries. We connected in ways I never connected with anyone before. We were free and happy when we harmonized.

Music, that artistic and cathartic tool, that touches the soul, developes different parts of the brain, and can induce certain levels of peace of mind, and self-satisfaction. is very beneficial for children.

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