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By Christie Higgins<\/strong><\/p>\n All my life, people have told me to speak up\u2014 that I was too quiet. I never enjoyed being the center of attention, but in music class it’s the opposite. My music teacher often tells me to play a little softer. In music, I like being the person playing the main melody and that’s because music gives me a voice louder than anything else in my life.<\/p>\n Dyslexia has made reading hard for me. Learning to read music has been my greatest accomplishment. Without the music education program at my high school, I would have never been able to discover my passion for music through both struggle and achievement.<\/p>\n Many high schools choose to focus preparing their students for standardized tests. Even though STEM subjects are crucial, music education in schools is a valuable extension to the academic curriculum and provides social and health benefits to many students from various sections of our communities. All high schools should have music education programs added to their required curriculum.<\/p>\n Students having trouble at home or living in rough neighborhoods with violence and drugs may end up going in the wrong direction. These students need to be brought into a positive environment where they can feel they belong and that they are taking part in something productive that won’t get them placed in a sticky situation. In Venezuela, there was a need for bringing the youth of Venezuela off the streets and into a positive, well-rounded environment. This was what motivated Jos\u00e9 Antonio Abreu, the mastermind behind the legendary El Sistema Program. \u201cEl Sistema\u2019s aim is to address a depressingly universal problem: how to remove children from poverty snares, like drugs, crime, gangs and desperation,\u201d[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/sup>Daniel J. Wakin, writes in a New York Times article. Abreu created a program where young people were pulled in by the opportunity to play an instrument. El Sistema was \u201c…established to occupy young people with music study and to instill values that can come from playing in ensembles: a sense of community, commitment, and self-worth.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/sup><\/sup> .<\/p>\n There are only four BPS high schools that do include music education, but El Sistema should be placed in all BPS high schools. The El Sistema Ensemble is also a big part of the program\u2019s success. \u201cMutual struggle and celebration both require group interaction so the primary vehicle for the execution of the El Sistema program is the ensemble.\u201d [3]<\/a><\/sup><\/sup> The ensembles require different types of groups to come together and put a whole piece of music together. Public high schools need a way to bring their students together as a community so that there are not so many disconnects between students\u2014disconnects like socioeconomic status, race or other differences.<\/p>\n
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