Letter to the editor: Why band is important to students

To Superintendent Gary Peiffer and the Greensburg Salem School Board: I read with sadness and a great deal of concern that you made the decision to eliminate the elementary band position at Greensburg Salem (“Greensburg Salem keeps taxes flat, cuts librarians and band teacher.”) My sadness is for the harm this will cause to the arts education in your district. However, my greater concern is for your perception and attitude toward music as an academic discipline.

As a professional music educator for the last 23 years, I found the sentence “Band is an extracurricular activity …” in your July 2 letter to parents, guardians and community to be factually inaccurate with regards to the standards set forth by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Moreover, it reflects an alarming trend of school districts across the country eliminating programs that our children need the most as they begin their studies, post-covid-19.

What is band, and why is it important?

Simple:

Band is family.

Band is community.

Band is creativity.

Band is history.

Band is strength.

Band is science.

Band is healing.

Band is math.

Band is selflessness.

Band is confidence.

Band is collaboration.

Band is caring.

Band is compassion.

Band is empathy.

Band is working with your head, your hands and your heart.

On second thought, maybe I do agree with your premise, but in reverse. Instead of band being extracurricular, it is curricular with a whole lot of extras.

Dr. Jason Worzbyt

White

The writer is a music professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.