I don’t think pointing out commonalities with other subjects is a good way to advocate for music education.
Music is not mathematics. It is not science, it is not language, it is not history, it is not P.E.
Music is music.
I get rubbed the wrong way by the memes pointing out the commonality between music and the “core subjects” that are required by state law and college applications.
Oh, sure, music uses some math. It uses some science, some language, some history, some PE. But reducing it to these components doesn’t magnify the value of music. In fact, it vastly reduces the scope and value.
Music belongs in education for all students because it is valuable in and of itself. There is no end to the list of reasons why.
So don’t say music has value because it’s got some math in it. Music has value. Period.
(Because…think about it. If music has math and math has math, and math is the benchmark, then I’m going to insist on the class that is all math. That’s just…basic math.)
Experiencing music is vital to the development of human beings; that it also includes those other important subjects is just a perk, and one that distracts from the real value.