IPE/BC is an independent, non-partisan organization, however we recognize that IPE/BC Associates and guest authors hold a range of views and interests relative to public schools, education issues, and the political landscape in BC. Perspectives is an opportunity for Associates and others to share their ideas in short, accessible essays.
Public School Music Education Deserves a Standing Ovation – And More Funding
May 22, 2025
By Louise Herle
When people talk about ‘important school subjects’ music education is often treated like a tambourine: a necessary component of the concert but easily dismissed if not shaken with enthusiasm. At budget meetings music programs are too often first to be reduced or cut. When we consider music education superfluous, we disregard it at our peril. Fulsome music education programs contribute to sound foundational education curricula. Provincial governments – via their ministry of education and school boards – would be seen to better provide for students were they to ensure quality, fully-funded, free, and accessible music education, regardless of students’ postal code or their families’ household income.
- Music Makes Us Smarter
Research repeatedly shows that music education activates more brain areas in students than almost any other activity. Students use visual-spatial reasoning while reading music notes and engage fine motor skills while playing an instrument. When they learn to listen to music critically, they activate memory, pattern recognition, and math skills. Music education students also exhibit advanced language development and stronger executive functioning skills – like planning, organizing, following instructions and controlling inhibitions – essential skills for managing daily life. Music education strengthens working memory, cognitive flexibility (easily shift from one academic subject to another), self-monitoring (observe, evaluate and check work for errors) and task initiation (practice, avoid procrastination).
- Music Teaches Emotional Intelligence and Social Intelligence
Music education allows students to access and express emotions that they may not otherwise have words or actions for. It helps them to manage their emotions. It also helps students to feel and to understand others’ emotions. When students play in an ensemble, they learn to listen – not simply hear – and they learn to wait for their turn. They learn to support others, and to create and enjoy the harmony that is realized in teamwork. These are life skills that make such students a better friend, partner, co-worker, and citizen. Music education has been shown to teach students to navigate social interactions and resolve conflicts in a positive way, to be more self-aware, and to be more empathetic. They read social cues and thrive.
- Music Is a Group Project
In music ensembles every student plays a part; the tuba player matters just as much as the lead trumpet. The second violinist may not have the spotlight solo, but they sustain the harmony. The student who plays the triangle enhances the overall sound. Group music projects (writing songs, talent shows, forming bands) offer opportunities for creative expression, communication, and high morale. They foster collaboration, responsibility, and humility. No one can opt out without the whole group noticing. Teamwork and synergy rule.
- Yes, There Are Legitimate Careers in Music!
We have all heard the tired expression the ‘…starving artist”. Music education and the music industry offer vast career opportunities, from composition and performance to production, music therapy, technician, sound design, music scores for film, designing music festivals and concerts, repairing instruments, luthier. Music education students may also work as sound engineers, public relations industry experts or musician promoters. Musicians are lifelong learners; they develop transferable skills that employers seek: self discipline, creativity, time management, problem-solving, and public speaking to name a few. Life is richer with musicians, song writers, composers, conductors, music director, DJs, sound engineers, audio engineers, talent managers, booking agents, and teachers!
- Music Connects Us to Culture, History, and Each Other
Music education students develop an appreciation for a variety of cultures and histories by studying composers and international music.
They study spirituals, protest songs and ballads that have been passed down through generations. Diverse styles such as jazz, classical, country, soul, singing, reggae, opera, folk, pop, rock, hip-hop, rhythm & blues, EDM (electronic dance music) are all part of a proper music education curriculum. These experiences show students who we are, where we have been, and who we can become. Music is a universal language; it transcends cultural and linguistic boundaries and connects us.
- Some Students Stay in School Only Because of Music Class
For many students, especially those who struggle academically or socially, music class is the reason they go to school. Music class is where they truly engage; they find their passion, their people, and their voice. They find meaning, humour and connection. Reducing or eliminating funding for music education potentially removes a lifeline. Music class inspires confidence and creates belonging. It offers students a chance to succeed outside sometimes rigid constructs of desks, keyboards, pens and paper. Schools with strong arts programs tend to have higher graduation rates, increased student attendance and increased positive community engagement (students practise instruments after school instead of hanging out in a mall). Music help students manage their stress. Since we believe that every student deserves their best opportunity to thrive and succeed, music education programs must be viewed as key components of the overall curriculum.
- Finale
A music teacher in BC public schools for 30 years, I worked at three schools in order to secure full-time status. I taught – and wrote report
cards for – over 350 students, three times each year. I conducted five choirs, three bands and taught general Music K-grade seven. That meant three different staff meetings, innumerable parent-teacher meetings, eight festival entries and countless school concerts. My assigned ‘classrooms’ were school gyms, libraries and when lucky, portables. One school year, my meagre budget meant using fishing line to replace ukulele strings; a durable but not melodious remedy. Lunch ‘breaks’ were usually spent driving to the next school. Programs can devolve from quality to quantity; thirty minutes of music per week does not equate quality music education. Public school music education needs to be reconsidered as essential for brains, hearts, and our future, rather than a luxury or bonus that only students in private schools can access (look at a brochure for any private school and you will always see classes for stringed instruments and arts).
Louise Herle is a member of the Sunshine Coast Retired Teachers’ Association and the BCRTA where she currently serves on the Membership and Communications Committees. A graduate of University of Regina (Music), Université Laval, Québec (Linguistics), UBC (B.Ed) and Simon Fraser University (M.Ed), she taught grades K-12 and Adult Ed in Saskatchewan, Quebec and British Columbia. Louise worked on many BCTF committees and served as President, Sunshine Coast Teachers’ Association, for seven years. Louise enjoys teaching piano lessons, playing fiddle music with her grandfather’s violin in Celtic and Bluegrass groups, and playing her French Horn in a Community Orchestra.
The Ministry of Education and Child Care’s policy manual for the provision of inclusive education services outlines a “continuous and flexible” process for identifying students with disabilities and diverse needs and then providing the necessary supports.
least the past 17 years. In 2023-24, for example, provincial government funding only covered 72.3% of what BC school districts spent to provide inclusive education services. In dollar terms, this was a $340 million dollar funding shortfall that districts were forced to cover with their core operational funding. Besides creating pressure for districts to redirect funding from other operational areas, the lack of funding forces districts to ration inclusive education staff and services. Research with teachers has found that this can be seen as having to “triage the system,” including trying to fit in supports through creative scheduling, shifting support intended for one student to multiple students, and cobbling multiple small supports together.
Increased funding alone will not “fix” inclusive education. However, it is the necessary condition for moving BC along the path of more inclusive school communities.
This isn’t to say that excessive cell phone use or social media isn’t negatively impacting youth; rather, it suggests that banning phones in schools isn’t the solution politicians often claim it to be.
shortchanging them by opting for simplistic (and often hard-to-enforce) bans instead of more comprehensive, nuanced approaches? Wouldn’t it be better to help them develop healthy tech habits and the ability to set boundaries for themselves, enabling them to use technology constructively?
phone use. Schools and the education system are well-positioned to play a central role in this, but it will take much more than the “headline-grabbing gimmicks” of cellphone bans.
their children with disabilities and/or diverse needs. These parents and many others know it’s a system under stress; they and their children regularly and directly experience the impact of teacher and support staff shortages and chronic underfunding. They also know how difficult it is to access the education decision-makers and be heard. And they speak to the fact that placing students with disabilities and/or diverse needs in classrooms without the necessary supports or, as is sometimes the case, in segregated classrooms, serves to stigmatize their children and seriously undermines their ability to succeed.
Looking back, inclusion first became a government initiative in the 1980s. The Royal Commission on Education report in 1988 and subsequent education School Act revisions mandated the closing of segregated schools and established the requirement that neighbourhood schools were to provide for the success of all children. There was the expectation of significant positive change and, for a time, there were meaningful steps in that direction. But, years of underfunding and the lack of adequate staffing and supports has us seeing inadequate supports as the “norm” and exclusionary practices coming back- reduced time at school, exclusion from certain activities, and, in some cases, even segregated programs and classes.
We’d add one more step. We’d encourage everyone to call on each school district and the Ministry of Education and Child Care to hold similar forums with parents/caregivers, support staff, educators and students to learn from their experiences and recommit to fully supported inclusion in all of our public schools.
In schools, staff work diligently to ensure that programs are effective. Measurable goals are created, data is gathered, and results are reviewed regularly. Reports regarding student progress are generated at prescribed intervals. These reports are shared with parents and relevant school staff, covering everything from classroom achievements to individualized programs such as speech-language therapy. The information is securely, confidentially stored for future reference as needed. The rationale behind this process is clear: if we do not measure our efforts, we cannot determine whether our interventions are truly making a difference.
Schools operate with a great deal of transparency. Classroom teachers provide daily plans that are utilized by themselves or a teacher-on-call. Support staff, such as English Language Learning teachers and contracted specialists like occupational therapists, follow universal referral systems, administer standardized assessments, document observations and provide reports . Caseload information is readily available to school administrators, and priorities are confidentially discussed during school-based team meetings.
As schools work hard to maintain a safe and supportive environment for students, the question remains: Does the presence of School Police Liaison Officers truly contribute to the safety of our schools, or is it simply an unproven assumption? Without clear data and transparent reporting on the program’s effectiveness, it’s difficult to justify its widespread adoption. Perhaps it’s time for a deeper, more data-driven conversation about how best to ensure the safety and well-being of students without relying on programs that lack measurable evidence of success. It’s crucial that we continue to explore alternative solutions that prioritize student welfare while addressing the complexities of modern school safety.
election issue, this particular race was dominated by harmful and hateful rhetoric that sought to control and further privatize education. This included:
support for the Conservatives in many parts of the province. Their ideas for education are reflected in the ongoing advocacy of right-wing Think Tanks, such as the Fraser Institute, that champion education reforms “to achieve better value for money and improved results for both students and taxpayers.”
As illustrated in the case of the BC election, these conservative political parties are linked to the rise of the “parental rights” movement in Canada – a movement that embodies the many links between far-right ideologies and interest in education privatization. In BC, for example, the attacks have been focused on a program called SOGI 123, which supports teachers to make schools safer and more inclusive for students of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Contrary to the arguments of the new Rights, research illustrates the positive impact of this program. A recent evaluation of SOGI 123, done by researchers at the University of British Columbia, found that the program decreased bullying and sexual orientation discrimination for both LGBT+ and also for heterosexual students.
Here’s an idea: Let’s use unpaid labour in the form of captive public-school kids and their overworked, underpaid teachers, and heck, we can even make them compete for the privilege!
As a former Vancouver school trustee and its longest serving chairperson, I’m opposed to private businesses using schools to polish their public images. If they want to support schools, they can make a 
It’s time to let parties and candidates know what you want to see if they want your vote, donation, or volunteer time. If they want to put a sign in your window or on your lawn, demand to know what they’re committing to for public education. I’ll be letting my candidates know that having among the lowest per-student funding in Canada doesn’t cut it. I want to know when they’re going to complete all outstanding school seismic upgrades.
school land deemed ‘surplus.’ The BC Liberals closed 267 schools during their tenure, and K-12 funding fell to all-time lows. They also created a program (that still exists) to sell property deemed ‘surplus.’
The trouble of course is that much of this land isn’t really surplus and is almost always needed in the future. With the ever-upward march of land values, school properties that are sold are gone forever- unattainable and unaffordable when needed back. Where land values are highest, the pressure to sell land is greatest, and the public has the greatest amount to lose in this folly. In Vancouver, the site of the current Wall centre, worth likely hundreds of millions, was formerly the site of a school.
In Surrey district, where the population of school-aged children is exploding, the lack of land set aside for new schools is felt keenly as the district packs more and more students into existing schools – many in portable buildings. In Vancouver, where land values are high, schools are in poor repair and some buildings have excess capacity, largely created by the lack of family housing stock in the city, something likely to change in the future as the calls for increased density come from all political camps. North Vancouver district closed and sold many elementary schools during the last twenty years and parents in the district are now desperate for spaces as the density of school-aged children increases past capacity and projections.
