A Personal Philosophy of Music EducationFew would be opposed to the idea that we educate ourselves and our society so that we have adequate means by which to understand and interact with the elements of the world that surrounds us. Subjects like math, language, history, and the hard sciences have immediate and unquestioned legitimacy in our schools, and with good reason. We encounter each of these elements in our lives on a daily basis. We must understand these disciplines to be able to interact with them, otherwise they have no meaning for us. I believe the same can be said for the fundamental concepts of music. Music is something we encounter every day in our society. It surrounds us. In fact, it would be practically impossible to escape. Like so many other natural phenomena, a discipline has developed over the centuries to help us interact with music, and that discipline is what I and those in my profession are charged with teaching. Before addressing the need for music education in our schools, I would like to briefly examine the need for any type of education. Education is a means of ensuring that our society has a certain body of knowledge. The body of knowledge that we perceive needs to change based on what surrounds us and the issues we are facing. Early in the history of American education we felt we needed a body of knowledge that included a common language and a common view of history, as well as knowledge of those things with which we will interact every day. In many ways early public education was more of a tool of social control than an altruistic endeavor. In today's climate we see ourselves as having more diverse needs in our education... middle of paper... of course we have a musically literate society. There are many other examples of this commitment throughout our history. Essentially I believe that in today's society, musical literacy is a necessary skill for all of us to successfully encounter and interact with the world around us. The reasons for teaching music as a school subject are consistent with the reasons we educate ourselves about anything else. Furthermore, we have demonstrated a commitment to creating a musically literate society in the past, and events in the world today only reinforce the need to continue that commitment. Works Cited Lebuta, Joseph A. & Smith, Deborah A. Music Education: Historical Contexts and Perspectives. (1997) Upper Saddle River, NJ. Prentice Hall.Lehman, Paul R. et al. The school music program: a new vision. (1994). Reston, VA. National Conference of Music Educators.