| With the sobering report of A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform (1983), the nation collectively stirred, and sought to fashion a new set of reforms to insure that public education systems would adequately prepare students for the twenty-first century. The natural reaction in the face of such dire predictions, as offered in the report, is the clamor of "back to basics," and a call for accountability for the entire realm of education. The populace expects results, and well-meaning bureaucrats and school administrators hasten to comply.; The purpose of this study is to determine whether this new "standards-based" music education paradigm serves the overall purpose and goals of a well-grounded music education. Or, has the "scramble for accountability" altered the face and function of music education to the point that "music as an art" is no longer a viable entity within our public school systems? It is also quite possible that the best avenue of approach, in delivering a quality music education to the emerging generation, lies somewhere between the extremes of wholeheartedly embracing the standards-based model and outright rejection of the concept. Sound philosophical discussion, devoid of self-serving rhetoric, is perhaps the only viable means of illuminating the issue. |
