As I finish out my last school year as a classroom teacher, it pains me to see how many schools lack a strong music program. Music and art are always the first subjects to be cut from budgets, seen as expendable because they are not tested. Being involved in music from a very young age, I know first-hand that there is nothing expendable about music.
The effects of music on the brain are constantly researched by scientists with many published studies in favor of how music helps the brain work in miraculous ways. Beyond this though, I know music teaches discipline, work ethic, and empathy for others and their cultures. Any educator and parents should be delighted to see these kinds of traits growing in our schools.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-musical-fix-for-american-schools-1412954652