Phantom Regiment's "Big Idea"

[chaos001]

From their Facebook page:

The "Big Idea" has been posted already: www.tinyurl.com/pr-chase! Check out what Phantom Regiment would do with $1 million along with what our friends at Cavaliers, Colts (Legion Aires) and Carolina Crown would do. Voting begins Friday, and everyone gets 5 votes - 1 per nonprofit.

The Big Idea:

The Issue

Our community, which is among the nation’s worst in unemployment, struggles to fund the arts. With so many challenges to face, the arts are not a priority in our schools. Budget cuts have limited the access children have to music and other arts and, in many cases, those classes have been deemed extracurricular, forcing students to make choices among clubs, sports and arts. Studies have shown that students who participate in music excel in core academics. A 2001 analysis by the College Entrance Examination Board showed that students with courses in music appreciation scored an average of 63 points higher on the verbal and 44 points higher on the math portions of the SAT than students without a music background. Allowing young minds the creativity and discipline they obtain from the arts opens up a new world for them, and we believe it’s important to provide students a well-balanced curriculum that encourages them to consider myriad careers, such as science, medicine, law – and music.

The Plan

Phantom Regiment wants to make sure every child in the Rockford area gets introduced to music, including the mentally or physically challenged. Among the programs we’d like to provide:

1) Hands-on intro to music instruments in elementary schools;

2) Expand our summer camps to include general music and dance instruction as well as day camps for children;

3) Summer band for teenagers;

4) Private lessons for those desiring advanced instruction;

5) Partner with an organization such as Special Olympics to offer music and dance.

Since many children in our community have parents who are struggling financially, we want to offer scholarships for those in need. In addition, we would use the organization’s world-renowned drum and bugle corps as an example of how rewarding music and dance can be, encouraging more students to participate in their school programs. Once these programs are established, we believe the obvious benefits will allow the programs to be funded by traditional means.

The Outcome

The effects of increasing arts offerings would do wonders not only for the community as a whole but also for the students individually. While studies have proven that music enhances our intellectual abilities, successful people note the real-world importance of music to our lives: “Music has a great power for bringing people together. With so many forces in this world acting to drive wedges between people, it's important to preserve those things that help us experience our common humanity,” said Ted Turner, founder of CNN. Bill Clinton said, “Music is about communication, creativity and cooperation and, by studying music in school, students have the opportunity to build on these skills, enrich their lives and experience the world from a new perspective.” In the end, we want to be able to provide opportunities as well as raise the awareness for how important the arts are to the growth and development of our young people. These are programs that we want to implement immediately.

VOTE!!!

[GSNewell]

And please use 1 of your 5 votes for Carolina Crown, Colts (Legion Aires) and Cavaliers, too!

Greg Newell

Board of Directors

Phantom Regiment

[adsigns]

VOTE 4 THE DRUM CORPS . . .

[njthundrrd]

Thanks Regiment!

[adsigns]

[scvjesse]

For those of you actually interested in the advocacy of Music Education, take a look at this. This man was the keynote speaker at the Texas Music Education Association conference. I'm actually a music educator in California, but a friend of mine in Texas told me about this.

It's 48 minutes long, but it's probably the best advocacy speech I've heard to date -- full of fresh ideas and data to back it up.

http://www.tmea.org/2009keynote/

The second video is the full speech. 48 minutes.

[chaos001]

Just a reminder...VOTE ON FRIDAY!!!