Blog 18: Third Answer

How can music instruction most influence a child’s ability to perform publicly?

By instilling confidence in a child music instruction can most influence their ability to perform publicly.

-Many teachers are unaware of the humanizing influences that an active arts program can give to not only a child, but to a school. they engage the student directly and in group settings leaving it open to be free from judgment and enabling a child to feel better and more confident in themselves.

- Amy Rodriguez told me of a student who she worked with and whom I have now met in an older age, who had a stutter that held her back in her academic education, but with the help of music(playing an instrument, singing in a choir, and extra singing drills) she is now able to speak with any interruption. I can vouch on this case specifically because I have worked with her and have gone to school with her; music gave her the confidence to be able to mess up her words publicly and not worry about judgment from the other students.
- Also children who do not speak English as a first language are sometimes given arts classes (singing, music, and acting) in order to correlate words with actions or to portray happiness within the music instead of words. They do learn English inevitably, but the music is said to speed up and enable the child, with less stress, in the process.

My main research source would be from my mentorship and also my third interview with Amy Rodriguez, the music teacher at my mentorship who has been working with small children for a long time. Brouillette and Jennings in Helping Children cross cultural boundaries in the borderands talk about how the performing arts help children to learn languages and express themselves with language barriers in better ways, more suited to the child's need. Also Liane Brouillette speaks about the comfort and confidence a child receives when they have an artistic background in How the Arts help children to create healthy social scripts: Exploring the perceptions of elementary teachers.

I believe music instruction gives a child a sense of confidence even if they are confident to begin with. A shy child is just as susceptible to positive feedback as a child with confidence.