Editorial: What about singing?

In our school the only music classes are: band, guitar, and theater. There are no choral classes. There is Yoh Theater but that doesn’t always involve singing and it is after school. Some kids, including myself, do three sports a year. We don’t have the time to fit in Yoh too. So why is it that we can have instruments but we can’t have anything to do with our voices?

A study from Grunwald.com says that children who sing in choruses gain academic success and valuable life skills. A graph from their website shows that kids who were at some point in choir do better in school, for example: children in mathematics who are in choir are at 47% proficiency rate and children who aren’t are at 38% proficiency rate.

A study by Chorus America as reported in University World News on June 7th, 2009 found that adult choral singers exhibited increased social skills. The study also shows that many children who do choir show many social skills that adult singers have. They had a survey done to see what parents noticed after their child had started chorus. Seventy one percent said their child was more confident. Seventy percent said self discipline improved, and 69% said the child's memory skills improved.

Chorus can make a huge impact in kids' lives, but if we don’t have choral classes then how can we get the benefits? Our school should have a chorus class so kids can enhance their singing and breathing skills. It would also enhance the community's entertainment options. Let us sing!