What are the advantages and disadvantages of a musical education ...

with guns and take part in extremely raunchy sexual acts. You only have to look at the lyrics
from some of today’s chart toppers to see how apparent it is. A perfect example of this is
current and popular artist Rihanna and her single S&M. The lyrics during the chorus are:
‘Cause I may be bad but I’m perfectly good at it. Sex in the air I don’t care I love the smell of
it. Sticks and stones May break my bones but chains and whips excite me’ (Rihanna, 2010).
Are these really the sort of messages that should be heard by young children? There has
certainly been no ban on playing this song before 9 o’clock, in fact quite the opposite- it is
regularly played on radio throughout the day and it was also the song she performed at this
year’s Brit awards after receiving an award for best single. Maybe today’s music artists have
a lot to answer for in portraying a false image of relationships, sex and violence to a younger
generation that are so easily led.
It is important for educators to realize that children are not just learning in the school
environment. It is crucial to remember that at a young age children are getting two types of
education, the information they learn while at school and the knowledge they are continually
obtaining from everything else surrounding them in their day-to-day lives. Sometimes the
two forms of education conflict and contradict one another. Educators need to be aware of the
outside form of learning and need to have an understanding of it. Children are absorbing just
as much from the outside world as they do from their parents and teachers. This outside
education can come from anywhere: children at school, television programs, the Internet, and
a lot of the time through music and the media.
Recently there has been a huge amount of negative press regarding chat rooms and how
dangerous they can be for young people. If a parent heard that their young daughter had taken
a photo of herself on her videophone and sent it to a boy from school or a stranger she met on
a chat room, their reaction would most likely be one of upset and even fear for their child’s
safety. Unfortunately with songs such as Beyonce Knowles ‘Video Phone’ that has lyrics
such as:
‘you’re saying that you want me, so press record I’ll let you film me on your video phone
make a cameo, tape me on your video phone. I can handle you watch me on your videophone.
If you want me you can watch me on your videophone’ (Beyonce, 2009)
it could most definitely be argued that the wrong messages are being sent out to young girls.
It has been said that the artist Beyonce is a great role model but when there are so many
young girls listening and singing along to these songs without fully understanding the
Music Education in Regard to Children CM6002 Emily McGregor 163930
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