As much evidence as there now is to support the importance of the subject, there will always be a need for advocacy on behalf of music education even in the most supportive of communities. This site is a series of organized resources in hopes of allowing you to not only learn and/or affirm the qualitative (narratives, anecdotes, summaries of studies, etc.) and quantitative (hard numbers and data) benefits of music education but also to help guide you in shaping your own plan of advocacy and voice to bring to your stakeholders and key players.
Getting The Right Mindset
First off, let's read and remember why this is important (aside from music for music's sake, of course).
American Music Council: Research Briefs: Did You Know? (download below)
American Music Council: Research Briefs - Did You Know?.pdf
My high school band director often used the quote "All glory comes from daring to begin."
We know that advocacy is important, but getting started can be a challenge. Here are some resources to give you a jump start. Don't wait for problems to arise before you begin to build awareness and value in music and arts education! "The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. - JFK"
As the saying goes, advocacy for anything important involves two elements: the head and the heart. We must always be able to share anecdotes and narratives as to why our case is important, but when it comes to backing up your argument, you need data and evidence. As you develop your case, be sure to have both.