The Place of Music in the Christian School Curriculum
By: Louis (Duck) Schuler, Jr.

"What is the chief end of man?" This is the first question of the Westminster Catechism and well-known by many Christians whether they know the rest of the catechism or not. The answer to the question is, "Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." How does man best glorify God, and how does he best enjoy him? In congregational worship, of course.

Because Christians of earlier centuries believed in the supreme importance of worship, they developed schools and universities in order to teach Christians how to use the tools necessary to bring the best possible worship to our Lord. Perhaps the highest expression of this educational flowering happened during the Reformation and the century that followed. In the German states, education was overseen by the church. Curricula were developed by church leaders for all children. The literacy rate during the post-Reformation period in German Protestant states was extremely high since everyone was expected to be educated. The goal of education was to train the mind with the word. Education was word-oriented-grammar, logic rhetoric. Their education was also heavily music-oriented in order that worship would have the beauty and glory that goes beyond the expression of words by themselves.

Contrary to this is the thinking prevalent in most educational institutions today. Education is there for the student to "get a better job," or to "improve the mind." Even in Christian schools, which almost always have a mission statement that says something about doing all things for the glory of God, the intended goal of education is not worship-oriented. That is, better worship is rarely the "chief end" of most Christian schools.

Here is a little test. Rank the following disciplines in order of importance three ways: 1) what you consider most important; 2) what the school considers most important; and 3) in the order that they will best achieve the goal of glorifying God and enjoying Him forever.

1. Language Skills (grammar, literature, logic, rhetoric, languages, etc.)
2. Theology (exegetical, systematics, historical, etc.)
3. Mathematics (algebra, geometry, calculus, etc.)
4. Science (biology, physics, chemistry, etc.)
5. Social Studies (geography, history, economics, etc.)
6. Physical Education (sports, etc.)
7. The Time Arts (music, drama, dance, storytelling, etc.)
8. The Plastic Arts (painting, sculpture, wood shop, architecture, etc.)

(I have not included Philosophy because it is generally only found in post-secondary institutions.) The second part of the test is one question: Which of these disciplines are necessary and used in worship?

More than likely, you ranked the order of importance very closely to the order in which I placed them above. The above order was also probably very similar to the way you perceive their importance in your school. Although, if we were truly honest with ourselves, in reality, sports would rank higher in most schools. The importance of the disciplines is most often expressed in the designations of curricular and extracurricular. Generally, the first five disciplines fall in the former category and the last three fall in the latter.

Before we attempt to deal with the matter of importance for God's glory, let us answer the second part of the test. The sina qua non of worship is language skills-even more so than theological skills. Language skills are the foundation for all other disciplines. Christ is called the logos because it describes well how He works. He came conquering with words and preaching, not with sword or bow. As images bearers, we are to imitate Him. The word of God has become our two-edged sword. We are given the Bible, a book filled with words, in order to know how God wants us to live, how to worship, and how to take dominion. The driving engine of all education must be word-oriented. But beyond language skills, the time arts are next in their importance for worship, and, judging by the commands in the scripture, music is the greatest among these, especially by the congregation as a whole. Are you beginning to get the picture?

Our teaching of music is a reflection of our theology of worship. In a pragmatic culture, such as we have in America , the value of an abstract art like music is very low. It is hard to pay for something that can't be touched and once it has been performed can never be retrieved again. Yet, God commands us over and over in His word to sing to Him, play instruments skillfully, and add glory to Him with music.

So what should a Christian school music program look like?

Here is my bare-bones description. Solfeggio-based sight singing (do-re mi-fa, etc.) would be taught every day of the school week for kindergarten through sixth grade. Class periods would range from 20 minutes for lower grades to 40 minutes for upper grades. Memorization and music drills would be a high priority for these ages. A psalm or hymn could be sung in the classroom between subjects throughout the day. Once all the psalms were learned, a student could possibly be singing the whole Psalter through three or four times per school year. Imagine how that would change your school!

The goal of the elementary school music program should be to have all the graduates able to look at a simple hymn melody and hear it in their head without an instrument playing it for them.

General music classes would continue through the junior high school years, only now the emphasis would be on the music theory and how it all works together. Dictation and composition would play a greater part in the class. Sight-singing skills would be polished and honed. Styles and forms of great music would also be studied. The goal of the junior high student would be to come to an understanding of how music works.

The performing ensemble would be the central focus of the high school years. With proper training in the earlier grades, the student would now be able to practice more efficiently and perform more frequently-perhaps 10 or more times per year instead of the usual three or four. Ensembles would not be limited to large groups but would include many chamber ensembles as well. With multiple ensembles, a school could have a concert series that might be 40 or 50 concerts. Does this sound preposterous? How many different games do the school teams participate in during the school year? Of course, concerts would require a recital hall of some sort. Most schools are willing to build gymnasiums but don't ask for a concert hall. The goal of the high school student would be to learn how to perform beautifully and to recognize and enjoy beautiful music.

Is this a tall order? How much glory should we give God? Is it worth taking the time (and money) to give Him more glorious glory? Do we care? We see the immediate value of most curricular studies. Their value is perceived as greater than music's value and, thus, they receive a greater portion of time in the curriculum. If we want a strengthening of Christian influence and dominion, our worship needs to be right. If Christians can't sing or play instruments well, our worship is deficient.

Christian schools have an opportunity to re-establish music to its proper place in the curriculum and demonstrate to the world who we love most.

Dr. Shuler (Duck) is the music director at Christ Church , a Fellow of Music and the College Choral Conductor at New Saint Andrews College , both in Moscow , Idaho . He has been a music educator in both public and private schools for 22 years, working with ages K-3 through college/adult.

This article is courtesy of the Association of Classical and Christian Schools .