| Description |
Music can play an immense role in children's lives by contributing positively to their emotional, social and intellectual development and well-being. The idea that music plays an important part in children's lives is the motivating force behind the El Sistema phenomenon: a sensation that; has been sweeping the world since it began in Venezuela in 1978. This program was started with the goal of effecting positive social change in communities through teaching a community's children music. I studied the Salty Cricket El Sistema program in Salt Lake City to investigate how this program fosters both a sense of well-being and a sense of community in its participants. The stated goals of this program are to create a "safe place," or a "place of positivity" for the students to empower them by offering unique opportunities to be involved in their communities and, to teach them skills of leadership, self-discipline, and learning. When I studied how this program went about meeting these goals, I discovered that the students viewed those goals differently. A safe, positive place, a place where they were empowered, was not one where they learned to be good citizens, but one where they could be with friends and learn to play music, and by doing this, the community that most benefited from their involvement was the one they created amongst themselves. |
