20 In the Arts
Ponte Vedra Recorder · November 5, 2015
Learning Through
the
Music
The Cultural Center has made music therapy possible
for elementary schools within Ponte Vedra, allowing
special needs students to learn — one note at a time.
By Ben Samples
Special to The Recorder
“It’s fun, first of all,” said Sirak about music therapy.
“A lot of times they learn something and they don’t
even know they’re learning it, because they’re just singing a song.”
The special needs students attend music therapy
classes two to four times a week and the classes last for
around half an hour. The classes are not designed to
replace the children’s regular academics, but are meant
to supplement them.
Studies have been done on the subject of music therapy for decades and it has been shown to be a valid
method of helping special needs students. Research
conducted by Frontiers in Neuroscience stated that listening to music enhances a child’s verbal capabilities
and general reasoning skills; it also helps students develop emotionally, particularly when it comes expressing empathy.
Sirak often begins her classes with a simple “hello”
song that helps the children become engaged and social
right from the start. From there, everything in the class
is designed to keep the children participating, whether
through music, movement or a creative activity.
Sirak’s interest in music therapy began in high school,
though she has had a passion for music nearly all her
Though the classroom looks just like any other -small desks and chairs across the room, colorful posters
all around, a blank whiteboard attached to the wall -- it
does not sound like any other.
The peaceful strumming of an acoustic guitar and the
soothing singing voice of teacher Candice Sirak fills the
Ponte Vedra Palm Valley/Rawlings Elementary School
classroom. The four students who sit around her begin
to quietly sing along.
These students, as well as others within the Ponte
Vedra area, are part of a new music therapy program
that has been implemented by the Cultural Center at
Ponte Vedra in Ocean Palms Elementary and Valley
Ridge Academy as well.
Designed for children between ages 6 and 11 with
special needs, the program seeks to use music as a
teaching method that will reach special needs children
in a way that a typical classroom wouldn’t -- lectures,
textbooks, and homework are no longer the focus.
These students often learn and communicate through
physical activities, using their bodies to create and react
to music. For students with Down syndrome, autism,
developmental delays and other special needs, it is often easier to learn through music.
MUSIC continues on Page 21