Lower Saxony Makes Music: Prelude “Musical Elementary School” in Hannover

picture credit: Hermann Dornhege, Münster

 07.02.2012. The Bertelsmann Foundation

In the future, elementary school students in the German province of Lower Saxony will sing and dance in their Math and German glass because music will shape the whole school curriculum. The project, which starts in the 2012/2013 academic year and will last for a period of two years is developed in cooperation with the Bertelsmann Foundation.

On 6^th February 2012 the culture minister of Lower Saxony Mr. Bernd Althusmann and the vice-chair of the Bertlesmann Foundation Mrs. Liz Mohn signed the cooperation agreement in Hannover. Initially, the project will involve 100 elementary schools from the whole province. To this aim, music teachers will undergo periodic trainings for a period of two years because together with their colleagues they have to develop concepts of how to integrate music in the whole school curriculum.

The Minister underlined that music helps students with learning. “They do significantly better in other disciplines when they are introduced to singing and playing from early on.”

Liz Mohn reiterated: “This project is very dear to my heart. Through music, children learn to listen, live together peacefully, be more tolerant and enjoy life; often this has a positive impact on them in other school disciplines. That is why music should go beyond music classes to encompass the entire school life.”

The Bertelsmann Foundation developed the concept of “MusicalElementary School” together with the ministry of culture of the province Hessen and meanwhile more than 160 schools fromHessen,Berlin,BavariaandThuringiatake part.Lower Saxony, however, will be the province with the most participating schools.

The Bertelsmann Foundation sponsors the project with the amount of 150 000 euros and accordin to Minister Althusman, the culture ministry will invest around 173 000 euros in continuing education of teachers.

The project is a follow-up of other similar initiatives such as “Hauptsache: Musik” or the school singing contest “Klasse! Wir singen!”

Source: Bertelsmann Foundation

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