Hi! My name is Amarah. Kids are important to me, and they’re important to Jesus, too.

Jesus said in Matthew 25:40 (KJV), “Whatever you’ve done unto the least of these (kids), you’ve done it unto me.”

“Kids like me” are kids and adults of all ages whose parents are, or were, drug addicts, and alcoholics; kids who have suffered, or who are suffering, abuse and neglect on multiple levels; and kids who are victims of bullying.

Hey, kids like me! My friend, Mr. Randy Macy, is the most awesome pianist, ever! I asked Randy to tell you about himself and how he feels about music. But, first, I have to re-state my thoughts and feelings about kids who are kicked out of band because, “…your grades aren’t good enough.”

My forever-passion was playing the trumpet. But, when I entered middle school I was kicked out of band because, “…your grades aren’t good enough.” It was devastating to me! I learned at the recent Neonatal Symposium IV that parents who drink and use drugs before and during pregnancy effect multiple learning disabilities on their child(ren). As a result, among many other things, the child can’t do things that are concentrated in the spatial area of the brain such as anything having to do with numbers, i.e., math/telling time/counting money. It makes me so mad! What is the answer here? Don’t drink and drug, especially when you’re pregnant!

Today, Randy Macy Part 2:

Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser penned some thoughts on “Why Teach Music?”  From Dr. Lautzenheiser’s perspective:

Music is a science - It is exact, specific; and it demands exact acoustics . . . a score is a chart, a graph which indicates frequencies, intensities, volume changes, melody and harmony all at once and with the most exact control of time.

Music is mathematical - It is rhythmically based on the subdivisions of time into fractions which must be done instantaneously, not worked out on paper.

Music is a foreign language - Most of the terms are in Italian, German or French; and the notation . . . a highly developed kind of shorthand that uses symbols to represent ideas.

Music is history - Music usually reflects the environment and times of its creation, often even the country and/or racial feeling.

Music is physical education - It requires fantastic coordination of fingers, hands, arms, lip, cheek and facial muscles, in addition to extraordinary control of diaphragmatic, back, stomach, and chest muscles, which respond instantly to the sound the ear hears and the mind interprets.

Music is all these things, but most of all, music is art - It allows a human being to take all of these dry, technically boring (but difficult) techniques and use them to create emotion. That is one thing science cannot duplicate; humanism, feeling, emotion, call it what you will.

The importance of the arts is beginning to be recognized once again. In California, a state task force is now recommending arts be returned to classrooms as a core subject after years of taking second stage to math and reading. In New Orleans, ReNEW Cultural Arts Academy, a school once ranked in the bottom of the nation, is showing measurable signs of educational advancement after using music and the arts to build math and other skills. The Turnaround Arts pilot program (now in grave danger simply because it was instituted and championed by Michelle and Barack Obama) showed that integrating the arts into the standard curriculum decreased disciplinary actions, increased attendance and improved academic achievement – 22.55% in math and 12.62% in reading. Turnaround Arts schools performed better than comparable schools receiving special grants for school improvement.

Thank You, Randy! (Part 3, next week).

And, thank you for reading my column. Write to me at Amarah’s “Kids Like Me” P.O. Box 354, Alamosa, CO 81101. If you know a kid like me, or parent, who is an addict/alcoholic, please tell him/her about “Amarah’s Corner, Kids Like Me” in the Valley Courier. Tell them to contact me, or you can contact me on their behalf. If you know a kid like me, or parent, who doesn’t have a Bible, but wants one, please, contact me. I’ll make sure he/she gets a Bible, “…and all the earth may know there is a God…” (1 Samuel 17:46, KJV).

Amarah’s “Kids Like Me” offers non-denominational World Bible School (WBS) Bible Correspondence Courses (free/postage paid) in English/Spanish to kids like me (ages 8-12), their parents, and even if you’re not a kid like me! Teens/adults take the WBS Master Series Courses so if you would like the WBS Courses, send your name/age/address and I’ll get you started ASAP! I hope to hear from you soon!

My goal is to help kids like me, and I want to help their parents, too. Until next time, remember, Jesus Loves You, and JESUS IS LORD!