About the Music Program
P.S. 11 is committed to making music an integral part of curriculum. Music stimulates the imagination and enlightens the mind. It is an integral part of the education and development of the whole person. Music stimulates critical thinking, inspires a thirst for new ideas, and cultivates a sensitivity to the world as a whole. Ms. Golub believes in the healing power of music and believes everyone needs music in their life.
At P.S. P.S. 11 and Ms. Golub participate in the
Click on the console next to the picture of Mozart to listen to "Sonata in D Major for Two Pianos K448" which was used in the "Music and the Brain" research.
The program researches early keyboard instruction and its effect on children's cognitive ability. Their research expands on studies done by physicist Gordon Shaw and psychologist Frances Rauscher who found that when children are taught to play a piano, they scored significantly higher on tests of spatial-temporal reasoning, the abilility to accurately form mental images of physical objects and to recognize variations in their shapes and positions. It is a precursor to logical thinking, abstract thinking, and problem solving.
In addition, studies have shown that these keyboard lessons are improving
math scores, response time, and even language art skills in children.
Each Music and the Brain class is taught by Ms. Golub. She uses upper grade
students as helpers. This arrangement has proven to be a valuable experience for
both the younger children and their older helpers. They are learning so much
from each other; it's an incredible working relationship to watch.
There is one keyboard per child on which they learn to play a varied
repertoire of forty to fifty songs. Every class involves: singing, reading
music, ear training, listening, playing the keyboard, and performing.
Although the results that the Program is getting are amazing, equally
important to Ms. Golub is that the children are having a lot of fun learning to
play piano as well as "talking the language of music". It is truly an amazing
program.
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Ms. Golub has a multicultural music program that integrates music with
curriculum. Age appropriate songs and materials are used to bring our global
curriculum to life. We celebrate various holidays such as Black History Month,
Hispanic Heritage Month, The Chinese New Year, Jewish holidays and other
holidays through music. Our music program explores how music is not only made
with instruments but is created with our bodies; the feet, the fingers, and the
voice. We try to provide a program that can help us to trace the history of
American musical forms, such as country music and jazz. Our music program offers
jazz and rap to Latin and Broadway. We attempt to build a knowledge of music,
the orchestra and its repertoire. We learn musical notation, theory and music
appreciation. Children at P.S. 11 learn how to play a variety of instruments
including keyboard, recorder, harmonica, percussion, world drums, and guitar. 
P.S. 11 has a wonderful After School Program where children can practice piano with Ms. Golub.
The Afterschool Program also offers a Music Appreciation Class with Ms. Golub. She participates in the Riverside Symphony Music Memory Program. ,a program designed to develop a lasting appreciation for fine music in young people. The program culminates in a "Name That Tune" like competition at Alice Tully Hall.
Juilliard's Concert Fellowship Program is geared toward our fourth grade students and the understanding of the four families of musical instruments - strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. The students attend concerts at Juilliard featuring one family of instruments at each performance throughout the academic year.
Another program we participate with is Circle In The Square. Graduates of their program work with our third grade students teaching them about playwriting, acting and other theatre skills. The residency ends in a performance by the actors and the children.
Much of the exposure that our students will get to the
arts is going to come from within the school. Therefore, we feel it is our
responsibility to introduce these students not only to music of the United
States, but the music of other cultures to help them
to understand themselves and expand their understanding of cultural diversity.
They need to be able to interpret their roots and different cultures through the
arts. We have a program that offers the children music from different parts of
the world, accompanied by authentic instruments from each culture. Our music
program attempts to understand multicultural, environmental, and special
curriculum needs. It focuses not only on aesthetics, but on various themes,
social issues, and the concerns of our community and city. The children of P.S. 11 are introduced to different
aspects of music in an exciting program, one that combines education, student
participation, and fun! In Ms.Golub they not only get an educator, but an
entertainer to keep their interest. A mix of music with the curriculum is the
only way she believes that children can get a well-balanced
education.
We also are affiliated with the Julliard School of Music. Their Morse Fellowship Program enables graduate students to work with classes in our school in their own classrooms on a weekly basis, for the entire academic year.
