WEBVTT - Why Music Education Matters More Than You Think 0:00:13.960 --> 0:00:17.440 Personally with Llogan Fuelsman. 0:00:18.079 --> 0:00:19.759 It's been the series of change makers. 0:00:19.920 --> 0:00:22.919 Last week, now Harbison was on sharing his story all 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:25.919 the way from Thailand. This week, I have on Kaye Toll. 0:00:26.120 --> 0:00:28.520 She's another change maker in the world. And I've always 0:00:28.520 --> 0:00:30.880 found it so awesome when people take time out of 0:00:30.920 --> 0:00:33.640 their life to dedicate it to a cause, and that's 0:00:33.680 --> 0:00:36.080 exactly what Kaylee has done. She's a co founder of 0:00:36.159 --> 0:00:38.920 Let Music, Film My World. They're dedicated to making sure 0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:42.760 every student in America has access to music education. So 0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:45.000 let's get into this interview so you can hear why 0:00:45.200 --> 0:00:55.120 music is such an important part of our lives. I'm 0:00:55.160 --> 0:00:57.320 joined this week by Kaylee Toll. She's one of the 0:00:57.360 --> 0:01:00.760 co founders of Let Music, Film My World. And I'm 0:01:00.800 --> 0:01:02.720 so excited to have you join and share your story. 0:01:02.760 --> 0:01:05.520 How are you? Thank you for having me. I'm really good. 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:08.840 I mean I'm especially good. I've got this dog. 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:11.840 Right here, Remy, Miss Remy, the therapy dog who's keeping 0:01:11.880 --> 0:01:16.000 me company, keeping me warm. Thank you for this. You 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:17.200 should have led with this. 0:01:17.560 --> 0:01:19.560 I know this is the real reason everybody comes is 0:01:19.600 --> 0:01:22.319 to get therapy, as honestly, and I totally get it. 0:01:22.360 --> 0:01:27.640 I get therapy every day, so I totally enjoy this experience. Well, Killy, 0:01:27.720 --> 0:01:29.920 I want to hear your story and why you are 0:01:29.920 --> 0:01:32.839 a co founder of this incredible project. 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:37.399 Well, a few years ago, in twenty twenty three, John 0:01:37.440 --> 0:01:41.280 and Rassic Grammy nominated artist to Fight for Fighting and 0:01:41.319 --> 0:01:48.080 I connected and we came up with this concept about 0:01:48.240 --> 0:01:51.560 how to do good work right now in music education, 0:01:51.800 --> 0:01:55.880 which means getting teachers into schools where there aren't any, 0:01:56.440 --> 0:01:59.640 getting music educators into schools where there aren't any, and 0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:04.800 also how to do more storytelling about why music matters, 0:02:05.520 --> 0:02:08.720 because it's so much more than a nice to have. 0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:11.680 It sounds good, kids like. 0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:14.919 It, we like it, but actually the research is pretty 0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:18.960 robust about the value of music to young people, and 0:02:19.000 --> 0:02:21.240 we can talk more about that later, but we really 0:02:21.280 --> 0:02:25.200 wanted to transform some of the storytelling so that more 0:02:25.240 --> 0:02:30.559 Americans could recognize that music education is an incredibly valuable 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:34.360 and highly underutilized tool that we need now more than ever. 0:02:35.120 --> 0:02:38.119 Yeah. So you did you ever have experience in your 0:02:38.440 --> 0:02:42.720 young life, in your I guess even just beyond being young, 0:02:42.800 --> 0:02:44.880 but as you were getting older that music really played 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:46.160 a significant. 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:46.280 Role for you. 0:02:47.240 --> 0:02:49.720 Yeah, growing up on my mom's side, of the family, 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:54.200 in particular, my mom was one of seven. We always 0:02:54.280 --> 0:02:57.320 were doing something musical. I have a lot of memories 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:00.520 of gathering with the cousins that my grandparents house in 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:05.440 or Inda, California, and everyone would find something that would 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:08.359 turn into an instrument. Some people would have real instruments 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:10.919 like a guitar, but most of us would just have 0:03:11.040 --> 0:03:12.440 something that would make noise. 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:13.919 Some people would sing. 0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:19.440 And this feeling of everyone can contribute, everyone's a part 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:23.720 of this, and that together we're making something special really 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:28.040 stuck with me. And I think the creative outlet, the 0:03:28.120 --> 0:03:33.360 feeling of belonging and the playfulness of that as a 0:03:33.360 --> 0:03:38.000 young person is so valuable. Because there's no doubt that 0:03:38.920 --> 0:03:41.760 curriculum that we have, you know, math and science, we 0:03:41.800 --> 0:03:44.520 need all of that, But when we think about the 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:47.520 skills for the future and what the future of work 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:50.440 is going to look like, we really need young people 0:03:50.440 --> 0:03:55.760 that have the ability to be collaborative and resilient and 0:03:55.800 --> 0:03:59.720 have critical thinking skills and a lot of innovation and 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:04.160 create activity. And so we need to provide young people 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:06.440 in school the tools that would help them build out 0:04:06.480 --> 0:04:10.520 in music education, music and the arts are those avenues. 0:04:10.120 --> 0:04:12.120 I love that you were mentioning talking about in the 0:04:12.160 --> 0:04:15.920 school experience, because I often think about what my experience 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:17.560 was like growing up, and I was very lucky that 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:22.080 I had significant music education. I was in choir and 0:04:22.160 --> 0:04:26.240 we did music programs, and so much of our curriculum 0:04:26.279 --> 0:04:29.120 every single year had to include some form of music, 0:04:29.960 --> 0:04:32.320 and I think it played a really big role in 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:33.839 the creative side of. 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:34.840 Me, to understand. 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:36.880 I mean, heck, there was even a moment in time 0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:38.560 when I wanted to be a singer. 0:04:38.640 --> 0:04:40.800 That was like my purpose in life. Who didn't want that? 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:41.279 Right? 0:04:41.360 --> 0:04:42.880 Didn't we all want that at some point? 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:44.839 Yeah, you see, like the famous people are like, I 0:04:44.839 --> 0:04:46.040 want to be a star to. 0:04:46.040 --> 0:04:48.560 Do that, and then you realize, oh, actually it's quite hard. 0:04:48.760 --> 0:04:53.560 Oh yeah, yeah, my think very thankfully, my mother tried 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:55.560 very gently to let me down that that was just 0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:58.800 the whole process in itself for her. But I really 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:01.640 do think of so many of those moments, and I 0:05:01.720 --> 0:05:04.440 remember them. You know, you really don't remember a lot 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:06.360 of your stories growing up as a kid, but I 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:09.279 can remember that I was singing on the stage about 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:12.039 the barn. There was this old TV show with a barn. 0:05:12.200 --> 0:05:14.560 I think his name is Ed there was a horse. 0:05:15.080 --> 0:05:17.360 And I know that's like so many very random details, 0:05:17.640 --> 0:05:19.839 but I remember that we did this old school play 0:05:19.880 --> 0:05:22.480 of like these old songs and I had a solo 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:23.640 and I was so excited. 0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:24.360 Such a big deal. 0:05:24.520 --> 0:05:27.440 Yeah, and you get you practice, and it's you learn 0:05:27.560 --> 0:05:29.599 and develop so many skills. 0:05:30.200 --> 0:05:32.800 You try, you fail. You have to put yourself out there. 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:36.200 Yeah, and you have to have the confidence to go 0:05:36.240 --> 0:05:37.800 out on stage and sing in front of all these 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:40.960 people you don't know. And then when it happens, you 0:05:41.000 --> 0:05:43.800 build this confidence up within yourself, even if you're not 0:05:43.839 --> 0:05:44.520 doing a solo. 0:05:44.800 --> 0:05:45.840 It's so nerve racking. 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:48.239 And then you learn that you're a part of a team, 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:52.080 that it's not always about you front and center. And 0:05:52.960 --> 0:05:55.120 when I think about why music and the arts, music 0:05:55.240 --> 0:05:59.480 education in particular is so important, it makes me think 0:05:59.480 --> 0:06:02.560 of just going back to the core of why are 0:06:02.560 --> 0:06:03.760 we sending kids to school. 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:06.320 In the first place. Why is education important? And I 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:06.880 think when you. 0:06:06.839 --> 0:06:10.159 Really boil it down, it matters because we're preparing young 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:13.640 people to succeed as adults. We want young people to 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:16.360 thrive now, to learn now. We want them to get 0:06:16.400 --> 0:06:18.440 good grades, we want them to show up at school. 0:06:18.760 --> 0:06:20.080 We don't want them to get in trouble. 0:06:20.680 --> 0:06:21.240 But why. 0:06:21.320 --> 0:06:24.280 It's because we want to prepare them for adulthood, for 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:28.080 joining the workforce. And I think we have to get 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:31.159 back to thinking a little more out of the box 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:34.520 about what that looks like for today. And I think 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:37.400 we could be doing better. And it's not a partisan issue. 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:41.400 I mean something that's backed so robustly by research. I 0:06:41.440 --> 0:06:45.920 mean the thing about music education that is, there's two 0:06:45.960 --> 0:06:48.760 things that stand out to me. One it's not an 0:06:48.800 --> 0:06:53.200 issue of invention, it's actually an implementation problem, which is 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:56.880 to say, we already know that music is an incredibly 0:06:57.200 --> 0:07:01.640 effective tool for young people for mental health, for academic performance, 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:06.760 for workforce readiness, but we don't do the best job 0:07:06.960 --> 0:07:11.239 at implementing that evenly across the US and the number 0:07:11.320 --> 0:07:13.480 of you know, there's four million students that don't have 0:07:13.520 --> 0:07:15.440 access to music education in America. 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:18.200 It sounds bad and. 0:07:18.120 --> 0:07:22.480 It's not great, but that's just scratching the surface because 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:25.840 what we really have to look at is what can 0:07:25.840 --> 0:07:29.680 we be doing through music education that's preparing young people 0:07:29.720 --> 0:07:32.960 to succeed. So it's just one music class really going 0:07:33.040 --> 0:07:36.800 to do that. And then the other piece that is 0:07:36.840 --> 0:07:39.600 a part of this is how this is a totally 0:07:39.640 --> 0:07:42.960 nonpartisan issue because it's backed by data. It's not just 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:46.160 someone saying, you know, this is something that's nice to have. 0:07:47.120 --> 0:07:51.000 Believe me, the research is so clear. I mean, the 0:07:51.080 --> 0:07:55.240 fact that students involved in music education and the arts 0:07:55.560 --> 0:07:58.600 are five times more likely to graduate high school is 0:07:58.640 --> 0:07:59.320 mind blowing. 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:03.160 That's a crazy number that I didn't even. 0:08:02.800 --> 0:08:04.160 Or wouldn't even correlate. 0:08:04.680 --> 0:08:07.840 So why do you think that is Being in this 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:11.760 and working with this organization for so long, why do 0:08:11.800 --> 0:08:15.320 you think music does play such a significant impact in 0:08:15.400 --> 0:08:16.320 kids graduating. 0:08:17.680 --> 0:08:22.800 I think we have to be realistic that success and 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:27.840 innovation takes all kinds, and you just don't always know 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:32.160 how you're going to capture someone's imagination and really light 0:08:32.240 --> 0:08:36.679 up their potential. For some kids, that can be math 0:08:36.760 --> 0:08:39.760 and science and history. I loved history, but I also 0:08:39.800 --> 0:08:43.040 really loved music, and I had the opportunity to have 0:08:43.080 --> 0:08:43.840 that in school. 0:08:44.760 --> 0:08:46.040 So I think. 0:08:46.679 --> 0:08:51.440 Why the research reflects that students that participate in music 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:54.560 and the arts have a much higher likelihood of graduating 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:58.679 high school is because it's one of many tools that 0:08:58.720 --> 0:08:59.920 we know delivered. 0:09:00.440 --> 0:09:02.760 Music education delivers, and. 0:09:02.679 --> 0:09:04.679 That's what we should be focused on now more than ever. 0:09:04.720 --> 0:09:08.960 I mean, America's so focused on efficiency, making sure that 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:11.280 we spend our money wisely on the economy, and we 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:14.720 should be and we should be focused on how do 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:19.480 we do those things? And we shouldn't discard we shouldn't 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:23.520 discard viable avenues to do that when we know that 0:09:24.160 --> 0:09:28.080 they're actually pretty simple. They already exist. We don't have 0:09:28.120 --> 0:09:30.120 to start from scratch. We just have to do a 0:09:30.160 --> 0:09:34.199 better job at making music education in this case, available 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:35.840 to every student in America. 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:39.280 Why do you feel like music? 0:09:39.440 --> 0:09:42.720 I'm picturing especially the movie and maybe you've probably seen 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:45.360 it with Kevin James, where he goes in and he 0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:49.439 becomes a boxer to save the school program, the music program. 0:09:50.440 --> 0:09:54.080 Okay, this is a hilarious movie, but this is exactly 0:09:54.120 --> 0:09:54.680 what he's doing. 0:09:54.800 --> 0:09:58.319 Is he knows that the music teacher is about to 0:09:58.400 --> 0:10:01.760 have a kid, and they're all in this big meeting 0:10:02.000 --> 0:10:04.160 with the principal and he's like, we're about to cut 0:10:04.200 --> 0:10:07.280 the music program completely, and he's like, we can't do that, 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:10.200 and then he like blurts out, okay, well he's pregnant 0:10:10.559 --> 0:10:11.760 or his wife's pregnant. 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:12.199 Whatever. 0:10:12.520 --> 0:10:14.240 He's like, we got to save it, he decides to 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:17.160 become a boxer to raise money for the music program, 0:10:18.280 --> 0:10:20.760 and it's this whole storyline. And I love this movie, 0:10:20.840 --> 0:10:25.240 but I'm picturing that right now. Because music programs are 0:10:25.320 --> 0:10:28.559 often the first thing to get cut when funding is 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:32.240 getting cut, why do you feel like it becomes not 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:36.079 an important tool for us to use, Like we have 0:10:36.160 --> 0:10:39.599 the research, we have the numbers, but why is it 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:42.040 the first thing people reach for to say no more. 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:47.360 I think we do what's easy, often not always what's 0:10:47.480 --> 0:10:52.920 right these it's state by state, so every state, which 0:10:53.160 --> 0:10:57.199 I think is totally reasonable, has their own standards for 0:10:57.480 --> 0:11:04.280 education and implements that accordingly. I think if we looked 0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:10.040 at what really delivered for young people and really considered 0:11:10.240 --> 0:11:14.120 the facts, it would be impossible to cut music in 0:11:14.160 --> 0:11:17.920 the arts. But I think that's a tougher route then 0:11:18.240 --> 0:11:20.920 to cut something that may not be as protected, may 0:11:20.920 --> 0:11:24.240 not have as much history at that school, may not 0:11:24.440 --> 0:11:28.040 have as strong of a support system or a lobbying 0:11:28.080 --> 0:11:31.920 based But for example, the first school that John and 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:35.400 I went into in Chicago, called Farragut Career Academy in 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:39.119 the Little Village neighborhood, they had had a music program, 0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:43.120 a couple years prior lost it due to funding exactly 0:11:43.120 --> 0:11:47.640 as you're describing and what we did when we went 0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:51.120 into that school. In addition to John working with a 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:53.720 group of kids to write this original song that music 0:11:53.760 --> 0:11:58.200 film My World, he taught them about the music industry. 0:11:58.240 --> 0:12:02.760 They interacted with seasoned industry professionals to learn about all 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:05.640 the different things that can be done in music education. Right, 0:12:05.679 --> 0:12:07.880 you don't have to just be the musician. 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:11.679 It's the most fun one, I think, but you know like. 0:12:11.640 --> 0:12:15.040 That, there's a lot of avenues or it's not even 0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:18.480 an avenue in music, but it's about what you can 0:12:18.559 --> 0:12:22.800 learn through music and the things that we heard from the. 0:12:22.800 --> 0:12:27.120 Students about how they felt during these two months. 0:12:27.000 --> 0:12:28.559 Or so that we were with them. 0:12:29.440 --> 0:12:33.160 They felt connected with their peers, They wanted to come 0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:36.760 to school, they felt like they had a safe space 0:12:36.840 --> 0:12:41.400 to try new things. And if school isn't meant to 0:12:41.440 --> 0:12:43.679 be that, I don't know what it is meant to be. 0:12:43.840 --> 0:12:48.119 We want young people to go to school feeling confident, 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:54.000 open minded, curious and engaged, and that's just not going 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:57.680 to look the same for every student. So I think, 0:12:58.480 --> 0:13:01.240 why is that the case? Why is music and the 0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:03.600 arts often cut I think just because it's easy, but 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:06.400 not because it's right, and not because the data backs. 0:13:06.160 --> 0:13:08.199 It up and does not make you just kind of 0:13:08.240 --> 0:13:11.840 so mad that we do do what's easy often instead 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:16.640 of the right thing in understanding what's the most beneficial 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:18.719 for kids in the programs. 0:13:19.000 --> 0:13:23.040 Well, usually when I get mad, I get really active. 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:26.600 My family calls me turbulently active. We talked before this 0:13:27.000 --> 0:13:29.760 it's not always a good thing. So then it makes 0:13:29.760 --> 0:13:32.240 me wonder, Okay, if this is the case, what are 0:13:32.240 --> 0:13:35.120 we missing, what's not going right? Why are we making 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:38.000 it so easy for music education to get cut? And 0:13:38.040 --> 0:13:41.600 that's where I think the storytelling really comes in music 0:13:41.800 --> 0:13:47.400 education isn't just about the short term impacts. Those are 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:50.800 well documented. They are really powerful. Of course, we want 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:53.280 students to show up to school. Of course, we want 0:13:53.320 --> 0:13:55.320 them to get good grades. We don't want them to 0:13:56.080 --> 0:13:56.840 get in trouble. 0:13:57.800 --> 0:13:59.920 But that really. 0:13:59.679 --> 0:14:02.520 Matter only because of what comes next. And that's the 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:04.720 part of the story that I think we can talk 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:08.640 more about in this space, which is preparing young people 0:14:08.679 --> 0:14:14.760 to thrive, creating better humans, and really arming our young 0:14:14.800 --> 0:14:17.559 people with the tools that they need to be successful 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:21.280 after graduation with whatever they do you hear a little. 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:23.280 Bit less about that, a little bit less. 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:27.600 About the medium to long term economic outcomes, and there 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:30.440 is less research in that space. Where funding new research 0:14:30.560 --> 0:14:33.720 through NORC at the University of Chicago, which is an 0:14:33.760 --> 0:14:36.360 important part of this because it should always be data driven. 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:40.320 It shouldn't just be about the emotion. But that's the 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:42.200 part of the story. I think we can do a 0:14:42.240 --> 0:14:43.160 better job building. 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:47.920 Okay, So let's get into that then a little bit, 0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:50.040 because I'd love to. And I'm so curious because I 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:53.720 don't even have the tools or information to start to 0:14:53.760 --> 0:14:58.240 dive into that place. But I'm just curious why this 0:14:58.360 --> 0:15:02.040 is such an important piece of this for you with 0:15:02.120 --> 0:15:06.480 this organization, because understanding how music plays a role, I 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:07.200 can understand. 0:15:07.440 --> 0:15:08.120 I love music. 0:15:08.120 --> 0:15:10.320 I know how it makes me feel. I know I 0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:13.240 can listen to music to get through certain times, and 0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:14.480 I know that music helps me. 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:15.400 And I know that. 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:17.840 Learning instruments is good for my brain, like I know 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:22.160 those pieces. But why is this part so important for 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:23.400 you guys at this stage. 0:15:24.600 --> 0:15:26.240 So I spent the first part of my career a 0:15:26.280 --> 0:15:29.440 little over a decade in government service, and I had 0:15:29.480 --> 0:15:32.360 the chance to travel and work all over the world, 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:36.600 saw many different cultures, a lot of different ways that 0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:40.040 things were done, that people lived their lives, and. 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:43.240 Saw good bad, saw it all. 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:46.760 And then when I came back to the US and 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:50.280 decided that I wanted to stay here at home for 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:54.560 some time, what I realized was that the outside in 0:15:54.640 --> 0:15:57.320 perspective that I had had for so long how to 0:15:57.440 --> 0:16:00.960 keep the US safe, strong, prosperous from the outside in, 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:05.400 was just a part of the puzzle. And in fact, 0:16:06.000 --> 0:16:08.160 there's so much that needs to be done here at 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:12.400 home to keep us safe, strong, and prosperous, and I 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:15.920 got really curious about what that looks like. When I 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:18.920 set up our family office a couple of years ago. 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:21.880 The main thing that we focused on across a couple 0:16:21.920 --> 0:16:27.200 of different industries is human potential, and we look for 0:16:27.280 --> 0:16:32.920 opportunities where human potential is not being leveraged, is being missed, 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:40.480 where there's really an opportunity to redesign, rewire, where business 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:43.960 as usual just isn't going to cut it anymore. And 0:16:44.000 --> 0:16:47.880 so we started in workforce, and the whole idea was 0:16:48.480 --> 0:16:52.080 we need to engage overlook talent because the consequences for 0:16:52.640 --> 0:16:57.600 our economy are significant. It's not just about the human story. 0:16:57.720 --> 0:17:01.400 That's an important part, but it's also about what will 0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:05.240 continue to keep our country strong and functional and successful 0:17:05.280 --> 0:17:08.560 for the future to come. So we started a couple 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:11.880 of different initiatives in that space, and the biggest feedback 0:17:11.880 --> 0:17:13.880 that we heard from employers was. 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:18.440 That new hires weren't work ready. And when we dug. 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:22.600 Into that, what we learned was that was about executive 0:17:22.640 --> 0:17:27.720 functioning and of these twenty first century skills, so resiliency, 0:17:28.320 --> 0:17:31.440 thinking out of the box, working on a team, collaboration, 0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:35.960 those are not taught in the certification program. Those are 0:17:35.960 --> 0:17:38.879 not taught in the degree program that's required for that 0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:40.840 person to apply to and get the job. 0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:44.520 So then we started to think out of the. 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:49.160 Box ourselves, how can we go upstream what currently exists 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:56.320 that we can help leverage, grow and expand. And I 0:17:56.400 --> 0:17:59.479 dove into music education, not at all at the expense 0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:02.040 of arts, but mainly eating the elephant kind of issue 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:03.800 where I was like, you got to start somewhere. 0:18:04.040 --> 0:18:05.560 There's a lot going on in this space. 0:18:05.800 --> 0:18:07.439 Yeah, like how do we narrow this down and just 0:18:07.520 --> 0:18:10.320 really start to take a chunk out of this exactly? 0:18:10.560 --> 0:18:13.480 And once I started to read a lot about what 0:18:13.520 --> 0:18:16.480 we already knew when it comes to music education, how 0:18:16.480 --> 0:18:19.840 it delivers for young people and the benefits in the 0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:21.160 short and medium term. 0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:24.720 I was shocked. 0:18:24.400 --> 0:18:28.960 That we weren't seeing more success in this space. And 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:31.520 that comes back again, I think to the way that 0:18:31.560 --> 0:18:34.960 we do storytelling, and sometimes you have to just shake 0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:36.880 it up a little bit. And that's what let Music 0:18:36.920 --> 0:18:40.119 Fill my World is doing. And we're doing it through 0:18:40.160 --> 0:18:44.720 great partnerships and a coalition with many other organizations. 0:18:44.160 --> 0:18:45.359 That exist in this space. 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:50.119 Because as a nonprofit that's fully funded, we have a 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:53.640 little more flexibility to be creative and to try to 0:18:54.280 --> 0:18:58.520 build really broad partnerships with organizations that have been doing 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:03.040 this for a long time. I've had many successes, but we're. 0:19:02.840 --> 0:19:05.000 Talking about here is scale. 0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:08.760 So how do we get to a point where every 0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:13.480 student in America has access to music education, where it's 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:17.480 obvious to all Americans how valuable. 0:19:17.080 --> 0:19:19.040 Music education is in school. 0:19:19.320 --> 0:19:22.440 That's a part of it too. Who elects the individuals 0:19:22.440 --> 0:19:25.040 that are making legislative choices about music and the arts. 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:29.200 We all do, so it's our responsibility to be educated 0:19:29.760 --> 0:19:33.000 about this topic. But people have a million things on 0:19:33.040 --> 0:19:36.800 their mind all the time. You can't expect people to 0:19:36.840 --> 0:19:39.600 focus and zoom in on just one issue that you 0:19:39.720 --> 0:19:42.359 might care about. So we've got to make a little noise, 0:19:42.800 --> 0:19:45.760 and we're doing that through the Music Matters Challenge. We're 0:19:45.760 --> 0:19:48.320 doing that through this Power of Music series that we. 0:19:48.359 --> 0:19:48.960 Have going on. 0:19:49.840 --> 0:19:52.280 But the bottom line is it's a good news story. 0:19:52.920 --> 0:19:57.040 We know that music education works. It's available to us. 0:19:57.520 --> 0:19:59.600 We can do a better job, but we have to 0:19:59.600 --> 0:20:01.320 do it to other well. 0:20:01.320 --> 0:20:04.920 In hearing you talk about this in understanding, there's a 0:20:04.960 --> 0:20:07.640 few different pieces to this that I want to address, 0:20:07.760 --> 0:20:12.160 but understanding people as a whole, and I think understanding 0:20:12.200 --> 0:20:16.800 the younger generations coming up have had different educational experiences. 0:20:16.119 --> 0:20:17.200 Than a lot of us have had. 0:20:17.760 --> 0:20:21.520 And just as I mentioned how I had music, I 0:20:21.520 --> 0:20:24.000 also played a lot of sports. I also got to 0:20:24.040 --> 0:20:27.879 be involved in a lot of different activities in different programs, 0:20:27.920 --> 0:20:31.159 And as you're talking about this, I don't think I 0:20:31.200 --> 0:20:33.280 ever realized how much that played a role in who 0:20:33.320 --> 0:20:37.560 I became as an adult. I was involved actively in 0:20:37.600 --> 0:20:42.440 a volunteer organization. I was actively involved with animal organizations. 0:20:42.480 --> 0:20:45.960 I was actively involved in music programs. I was actively 0:20:46.080 --> 0:20:47.520 part of sports. 0:20:47.560 --> 0:20:48.280 I played every sport. 0:20:48.320 --> 0:20:50.720 I tried to learn to play multiple instruments. I think 0:20:50.720 --> 0:20:53.560 I had piano and guitar lessons all the time, but 0:20:54.000 --> 0:20:55.520 there was so much that I. 0:20:55.560 --> 0:20:58.320 Got to be exposed to exposure. 0:20:59.280 --> 0:21:02.439 Yes, I'm thinking of me as a human being now, 0:21:03.280 --> 0:21:06.520 and had I not had so much of that different exposure, 0:21:06.600 --> 0:21:10.160 I would be a completely different person and I wouldn't 0:21:10.200 --> 0:21:13.560 be the worker that I am because of those different 0:21:13.680 --> 0:21:16.119 moments of exposure and different things in my life. And 0:21:17.280 --> 0:21:19.720 I feel really lucky right now in this moment talking 0:21:19.760 --> 0:21:23.199 to you, that I did have those experiences. But to 0:21:23.280 --> 0:21:26.439 your point, we're in a different place in time, and 0:21:26.480 --> 0:21:29.560 that exposure isn't happening well. 0:21:29.680 --> 0:21:33.960 And it's happening in some places, but it's not happening evenly, 0:21:34.040 --> 0:21:36.680 and the result is we're leaving a lot of young 0:21:36.800 --> 0:21:40.440 minds behind and you just never know who is going 0:21:40.480 --> 0:21:44.439 to come up with the next incredible idea, who is 0:21:44.520 --> 0:21:51.640 going to be a powerful social entrepreneur. 0:21:52.040 --> 0:21:52.639 You don't know. 0:21:53.280 --> 0:21:56.120 But what you can know for sure is that if 0:21:56.160 --> 0:21:59.480 you're not providing all of these different outlets for young 0:21:59.560 --> 0:22:04.120