March is Music in Our Schools Month. There is so much irony there that I am almost speechless. Almost.

How delightful that we have a month to commemorate something that is no longer adequately funded. It makes me wonder how much was spent to deliberate the need for a month to commemorate music in education, and how many instruments that money could have otherwise provided to students. Granted, the month is established by music educators rather than the government, but come on!

Even so, it is a chance to discuss this, and for that I'm grateful. Having spent my life performing music publicly and teaching it privately my views on the subject are somewhat mixed.

For example, I believe music is a matter of taste, and taste should not be standardized. If we all had identical musical tastes, there would be no variety. Exposure to various styles is what develops our preference for one over another.

I believe any endowment of the arts should be used to expose the public to various forms, not to promote one work over another. You are intelligent; decide for yourself what is worthy and what isn't. I don't want congress telling us what is good or bad music. If we truly have a government of, by and for the people, it is we who should be telling them.

As a performer, it's my job to respond when the public tells me what they want to hear, and as an educator my responsibility is to share that information with my students. It isn't my job to impose my taste on them. I've tried; the exercise is futile. But I can show them what they may be missing, explain why it moves me and hope they develop some appreciation for it. too.

In my high school, we had a jukebox in the cafeteria. Perhaps all schools should have one, and use part of the money generated by it to fund music education. The play list from those jukeboxes should be required listening for all music educators. That teaches everybody something useful.

The music you liked in school often forms your adult views. Growing up in the 1960s/70s gave me an interest in politics, and although since then I've developed an appreciation for classical, jazz and Latin, I still enjoy Led Zeppelin. I hear the roots of all that in modern artists, though admittedly Nickelback just doesn't move me. Yet, Green Day can, because I remember where that feeling of angst comes from.

It comes from listening to Zappa, Dylan, the Stones and the Who.

Rarely, an artist comes along with something new to offer. One thing schools could do would be to give new artists a venue to demonstrate their work, and then allow the public to respond. Sometimes that response would be negative. Even so, the net result would be educational, which is precisely a school's purpose.

Like performers, schools have to respond to the needs of the public, especially since they get their money from you. If your school cut its music funding you would have every right to object if you chose, and that school would have no right to ignore you.

Finally, I believe art has a purpose beyond entertainment, and schools have one beyond education. Both are there to inspire, provoke thoughtful discussion and enrich our lives. Please take some time this month to listen to some music from your youth, and also to listen to something new. Then consider if your school is doing enough to make sure your children will one day be able to do the same.

Mike Stanley