Stanford students are widely known to possess a sense of intellectual vitality. Tell us about an idea or an experience you have had that you find intellectually engaging.
My weeklong internship at Neurologic Music Therapy Services of Arizona (NMTSA) was probably what sparked my interest in wanting to become a physical and occupational therapist. Although only fourteen at the time, I was fascinated not only with the different symptoms of the patients themselves, but also with how effectively the music therapy seemed to help them. I wondered if similar music therapy activities could help beyond the normal demographic.
While even therapists who are not specifically music therapists utilized instruments to help with fine motor skills or singing to help with speech, I feel the power of engaging the right side of the brain in order to assist the left is not sufficiently utilized in regular student curriculum. As school systems are forced to cut more and more programs, it is shocking to me that art and music programs are always the first to be rid of when the are so beneficial to creating well-rounded students.
If we could somehow find the resources to apply the principles and methods of music therapy to ordinary students, how much more could we teach them? Would the product be more innovative, visionary leaders for the future? I do not yet know, but I believe it is definitely something worth investigating, as I plan to do.
Any feedback? This is a first draft.
My weeklong internship at Neurologic Music Therapy Services of Arizona (NMTSA) was probably what sparked my interest in wanting to become a physical and occupational therapist. Although only fourteen at the time, I was fascinated not only with the different symptoms of the patients themselves, but also with how effectively the music therapy seemed to help them. I wondered if similar music therapy activities could help beyond the normal demographic.
While even therapists who are not specifically music therapists utilized instruments to help with fine motor skills or singing to help with speech, I feel the power of engaging the right side of the brain in order to assist the left is not sufficiently utilized in regular student curriculum. As school systems are forced to cut more and more programs, it is shocking to me that art and music programs are always the first to be rid of when the are so beneficial to creating well-rounded students.
If we could somehow find the resources to apply the principles and methods of music therapy to ordinary students, how much more could we teach them? Would the product be more innovative, visionary leaders for the future? I do not yet know, but I believe it is definitely something worth investigating, as I plan to do.
Any feedback? This is a first draft.
