Beginning around 2010, many schools districts across the United States began to cut down or omit funding for programs considered to be “unnecessary.” Outside of the traditional classroom, this meant budget cuts in fine arts programs (drama, music, art). And the chopping continues as we go into the 2013-2014 school year.

Music education matters though. Parents in Toronto recently fended off a $2 million dollar music program cut to their schools by utilizing an online petition. They raised 10,000+ signatures against the cuts.

Why should music programs be saved?

Music education promotes good brain development in children, whose brains are still developing. Musical training improves memory, cognition, math skills, and attention (Dana.org), and causes “long-lasting changes in motor abilities and brain structure.” (Concordia Univ, 2013)

In 2000, Gordon Shaw, PhD found that second graders who had studied music had improved their advanced math skills to the fourth grade level. (Keeping Mozart in Mind, Academic Press)

Autism spectrum disorders alone affect 1 to 1.5 million Americans. With regular music classes, children with autism are able to eliminate monolithic speech patterns with singing, improve language development (Niagara Univ), and show improved behavior (University Putra Malaysia, 2013).

As of 2010, approximately, 2.8 million children (5.2%) ages 5-17 had a disability (US Census).

Music helps children with developmental disabilities, depression, ADD, ADHD, various learning disabilities, speech and language impairments, and emotional and behavioral disorders. Music affects mood and the body, creating excitement or calming the nerves. It can even reduce perceived pain in children. In short, music is therapeutic and allows freedom of expression and creation.

Dr. John Enyart and His Granddaughter Performing

In 1985, John Enyart, PhD founded an orchestral music program at Morningside Academy in Port St. Lucie, Florida. He began with the young children, grades kindergarten through the sixth grade, and grew the program. Two years later, in 1987, Dr. Enyart founded the Treasure Coast Youth Symphony. Coming up on 30 years of musical teaching, he himself has influenced thousands of children and youth through classical music studies.

Dr. Enyart is the son of missionaries to Bolivia. He received his first violin from a fellow missionary after his father gave the man a mule. A Jewish refugee from Czechoslovakia played the violin often in the Enyart home, just outside La Paz. It was then, at age 7, that Dr. Enyart developed a love for classical violin.

John Enyart’s love of music earned him a college scholarship.

He last received a doctorate in Musicology and Music Theory from the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. There he continued as a part of the Graduate Faculty, teaching music theory for five years before coming to Florida. He served as Principal Second in the Philharmonia, and Concertmeistro of the Concert Orchestra. Dr. Enyart has performed in Guatemala, Honduras, Bolivia, and Taiwan. He also played with the Atlantic Classical Orchestra of Vero Beach and Stuart, Florida for 15 years.

When asked about his own personal observations regarding the benefits of music studies, he humbly answers, “I’ve noticed that 50 to 70% of the orchestra children in the younger grades receive high grades each year. Many of them have gone on to become doctors, lawyers and the like.”

Dr. Enyart states that “Music must touch the soul.” The soul is a part of the mind. And our minds are what music helps. When asked about cuts in music programs, he responds, “It’s amazing that schools wish to cut what really helps the children.”

Today Morningside Academy has a string orchestra climbing through the twelfth grade. Two of Dr. Enyart’s own children are music instructors there as well, and he has grandchildren who have gone on to study music at the university.

The key to an excellent orchestra or music program, Dr. Enyart states, is this: “You must have a good principal who is willing to work with you. And, you must love the kids and spend time with them.”

As school systems and private schools around the country reflect on budget cuts, consider the needs of the children first. Keep and develop music programs in your schools. Use retired volunteers who love to conduct and teach if necessary. Music is a language itself which touches the soul, bringing about continuity – in the brain, in behavior, in emotions, and in personal expression. It has been with us as long as man can remember and is a piece of the fabric of developed society.

It is not often one finds a man who has a passion for his art which has carried him through life and which has touched so many children, for the better. For this reason, I choose Dr. John Enyart as a Hometown Hero.

To contact Dr. John Enyart with questions about developing an orchestral program, email him at: drjohnenyart@bellsouth.net

HAVE A HERO TIP? Hometown Heroes are in every town and city. They are regular people who have made a positive difference in their community impacting others for the better. Send your Hometown Hero tip to Kelly Jadon kfjadon@gmail.com or find her online at kellyjadon.com

Coach Mike Sawtelle: A Hometown Hero

Hometown Hero: OpenDyslexic Now At Wikipedia

Hometown Heroes: Boxer Donny Poole And His Wife Allison

BackLook: The solitary 40-ish woman trudged one very cold night down Indian River Drive in Jensen Beach, only a few miles inland from the Atlantic. In one hand that extended downward, she lugged two water jugs; with the other she carried a four-month-old baby. Alone. That’s what she was, until a neighborhood couple pulled over and offered help.

That afternoon, Donny Poole climbed into the backseat of his car so that his wife could drive the wary woman and her nursing baby home.

Donny and Allison Poole; Photo Credit: Kelly Jadon

Moving away from an abusive boyfriend, Sheila* had arrived in Florida expecting shelter in her aunt’s empty apartment and use of her car. But the homeowners’ association did not allow anyone under 50 to reside within their gates.

Sheila managed to find a room to rent, but still had no car. No car, no work. And no work meant a government agency crawling down her neck threatening to take away little Joey*.

Donny and his wife Allison continued to give Sheila lifts when they found her traveling by foot. Eventually, the couple fronted the single mother the price of a used car. Today, Sheila’s baby is still safely residing with her.

Homeless families are a rising problem in the United States. Homeless Children America (an affiliate of American Institutes for Research) reports that during the course of a year, 1.6 million children are homeless. In Florida, where the Pooles reside, the number of homeless children is 83,900. Causes of homelessness include poverty, domestic violence, unemployment, low-paying jobs, lack of affordable housing, mental illness and the lack of needed services, substance abuse, and prisoner re-entry. The Pooles have demonstrated through their act of love that it doesn’t always take much to make a difference.

Donny Poole is a welcome name inside the boxing ring. A welterweight, Donny took Gold in the 1979 Canadian Winter Games. Afterward in 1980, representing his native Canada, he was chosen to participate in the Olympics (USSR) as an amateur, until all free countries chose to boycott the Games. So instead, Donny turned pro. For 16 years he fought all over the world, achieving a rank of #2 in the world. Donny Poole is a member of the Boxing Hall of Fame. His gloves and belts hang proudly on a trophy wall in his home.

Allison Poole is a former art and creative director at New York City ad agencies. She met Donny when he came to NYC to fight. As he was unable to negotiate his way around the subway system quickly, Allison was appointed his ambassador. Twenty-nine days later Donny asked Allison to marry him. They have been married 30 years.

Together they have helped many hard-up people in need: purchasing clothing, shoes and sunglasses for a homeless man; paying the vet bills for an indigent man’s dog; and one time Donny gave the coat he was wearing to a man without one in the cold NYC winter.

Allison states, “I would like people to know they can do what we do; if they see something that needs attention, do not assume the person, or family, or child, or dog, will be taken care of by someone else. It is a chance for them to do something. Step up and make a difference in another person’s life. If they see someone at the grocery store and they are short some money, forced to pick items out to bring the tally down – step up and pay the person’s bill. If an old person can’t dig up any more change from the bottom of their bag at the pharmacy – stand up and pay the price difference – or all of it for that matter. It is common decency. A pure act of selflessness. The kindness you provide will make you feel great and bring pure joy to the person you have helped. Let’s all remember, ‘There but for the grace of God, go I,’ and do something about it.”

To many, Donny and Allison Poole are a very unusual couple. They have given money, furniture, their time, and their love to those in need. It isn’t fame that makes a difference, nor is it money. It is the heart. Today in Florida, a child was saved. Truly those who help another in need are our Hometown Heroes.