In Stop "Defending" Music Education, Peter Greene argues that
"Music does not need to make excuses for itself, as if it had no intrinsic worth. It does not have to dress itself up in test-taking robes or mathematical masks. It has deep, powerful human value, and all of us who love it should be saying so, over and over and over again.
Do not defend a music program because it's good for other things. That's like defending kissing because it gives you stronger lip muscles for eating soup neatly."
Can the same arguments be made for pottery class? For football? For creative writing? Certainly! They all express human values beyond mere survival.
Stand up for music for its own sake!