One of my main goals as a teacher is to create independent learners. It is an affective goal for our elementary NCA committee and my personal goal for all of my students. When I was a student, asking a question was looked down upon. “There’s no such thing as a stupid question” was the response, [...]
As music educators, we find that administration can be the life or death of your program. You can promote and educate all you possibly can and one roadblock from administration can end all of your hard work. Most of us know the many ways that administration can harm our programs, but how can they help? [...]
While looking through the county newspaper during my lunch break, I ran across an article about a neighboring school district that is resurrecting their instrumental and vocal music programs at the middle school level next year and in the high school the following year. The programs were cut as “cost-saving measures” but, the Superintendent noted [...]
I spent four hours yesterday at The University of Michigan Center for Vocal Health. For the last 5 years or so I have been having trouble with hoarseness and loss of range due to overuse in the classroom setting. I finally waved the white flag and just decided to have it checked out. I met [...]
Last summer I found a free, group SMS messaging program called swaggle.mobi. I had heard about such things on a podcast and decided to try it out with my church teen choir. After a small (non-scientific!) trial, I implemented it with my high school choir programs. I have since added a group for our HS [...]
Happy New Year and welcome to the January 1, 2009 edition of Music Education Blog Carnival. I am very honored to be hosting the very first edition of 2009! Enjoy the carnival and please remember to submit your articles for February when the carnival will be hosted by The Collaborative Piano Blog Music [...]
This past weekend I had the opportunity to take 14 of my high school students to the Region C Honors Choir tryouts for MSVMA (Michigan State Vocal Music Association). They are required to sing (from memory) a medieval, a cappella piece and sight read an 8-measure intermediate exercise after studying it for 30-60 seconds without instructor support. I [...]
