Connection is the key

So I left you with the charge today of coming up with a connection between the 45-minute conversation we had (i.e. messy desk, video games, books/movies, phone/e-mail,.etc.) and music education. Yes, you can see I am going down a road that seems to be taking us into learning styles, but think more from the perspective of 'What would the kinds of questions asked today lend to you if you were teaching music?'.

Here is some of the thinking rolling around in my head following today's class... This will be a sort of stream-of-consciousness list, so feel free to take any of these ideas and post a reply (or create a new post) that takes the thinking down another road:

--It is important for teachers to create a classroom environment where students feel safe and comfortable. How might/might not a dialogue like what we had today make students feel comfortable and safe?

--I have a tendency to ramble on with oddball personal stories (gee, you do? we hadn't noticed). When I do so, what does that do to the vibe of the class? How does my rambling on affect your perception of me?

--At different points in our "80 questions" game today, different students spoke up at different points to share their experiences. In doing so, the whole class knows at least a little more about each other. Is this a good thing? What does such discussion provide me as your teacher?

--In what ways is the "learning process" in our class similar/different from other classes you are taking? Would the process we have been using work well in those classes? What do the learning processes look like in your other classes? Would they translate well in our class? How would any of these learning processes carry over into the public school music classroom?

Just some more food for thought. I look forward to your replies, especially from those of you who may be more comfortable posting to a blog rather than speaking out in class.

EH

Just to ponder on..

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/CutCollegeCosts/TheComingStudentLoanCrunch.aspx

To some, this is not really a big deal but do you think this has an affect on music education? If so, why? And if not why not? Should teachers be concerned? Like to hear from you.

Special Education in Music Education

I was just wondering,.. and thinking about teaching special education students. How did your past teachers handle children with special needs? And what if one came across a deaf or blind student who wanted to learn music?.. What is one to do? The thought scares me a little, and I just wanted some thoughts on the topic.

How To Make a Good Teacher

This article recently appeared in Time magazine. Thoughts?

Grading

I was just curious, since we've been talking a little bit about giving an A and stuff. How did your music teacher's grade you when you were in high school?--in performance ensembles that is (choir, band, orchestra, choir).


In my high school's both audition and non auditioned choirs we started out with a 75% and then added on points with our own initiative if we turned in things like personal performance critiques, listening critiques, programs, up to ten points in "positive class behavior", research of a composer or analysis of a piece we were singing. Not to mention up to 10 points for 'voice tests' at the end of every semester (one of the songs we were singing at the most recent concert and a sight singing passage on solfege).
I thought it was a fairly good system. You could make your grade what you wanted, and certainly get 100 if you put in the effort--which wasn't nescessarily talent based. A lot of people didn't, and would consequently get like an 83 in choir--choir! But they couldn't complain, because they had plenty of opportunity to turn in extra credit.
THe choir got rid of the system last year.

American Music..ok what is it?

http://music.msn.com/music/grammys2008/winnerslist?GT1=10948

Tell me how you feel about the winners and what you think about this music and American culture. Does this affect " American" music ( or doesn't)? What is American Music? Dvorak wrote a piece to which he thought was the sound of America but in a world where we are more of a blender than a melting pot, what can we define as our music? Did the historians get is right with Broadway composers like Gershwin or who could forget the "Beef's what's for dinner?" theme? Share your thoughts on what you think and the dificulties of maybe even teaching "American" music. Definetly looking foward to hearing different thoughts and opinions.

This is something we haven't really discussed, but I have been thinking about it quite a bit lately. . . What is everyone's opinion about the 5 year Bachelor in Music Ed and Master of Arts in Teaching?  

Thoughts on Money and Education

I went to the MENC at TCNJ convention with my bestfriend who is going to another University. As we went through our day and talk alot about our career goals, it became apparent that she was less prepared and even though I transfered from a County College and she went directly to a four year school, it seem that her school lacked her in preparing her mentally and preparing her in her resume. Although it does not affect me at all, it does concern me as to what are the futures of Music Educators in America.Since Music is so subjective and in the gray area, it is critical to have as much knowledge as possible but what if University are not doing this? It is like the article that we read with Dr. Abrahams on wed. Some people cannot afford to go to great Universities and sometimes because of the low pay in other University,sometimes the quality is not so great either. Is is the perpetuation of quality vs the money we can afford to lose to gain quality.

I Believe money plays a big role in education ( which is very sad) and reading the article reminded me of some expriences although brief, that I have shared. What are your thoughts about money affecting Music Education? What can we do to help and still making a living during recession( not to mention money for Gas, Food and Rent which are the highest cost of living nationally)?
Things to think about: Cost of private lessons, instruments, instrument repair, rentals, music, books, things to maintain instruments, health care ( this is most crucial for singers),etc. Although there may not be a "right" answer, we could find ways to cope.

Education Articles

I thought it might be interesting to have a post where we could place links to articles related to what we're talking about in class.  The one here is to an article about teaching music in languages other than english to young children.  I thought the concept was pretty neat.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/business/yourmoney/02money.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Organization

Ok, I may be a little ocd, but could I suggest/plead that we have posts for certain subjects? Idk, personally, I just get confused and frustrated when I read "ok, lets get this started" and start off talking about all sorts of different topics at once.
Not only would this keep my sanity, but it might make it easier to navigate and respond to different debates instead of going back to things people said three posts ago and we're already on a different topic.

Just a suggestion.