A Day Without Music?

Last night people all over the country stopped what they were doing to not only watch the Super Bowl, but also the much anticipated Halftime show. Can you imagine a Halftime show without music or an infamous Super Bowl commercial without any music at all? What would that even look like?

I have an idea that at some point I might pursue. As a music community, we should take one day and boycott music entirely. That means that there would be no music on the radio or TV; no music playing in stores, restaurants or bars; no one could sing or play an instrument for the entire day. For in that one day, the community would have to live without the very thing that is thought of as an “extra” in school curriculum. Society would get a real sense of what the world would be like if music education were not present in our schools. It could be the great awakening that we need!

This would never happen, though. Too many companies would have to shut down entirely. They would not agree to it because they would lose a great deal of money; the very thing we need to keep quality music education in our schools. They owe their businesses to the music teachers that taught them or to whom they employ. Although many companies donate to “Save the Music” and the like, I wonder how many of them do not. I am going to look into this and will get back to you. It would make sense for ALL of them to donate and lobby for quality music education. It affects their businesses directly.

We forget in this country that good education is profitable in that if children come out of school well skilled and knowledgeable, they will tend to contribute to society in a meaningful way. Its certainly not all about dollars and cents, but a clear bonus. Music education is not an “extra”, rather a core subject like math or language arts. We would easily be able to show this if we had just one day without music. That would be something.

Welcome to our new site!

We want this to be a place for you to come to for new ideas and solutions to everyday challenges that arise in the music classroom. We are just getting started, but soon this site will be packed with lesson plans, classroom ideas and information about best practices. We encourage you to participate in the conversation by responding to Kristin’s blog with your ideas and questions.

While you are here, we hope you will take a look around. On our PRODUCTS page we have added three new products, Note Knacks cushions, magnets and an extension set and on our SERVICES page, two new workshops, “Meet and Exceed Your State Standards Using Recorders!” and “Engage the Special Needs Students in Your Room!”. Kristin is also available for consulting. If you are new to teaching or would like to give your program a boost, give us a call! We are here to help in any way we can.

Thank you for stopping by and hope you will visit us often. There will be a new blog post on Monday, so we look forward to hearing from you then!

5 Ways To Start Off 2013 Right!

Every year we make resolutions and hope they will stick! This year, why not enlist your students to come up with some resolutions for your classroom? Here are 5 ideas that can help!

  1. ORGANIZE! Create systems in your classroom to help it run smoothly. You can brainstorm with your students on ways to improve such things as receiving materials and putting them away. They will feel empowered when you ask for their help and will be more likely to follow their own procedures!
  2. EXERCISE! Since exercise is almost always on a resolution list, why not ask kids to figure out how more movement can be incorporated into your class? Think about incorporating a warm up every class to get the kids moving. Each child can be assigned a day and bring the music. Your older students will enjoy leading the warm up!
  3. INSPIRE! Have older kids choose a pop artist they really like and do a mini report on him or her. This is a great way for kids to see how celebrities achieved their goals. Most examples will illustrate how hard work and perseverance paid off in the end!
  4. BUILD COMMUNITY! As the new year kicks off, this is a great opportunity to bring different grade levels together! Have your younger students create a Level 1 composition and have your recorder kids play it. Your little ones will be so proud and your older ones will feel like big brothers and sisters!
  5. CELEBRATE! Create an accomplishment wall! List concerts, compositions, etc…anything your kids are proud of! In the spring your kids and their parents can look at what they did in your room!