Boy Loses Bid to Sing Soprano
From CNN we have a report of a unique situation in Texas. TMEA, widely regarded as the best of the state music education associations has denied the petition of a male high school student to audition as a soprano for the All-State Choir. This situation is fraught with all sorts of issues. Not the least […]
In Isreal: Music Education on the Brink
The battle for music and arts education is not soley the province of the US. Other nations are struggling to restore once vibrant systems. This article from Isreal highlights the issue – and showcases one man's solution: Instrumental to our future By Noam Ben Ze'ev Music education in Israel, a glorious field up until about […]
Did Someone Hear an “Echo”
Public school enrollment has recently exceeded the prior all time high to a new record and is expected to continue growing for the next decade. For music and arts advocates this means the potential for more students. The real key is… can we keep our programs in place to actualy benefit svereal million more students? […]
Let Them Eat Charity
Maybe it is just me… but there is something that continues to disturb me about how arts instruction, while called a core subject – is treated and funded as anything but. This story from the Arizona Republic highlights this issue and the inequity created when the arts are treated less than "equal." I know this […]
Music for Music’s Sake
Every once in a while I come across an interesting article, or as in this case, one is sent to me. This one, from JoAnn with the Pilgrim Chorus in Warwick RI illustrates the point of the intrinsic value of music. Bravo to the students in Warwick! Music that could thaw the iciness of nations […]
This Trend We Like!
Last week DC public schools super Clifford B. Janey released a three- to five-year plan to tackle dismal academic achievement. All the big wigs were there: Janey was joined by several other city leaders, including Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D), school board President Peggy Cooper Cafritz and D.C. Council member Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3), who […]
Arts Education Getting New Respect
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported in yesterday's paper that arts education, long treated as an academic stepchild is now being embraced as more and more officials understand the role creativity plays in the educational development of our children. While one news report does not a trend make, we are beginning to see more of this […]
Sousa Gives Way to Mariachi
Today's New York Times highlights something many people involved in music education have known for a long time… the traditions of the past have to make way for everyone's traditions. Music education needs to embrace music that is culturally releant to the students involved. So, it is no suprise to see how new genres of […]
Florida Legislation Could Mean More Music/Arts Education
A Florida legislator has proposed new legislation to have the arts measured and assessed with other core subjects. An Editorial from Daytona Beach hits on some of the disturbing data that has led to this proposal: An estimated 85 percent of Florida public school students took some sort of music class in 1985. By 2003, […]
Assistant Secretary of Education Hightlights the Arts as “Core” Subject at Little Rock Forum
From The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette – Friday April 8th Arts 'Core' Of Change For Education System, Official Tells LR Forum (Democrat-Gazette) By Cynthia Howell If students are going to reach the high achievement levels demanded by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, schools must include the arts as part of the curriculum, an […]
