The next edition of MTC Live will be held
Wednesday, January 13th
3:00pm EST
Click on "MTC Live" to register.
HT: Flikr - Eduardo
Congratulations to the following students who achieved recognition this past Sunday (February 28th) by being listed on the Hamilton-Halton ORMTA Honour Roll.
Alon Coret Toshe Zlatanoski Yujiang ZhangThe list consists of all those who achieved 80% or above in a conse…
As part of an ongoing series of posts on the 2009 RCM Theory Syllabus, I’m examining the changes in the Basic Rudiments requirements in comparison to the 2002 syllabus. There are actually very few changes, so you may sense that I’ve having to dig deep to find them.
The biggest change, I su…
With the release of the new 2009 theory syllabus, we have entered a transition period. I am currently teaching my online classes to align with the new syllabus. The following information is from Music Matters, the official newsletter of RCM Examinations, and explains the transition:
As with all…
Special Note: This is the public version of Music Teacher Cafe. If you are a music educator, please visit Music Teacher Cafe: A Gathering Place for Music Educators. There you can participate in discussions with colleagues from around the world.
Sorry for my long absence. I've been working hard at getting my online theory classes started. I'll write a post on that in the future.
This is actually a follow-up to my post on "Proving Music Works." I ran across an article in the Canberra Times regarding the role of music education in the curriculum. It's the age-old story of music teachers fighting for their place in the world. In the article, the following statement appears,
"Studies have shown music education has many benefits, including increased cognitive ability and teamwork skills."
And then they move on. What studies? I'm not doubting, nor am I surprised. I'm just looking for a link or a document. Are all of these studies shelved in libraries or the Journal of Research in Music Education?
My thesis: The data supporting music education ought to be more public. Vague statements about studies done somewhere aren't cutting it.
Am I right?
I know the data exists but I am so tired of 'fighting for a place in the world' and sometimes wish those studies (Google up Fran Rauscher or go here: http://skepdic.com/mozart.html) never made the light of day.
The average person could care less if music makes them smarter, and frankly as a long time music teacher, I'm not sure I want that kind of responsibility laid on my shoulders.
If music educators started looking at their profession as a 'business' and stop relying on dwindling funds in academia to 'keep the music alive', then we would have a healthy, robust and economically strong base to build upon. Lord knows there are many, many people who want to study music - many more than the 12 to 18 year olds currently serviced by the majority of music educators.
Good to see a skeptic.
Read my blog and then try here for some decent research:
http://www.dana.org/artseducation.aspx
This is a start.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2570220
It seems like your blog has a lot of great music teaching resources and tips. Surely, I will keep on coming back to read your latest posts. Keep it up!
Thanks to all for your comments. I'm especially intrigued by the idea of music education as a business. That is what I'm doing after all. But do you think that it has greater overall potential than keeping it in the traditional system?
Recent Comments