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Two Birthdays
Archives | October 16, 2007It's a wonderful coincidence that two of the most supportive charities in the field of music education have both achieved their 10th anniversary in 2007 VH1 Save the Music, and the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation. Both of these fine organizations have similar missions in that they provide instruments and money to help restore music programs and help support music education across the country. Together, they have contributed tens of millions of dollars to over 2,000 public schools, in turn benefiting over one million children. The visionary founders of these organizations, John Sykes, formerly of VH1, and the late composer Michael Kamen understood the importance of a population of children who would have access to a musical education, regardless of their circumstances.
Not only has this charitable work benefited students directly, but the positive publicity that these foundations have generated has created widespread exposure for the benefits of playing a musical instrument. I mention only these two charities due to their coinciding anniversaries, but there are literally dozens of other foundations doing similar work to help perpetuate music in the schools. If you view the excellent music education site, www.supportmusic.com, which is co-sponsored by NAMM and MENC, you will find a wealth of information about music advocacy, charitable organizations, current government actions, information for parents, a list of music advocacy organizations and companies, and, according to the site, "• effective tips for taking action and the latest evidence of music's importance."
We at SBO are also doing our part to support music students and schools with our annual essay scholarship contest which you received with the September issue. SBO, along with support from our co-sponsors, NAMM, Hershey's Fundraising, Supportmusic.com, Yamaha, Alfred Publishing, Zildjian, and Music for All, has awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships, instruments, equipment, and music to deserving students and schools around the USA. If you don't have a copy of this year's essay contest poster, drop me an e-mail and I'll make sure we send one to you: [email protected]. This year's contest also provides an excellent way to make the importance of music in the schools known at the highest levels of government, as the topic is "Dear Mr. President, I am writing to tell you why music is so important to my complete education •" The thousands of letters we receive will be sent directly to the President, so consider having your students participate, as it is certain to have an impact.
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MENC Celebrates 100 Years
Archives | May 23, 2007Our unique field of education benefits from the support of a large number of organizations and the largest one, MENC - The National Association for Music Education, is now celebrating the historic event of their 100th anniversary. This extraordinary milestone places a marker on the side of the mountain that we continue to climb in order to provide a sound musical education for every student in the United States. Although this goal may never be 100 percent achieved, the leadership and staff at MENC is certainly working creatively and effectively to make this dream a reality.
According to the MENC Web site, the humble beginning of the organization was in 1907 with just 64 founding members. It has since grown to 130,000 members from all levels of music education, including pre-school through college, friends of music, and corporate and outside sponsors. This tremendous number of affiliates provides MENC with the resources necessary to accomplish projects such as the highly successful National Anthem project, their three-year program to restore recognition and understanding of the "Star Spangled Banner" and to get the country singing again.
When you consider the depth of accomplishments of this organization it is not difficult to imagine the widespread visibility it has generated for music education. By partnering with some of the nation's great corporations and organizations, such as Jeep, Texaco, Oscar Meyer, NAMM, The Smithsonian, and many others, MENC has brought together disparate groups to foster support for their many pro-music education initiatives. Most notable have been the development of the National Standards for Music Education, sponsorship of the National Music in Our Schools Month, and the Harris Poll on how music programs contribute to higher school attendance and graduation rates, along with many other programs. MENC continues to support our efforts as music educators with both the Washington establishment and the country at large.
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Will Breytspraak: Giving a Kid a Chance
April 2007ChoralUpClose | April 10, 2007The best way to learn is often by doing and hands-on experience can provide insight that might never come from simply being taught. The opportunity to get your feet wet doing something you love, however, can be hard to come by. For Will Breytspraak, the big break came as a high school senior when his […] Read More... -
Scholarship Winners: SBO contest Winners
Archives | October 30, 2006By Christian Wissmuller
School Band and Orchestra's sixth annual music student essay contest attracted the most entries since the launch of our program, with well over 13,000 submissions. This year's topic, "How Music Education Has Made Me a Better Student," spoke to the far-reaching benefits of music scholarship on young lives - a topic which has been covered at length in many media outlets, including this one.
Our participants' stories reinforced and confirmed longstanding assertions made by advocates for music education. Among other things, students shared how studying music: leads to greater academic achievement in all areas; fosters self-confidence and social skills; provides a valuable emotional outlet; and strengthens organizational and leadership skills.
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From the Trenches: Celebrate Today… Be Vigilant All Year Long”
Features | October 21, 2006Happy Music in Our Schools Month! A great time of year to celebrate and showcase music education and the wondrous benefits music provides to our students. It is also the time of year many groups choose to initiate local advocacy campaigns.
For me, this is an opportunity to look around and contemplate how we have done in our collective efforts to increase music's role in our education system and to examine some of the practical realities that we face while working toward the elusive goal of "Music for Every Child."
First of all, we have much to celebrate: standards for music and arts education have spread through the land, a federal mandate as a core subject, a renewed focus on the role of music and arts education in a NCLB environment.
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What The National Anthem Means To Me”
October 2006 | October 21, 2006This month launches our fifth annual music student essay scholarship program. We have selected the theme, "Tell Us What The National Anthem Means To You," in concert with The National Anthem Project sponsored by MENC, to help celebrate America's heritage and support music education within our schools. The Project is a three year undertaking to renew national awareness of the patriotic traditions within the USA and will include major singing celebrations at schools, professional sporting events and local venues. The program to get America singing will culminate with the world's largest performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" in the Baltimore/Washington area.
The essay contest will award ten $1,000 scholarships to students ranging from grades four through twelve with equivalent value music products to the student's school music programs by co-sponsors Alfred Publishing, Hershey's Fundraising, Yamaha Corporation of America, and Avedis Zildjian Co.
A four-color poster, suitable for display on your school bulletin board, is available with this issue of SBO. The entry rules and application are also available on our Web site, www.sbomagazine.com, click on "Essay Contest 2005."
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From the Trenches: No child left behind…R.I.P.
Archives | October 19, 2006
By Bob Morrison
Five years ago I wrote a somewhat controversial essay called The Perfect Storm where I predicted that the combination of proposed federal laws, now known as No Child Left Behind, and an eroding economy meant we would face the loss of programs in the coming years. I am not happy that I was right… nor am I happy for the pain and suffering this situation has caused many of our schools and many of our students. But I can tell you with all conviction that we now have the greatest opportunity in our history to advance music and arts education. And no I haven't been drinking.Why, you may ask? Very simply… and you are the fi rst to see me express this publicly: No Child Left Behind - as we know it - is dead... and, I might add, may it rest in peace. That is not to say that the effects will not linger. They will. But we are entering a new era where the testing frenzy and the fear that has gripped our classrooms has been recognized, the narrowing of the curriculum has been documented, and the public is now beginning to understand the suffering we, and more importantly our children, have endured.
A new report from the Center on Education Policy was released last month entitled From the Capital to the Classroom: Year 4 of the No Child Left Behind Act. The report documents the fact that 71 percent of the school districts (11,000 school districts) in the US have "narrowed the curriculum" to focus on reading and math. This includes 22 percent (3,500 school districts) that have reduced or eliminated music instruction.
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Setting Up The Music Tech Lab pt. 3
Technology | April 1, 2006New Trends Testing software has become an important addition to computer- assisted instruction because it allows the teacher to customize instructional assessment and go beyond the individual software applications being used. Assessment has become a main stay in the academic education scene today with much emphasis on national testing in language arts, math and science.
In the electives, it can be just as important because even in electives, teachers should be able to evaluate and document student progress and proficiency. Assessment data, when analyzed and understood, can provide key information about student progress: Pre-testing at the beginning of the school year confirms what students know and what they need to review while periodic assessments indicate progress and identify where students need remediation.
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UPFRONT: AN HISTORIC COMMISSIONING PROJECT
September 2003 | September 1, 2003'Hope Afloat'
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Music Class Remembers the USS Indianapolis
On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in the Philippine Sea and sank in 12 minutes. Of the 1,196 men on board, approximately 300 went down with the ship. The remaining sailors were left floating in shark-infested waters with no lifeboats, food or water. By the time the survivors were rescued five days later, only 316 men were still alive.
