Should we have to rely on parents and fundraising to run a modern BOJC program?

In a perfect world, there would always be more than enough school funds to support a music program and any opportunities that a music teacher can successfully set up to enrich their student's musical education. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. We all know that we need to advocate to others that music education is important and should always be well funded. But the reality is that music is still often looked at as an "extra",  a "special" and not something that is absolutely necessary.

A few things that a BOJC (Band, Orchestra, Jazz, Chorus) program should have budgeted money for includes:

• Instruments
• Percussion equipment
• Music
• Marching band uniforms
• Color guard uniforms/equipment
• Banners and flags

Even if we are lucky enough to have a school that supports music, there are a lot of extra opportunities that would really be beneficial to our students that are often not built into a budget because while they are important, they are not necessary.

A few of the "extra opportunities" that a BOJC (Band, Orchestra, Jazz, Chorus) program might need fund raised money for include:

• Field Trips
• Competitions/festivals
• Clinics
• Guest conductors, composers, performers
• Commissioning anew piece
• Work shops
• Traveling performance opportunities

It goes without saying that having the support of our students, colleagues, administrators, parents, and the community, are very important when trying to build and run a successful music program. However, I don't think we should have to rely on parents entirely for fund raising. We should always work with parents and do everything we can to encourage them to lend a hand and be involved, we need to find our own ways of getting money that we need if we should need it. But fund raising is an important part of most music departments and that is just one of the many reasons why their help with matters such as these is always appreciated.

So we should not have to rely on parents for fund raising but we should be prepared to enlist their help when needed.

 

Using Technology in the Music Classroom

Today, the use of technology plays a huge role in all of our lives. It has changed the way that we communicate, access information, solve problems, and educate both children and ourselves. The use of technology in the classroom is becoming more and more essential to education all the time. Even in the music classroom, this is no exception.

Kids nowadays are use to having endless resources at their fingertips, that they can call upon at any given time. With this in mind, we (music educators) need our teaching to reflect this, so that it is both useful and of interest to our students. When used correctly, technology can be a invaluable tool to help us do our jobs better, and help students learn better. From online sights like Youtube and Notefliht to garage band, to finale; from recording equipment to electric keyboards to midi systems; from iphones to mac computers, technology has ingrained itself into our curriculum. 

That being said, is becoming more and more necessary all the time to "get on board" with technology. We must learn to embrace it and become familiar with the ways it can be used to enhance our lessons. Technology could be used for many purposes in our classrooms including writing their own composition, share music, listen to recordings from top musicians or even the local band that played the same piece. Have them record themselves practicing or making music in groups. Record rehearsals and play it back to them so they can hear what they sounds like and then have them critique. Make a recording of the accompaniment to the chorus pieces on an electric piano and then have the students sing along, freeing you to walk around and assists/assess or even conduct. The list of possibilities goes on and on. Decades ago, when music education was new to our public school systems those teaches did not have access to anything that we do now. The children we teach come from a different world than when we were in school and we must make the most of those new found opportunities to improve our craft and enhance their education.  

In nearly every classroom I enter I see consistent use technology. It's all around us, it’s just up to every teacher how they want to use it, and they can all use. I think it’s clear that the more technology based our society becomes, the more technology based education will become. It is likely that technology will continue to grow exponentially overtime, and so we must always be ready and able to adapt and utilize whatever is available to us, to ensure that future generations of students always receive the best education possible. 

For more information and ideas on how to incorporate technology into your music classroom, please see some of the following links below:

http://www.nafme.org/everyday-education-teaching-music-in-the-age-of-technology/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ireal-pro-music-book-play/id298206806?mt=8

http://www.apple.com/mac/garageband/

https://www.noteflight.com/login

http://brandtschneider.blogspot.com/2015/06/final-project.html
 
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/The-Valleys-Alive-with-the-Sound-of-iPads-150943055.html

Rubrics: The double edged sword

Rubrics are a double edged sword. On one hand they are useful tools that give guidance to teachers and students alike; on the other, they standardize learning and expectations in a world where everyone's learning style is unique.

In his article, The Trouble With Rubrics, Alfie Kohn discusses the various problems with using rubrics as a means of assessment in the classroom. He argues that rubrics strip away a student's ability to be creative and both enjoy and understand the process of what they are learning. He states that "showing that students whose attention is relentlessly focused on how well they’re doing [the students] often become less engaged with what they’re doing" and therefore they become unable to function unless every requirement is spelt out for them. While I both understand and admittedly agree with the points being made, I'm not sure it's quite that simple.

Throughout my own education I have encountered rubrics at nearly every turn; even now as a graduate student I am frequently given a rubric as a means of understanding what I am being graded on. However, according to Kohn, rubrics, while being an easy tool to justify a grade, are actually more hurtful in education than they are helpful.
 
In his article he writes, "Rubrics are, above all, a tool to promote standardization, to turn teachers into grading machines or at least allow them to pretend that what they’re doing is exact and objective." I admittedly agree with this, but only to a degree. I think he's right in saying that rubrics are a way of setting standards in an attempt to give a fair grade that can be defended against something concrete. On the other hand, I don't believe than meaningful learning can be or should be something that is standardized or measurable. But then this begs the question:

How do we fairly assess students without measuring them up against a rubric?

Alfie Kohn's article, while factual and persuasive, fails to really answer that question. The truth is, I'm not so sure if there even is an answer.

With music especially, it's difficult to assign a grade to a student without knowing exactly what merits each grade. How do we put a letter or number grade on a persons effort, practice, enthusiasm, or interest? In a math class it's no big deal; did the student get the problem correct or not? It's all very neat and tidy but how do we know that a student isn't playing a passage well simply because they aren't trying (practicing)? Could the problem be that they don't fully understand how to play it and have been practicing it wrong? Are they distracted today by something else going on? Are the nervous about playing in front of us, or their peers, or an audience? I don't see the harm in letting students know what they are being graded on.

I have always thought rubrics were a good idea, and I think under the right circumstances, they still are. A rubric doesn't have to be as confining as Kuhn is making it out to be. If nothing else, it can serve as guidelines that allow both students and teachers to fully understand what is expect so that no bias can creep in unintentionally. As long a rubric of not the only form of criteria but one of several and doesn't drive the instruction, I think it's a tool that should be utilized; especially in the music classroom where assessment can be trickier than other academic settings.