what’s going on

Here is what is going on in my classroom this week:
This week and last week have been a little crazy around here.  We had an in-service day, a snow day and several 2-hour delays.  All of that plays havoc with the entire building schedule and has resulted in a lot of make-up lesson scheduling for [...]

“program notes” – january ‘08 concert

These are not *really* program notes. I did not print them in the program, these were announcements that were made before the pieces. I took the idea from the vocal music teachers in my building, to have my students do most of the announcing. They have “narrators” for their concerts, and I have always thought [...]

what’s going on

Here is what is going on in my classroom this week:
This is a testing-mania week.  The 4th graders are taking the CogAt test and the 5th graders are taking the PSSA writing test.  All elementary band and strings teachers have been assigned a small group of students, to help proctor their exams.  I am working [...]

dinner and a movie

Seven or eight years ago, I bought and read (most of) Punished by Rewards, by Alfie Kohn.  The book itself gets some really mixed reviews; I chose to take it as a chance to think about how extrinsic rewards work (or do not work) in my classroom.
Some parts of teaching elementary band are tricky.  In [...]

what’s going on

Here is what is going on in my classroom this week:
I am starting each lesson with scales, I use scales every week, in one form or another.  This week, I am really stressing them and making them part of the students’ assignment.

All my students are working on the Concert Bb chromatic scale fingerings.  It would [...]

two minutes

Do you have a couple of minutes?
 
President Bush would like to cut funding for the arts.  Again.
Please visit Americans for the Arts and let your Member of Congress know how you feel about this.  Urge them to increase funding for music eduation and other arts, by restoring funding for FY 2009.  “Click here” under the heading Federal:  [...]

i am all out of time lately

Just because I have my hands full with concerts and standarized testing dilemmas does not mean I am not thinking about Music Education… here are some of the topics I am working on writing.  Coming up in the next few weeks:
rote?  I need to it be wrote (World Drumming In-Service with Jim Donovan)
fully investing myself [...]