Lehman- The Power of the National Standards

MUSIC 23241: MUSIC TEACHING AS A PROFESSION

Mr. Marcus L. Neiman, Assistant Professor

Kent State University School of Music

Fall, 2011

CRN:  200910 – Section number: 001 – Class Days: TR 7:45a – 8:35 am - Classroom: SOM E202

Office: Band Office - 330.672.2965 - Telephone: 330.672.2965 (Kent Campus) - E-mail: mneiman@kent.edu

Office Hours: TR 9:00 – 9:55 am (Additional hours available by appointment)

BlackBoard and Text Readings

Submitted by:  Emily Young

Submitted for: Mr. Marcus L. Neiman, lecturer

Date: October 12, 2011

Lehman, Paul R.  The power of the national standards for music education.

 Pages 3-9.

In this article, a president of the Music Educators National Conference speaks about the impact and importance of having standards in music education.  Upon implementing these national standards a mixed reaction was received from music teachers, but most felt very positively about the standards.  There are nine specific standards that music educators are expected to teach to their students.  These standards cover a vast range of skills and knowledge that musicians experience.  The implementation of these standards can be beneficial to both the students and the teachers if fulfilled as they were intended. 

Teaching all of these standards in every class can be quite difficult for a music teacher.  At the high school level classes are more focused and teachers never seem to have enough time. With proper planning and good time management, teaching these standards can certainly be done.  For some students, learning these standards and doing well in music classes, can cause them to do well in other courses that they will take. There are so many reasons that these standards are important in music education. Knowing more about these standards will make it easier and more enjoyable to find ways to teach them. 

I think that the arts are equally as important as other school subjects and they should be treated that way.  This means that if we have standards for other subjects, we should have them for the arts as well.  Music programs are always one of the first to get when schools make budget cuts.  It is very important for us to see how important music and the arts are to each student’s growth.  By understanding this we can express the importance of music to others, especially administrators and community members.  The standards help give proof that music is more than just singing or playing and music courses can implement a knowledge base in students that they can’t find in other courses.