Healthy, happy societies are not solely based on the individual opinions of the members, but rather on the mutual understanding of the importance of UNITY and the willingness to make personal sacrifices and contributions time, effort, energy to the agreed mission. The power base of the leader the authority, the band director is supported by the cooperative contributions of the followers the band members.
Domination, by intent, discourages creative thinking. Our educational community continues to increase the testing component as an end-all for knowledge comprehension. Now there is research indicating we can only remember and access the information we reinforce in our daily habits. Content information without context an understanding of the benefits is a dead-end street.
Memorizing a long list of anything for the mere purpose of passing the test is an exercise in memorization, nothing more. Being in the band deals with both achievement a measurable set of disciplines and guidelines and wisdom learning that will support a positive, purposeful lifestyle. Band is one of the few areas of the school day that supports expression as well as impression. Music learning embraces all forms of cognitive learning and goes a step further by integrating the data into the human soul: Music reinforces the principles and ideals that have a significant and lasting effect on the way we choose to live.
It teaches the ability to work with others, nourishes the love of learning, encourages cultural awareness, promotes cooperative flexibility in a communal climate, develops self-discipline, extends understanding, etc. Whether it is a new car, a college education, a house, a boat, a job, a title, or any other extrinsic reward; the chase and the race for goal attainment is threaded into every aspect of the educational docket.
When and where do we come to the point of personal satisfaction, the payoff, the joy of living life, and the very reason we choose to educate ourselves in the first place?
WHY MUSIC? WHY BAND?
Is success measured by what we have or who we are? Is the student connected to the product the grade at the end of the semester or the process the holistic experience of blending intelligence, aesthetics, and emotion? Nobody can nor should dictate what brings pleasure and joy to the human spirit. Band offers a new paradigm-of-learning. The means and the extremes are one-in-the-same.
- La dernière nuit de Claude François (Arts, littérature et spectacle) (French Edition).
- MORAL CERTANITY (Rosemary Cooper Time Travel Novel Book 1).
- Contact Us.
- St Peters Basilica: A Brief Guide.
- Amor profundo (Bianca) (Portuguese Edition);
- by Tim Lautzenheiser.
- Sands War (A Sand Shocker Book 1)!
We do not play music to get to the end of it; we play it to make music. As the educational system continues to evolve we often become so focused on the HOW, it is easy to lose sight of the WHY. Let us stand back and take a careful look at the development of the entire school system to gain a clearer perspective of not only WHAT we are doing, but WHY we are doing it. The value of knowledge is measured by the fulfillment it brings to the knower. We have many high achievers straight-A students in our schools who have missed-the-mark in correlating their KNOWLEDGE to personal happiness, social contributions, leadership skills, acceptance of others, desire to communicate with others, and the ability to adapt to all facets of society.
Is this the goal? We often tend to answer these questions from an artistic position:. The only way one can explain music is with music; it is a language unto itself. If we are to convince non-music makers about the importance of music learning, we may have to step off our podiums and put the recruitment spotlight on the extended human needs and essential human qualities: Music is NOT a frill subject or a fringe activity, but music-study is a microcosm of society bringing the requisite disciplines of success to the ensemble experience. Music learning for the sake of music; and music learning for the sake of life.
What better way to prepare for a successful future? Music is a place for everyone. The study of music actually breaks down societal barriers from race to socioeconomic strata. Do parents, administrators, community leaders, and teachers of other disciplines understand even know this information? Are we as music educators sharing this extraordinary news with our educational partners? So many parents at the point of registering a student for beginning band do not understand the extended value of learning music.
The discipline of music making is transferable to every learning situation in and outside the academic community. From singing in the church choir to playing in the community band, music should not be relegated to the school environment, but music becomes our trusted friend-of-expression forever. What is the most important priority for all parents? Mothers and fathers around the world dedicate their lives to creating an even better life for their children. In a highly competitive society they want to see their sons and daughters have every possible advantage in their educational climate, their chosen profession, and their selected community-of-living where, once again, the cycle will repeat itself with-and-for the next generation.
Students are also learning ensemble skills and the importance of working together to create a performance. Students are being introduced to a wide variety of musical styles and genres through the varied music literature studied and performed in class. Band students also are pursuing musical opportunities outside of the classroom, including district and collegiate honor bands and the annual KMEA Solo and Ensemble festival. Music Exploration is a three tier course with an emphasis on Music History.
Each class is one trimester 12 weeks. The study of each time-period is linked to significant historical events that correspond to our musical studies.
Using guided questions and notes, students use inference skills to aid them in their understanding of the progression of music throughout history. Literacy skills are expanded through rhythmic and melodic reading. A wealth of hands-on activities are employed to re-create the environment of each time-period, such as period dancing, composing, letter-writing, portrait drawing, instrument playing, etc.
The goal of this curriculum is to develop positive attitudes and excitement toward learning the Spanish language. The Spanish program is created with a two-year alternating curriculum. However, there are themes that are included every year in the curriculum such as colors, numbers, polite words, greetings, calendar, commands, prayers in Spanish and culture. The language is introduced through songs, games, multi-sensory and hands-on activities to reach different types of learning styles. The Spanish I content is broken down into a three-year program.
Grammar is learned through exposure to the language as opposed to traditional grammar charts and textbook activities. Students do not use a textbook, but follow a curriculum which engages them in story-telling a methodology known as Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling - TPRS. This curriculum engages students, and provides them with the repetitions they need to be able to acquire the vocabulary and grammar within the context of different stories.
Students begin their year with new passwords. All students are taught how to logon to the virtual desktop, open and use a program, manipulate a mouse, double-click on a mouse, and logoff the virtual desktop. Students are also introduced to the iPad and its various uses as an educational tool.
WHY MUSIC? WHY BAND?
The graphics program MS Paint is also introduced and used as a learning tool. Using MS Word, students become more familiar with the keyboard so that they can quickly find all letters and numbers. Students will continue working with MS Word, entering and editing text, and will learn a variety of technology terms. In this year, students are taught and expected to master the Internet basics: Third grade students will begin keyboarding.
WHY MUSIC? WHY BAND?
They will learn the home row of keys and progress steadily through all the letters of the alphabet. MS Word will be an important part of the curriculum as the students work on formatting and projects. File management becomes a valuable tool so that saved files can be easily found for editing and printing. Throughout this year, keyboard skills learned in 3rd grade will be reviewed and reinforced — proper posture, location of the home row of keys, correct finger placement, etc.
Students will be introduced to MS Excel during their fifth grade year. Filmmaking and editing with an iPad will also be a focus throughout the year. This class is designed to help students learn successful research techniques and how to use computers, the Internet and web based materials correctly in completing research projects that tie into other core content classes Social Studies, Science, English, etc.
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