Youth Voice in Action’s Post

Thanks to Natalie's post and National Association for Music Education (NAfME) action center page, I was shocked to see a decrease in Title I funds and possible elimination of Title II (professional development) funds! As someone who strongly supports post-graduate professional development opportunities, I encourage you to fill out this quick form on NAfME's website and share your support. Here's the story I included on my form as I hope it inspires you to share your thoughts and stand up for music education and it's teachers! "I've been a public school music teacher for eight years as well as a professional development clinician for ten years. Title II funds are an essential piece to ensuring student and teacher success, and the threat of budget cuts or possible elimination of them is sickening. To provide some perspective, four-year teacher preparation programs only partially prepare teachers for todays classroom. Due to the extraordinary amount of credits required in an undergraduate degree program, college students do not have enough practical time in the classroom to be adequately prepared to teach young students. Some of these topics include teaching students with physical or emotional disabilities, teaching with technology, integrating new methodologies (project-based and STEM-based learning), fostering diversity and inclusion, avoiding teacher burnout, fundraising, copyright and so much more. Part of the reason teachers are leaving the profession is due to lack of funds supporting post-graduate learning opportunities. It's in-person and online profession development opportunities that provide teachers with the education, mentorship, collaboration, confidence, and support to be successful in the classroom. My own experience presenting nationally and internationally to various education communities has allowed me to better refine my craft as a K-12 educator and provide resources for teachers that wouldn't have otherwise had them. Presenting allows for refinement of skill, fosters the birth of newer pedagogies, and aids in the modernization of teaching tools. It also invites the collaboration of industry companies in support of crafting high-quality and effective teaching tools for the classroom. Attending and presenting at conferences gives me the intrinsic motivation to continue to do this great work, despite being underpaid and overworked. I hope you will consider supporting funds for Title II, I and IV to ensure a positive future for our educators and our students."

Peripatetic music teachers 📢 If you're employed by an independent school, we want to know how government proposals to apply VAT to school fees might affect you. Fill in our short survey today ⬇️ https://loom.ly/of7ANJA

Do you teach music education or curriculum as a primary teacher? This study is calling for your insights. Help a PhD student impact the changes we need to see in teacher wellbeing in the arts. Details of a short survey response below 👇 👇 👇 #music #arts #artsed #primaryteacher #teacher #teaching #musiceducation #teacherwellbeing #teacherwellness

Music is a creative way to keep people invested on a regular basis. Here's how you can incorporate music into lectures: 1) Source YouTube Videos - YouTube is home to countless videos that can offer neat summaries or explanations of topics, all the while set to a catchy tune, making it easier for students to recollect their notes in time for exams. 2) Use Music for PowerPoint transitions - Rather than simply presenting students with plain text to sift through, lecturers can add music to signal switches to different subjects or activities, allowing students to keep track better when lecturers are trying to break down complex topics. 3) Add Music to Assignments - To get the creative juices of your students going, allow them to show off their musical side by instructing them to come up with a song or a rap for their project. #college #university #universitylife #collegelife #colleges #universities #school #education #music #reggae #reggaemonth #comeketchdiriddim #jiscollegecorner

School prize draws are strange things; we've done then a few times. Prizes have previously been Pritt Sticks, dry-wipe big notice boards and other stuff I really can't remember now, but perhaps that's the point. These things aren't very memorable. They're handy for teachers and the school for a short while but that's about it. As prizes, they were a bit poor. So why even do a prize draw for school? What impact are we looking for and how should it align with our values as 'Blippit'? Blippit is about 'breaking down barriers to engagement and learning', so this time we decided to make children be the beneficiaries of prizes and find some way to break down barriers too. As luck would have it, when planning our most recent draw, we'd just launched a new music curriculum tagging dimension to Blippit Boards so choosing 'instruments as prizes' made sense. The thought of children getting their hands on free instruments was just a bit more exciting than children getting Pritt Sticks for us and their potential legacy much greater. In the end, what we did with our 'Summer Music Prize Draw' wasn't earth-shattering but it did show us that with a bit more thought, a prize draw for schools could try to do/be something 'more'. A school in Wales won the first prize (a dozen ukeleles) while a four-pack of djembe drums went to a very small school in Derby which we'll feature in September. For us, from now on, more 'thought' is the goal when it comes to prize draws for schools. Speaking of goals, come on England! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 https://lnkd.in/ez3c5Vwn

Why do you want to integrate the arts into your teaching? What are you trying to accomplish? For example, when I integrate music listening experiences into my classroom, I am teaching students as much about the music and its meaning to us as I am using music to help us write great poems and stories. Students first experience the music (one song for one week), then they are ready to use those experiences to develop their writing skills. It takes effort to truly integrate the arts into your teaching and your students’ learning. Visit our blog post "What Is True Arts Integration?" to learn simple ways to start truly integration the arts into your classroom. http://ed.gr/crxaq

Why do you want to integrate the arts into your teaching? What are you trying to accomplish? For example, when I integrate music listening experiences into my classroom, I am teaching students as much about the music and its meaning to us as I am using music to help us write great poems and stories. Students first experience the music (one song for one week), then they are ready to use those experiences to develop their writing skills. It takes effort to truly integrate the arts into your teaching and your students’ learning. Visit our blog post "What Is True Arts Integration?" to learn simple ways to start truly integration the arts into your classroom. http://ed.gr/crxaq

Music education should start at primary school level.

We’ve teamed up with The National College to offer free webinars for Music Mark members, focusing on Integrating Climate Education into the Music Curriculum! ♻️ In this blog, you'll learn how this integration benefits schools, why it's important, and top tips for teachers! 💡 🔗Read the blog: https://buff.ly/4ebH1Mi

I highly recommend this book.