Readings #6

Annie Thiese
Music 23241
10/13/11

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

     This article is about the effectiveness of National Standards in Music Education.  The Standards are very helpful because it helps music educators understand what they need to be teaching their students.  The article states that a common misunderstanding over the standards is that teachers do not realize that in some cases their students already know what needs to be known.  Most teachers already teach the standards, and have no problem implementing them in their classes, but others may not have been teaching certain standards, and it can be stressful for them to figure out how to teach them.  Standards benefit students because they set goals for the teachers to teach.  The students learn more under standards than if the teacher had nothing to base their lessons on.  Having standards also plays a big role in helping a music educator keep a music program, because it helps administrators take it seriously.  Standards help administrators make sure the music educator is doing a good job, by what standards have been taught to the students.
       My high school band director was very good at teaching most of the standards.  One of his weakest standards was composition.  He was excellent at composing parts and pieces, but there was no class offered to learn about it, and he never implemented it in band.  With other standards he was excellent.  The one standard that I did not learn, that I wished I had learned was improvisation.  I do not know how to improvise, because I was never taught.  I will try to learn in college, so that if I become a band director I can effectively teach my students how to improvise.
       I agree with this article because I believe the standards are very important and helpful to teachers.  Without standards, teachers have no goals for teaching.  A teacher cannot effectively teach if they do not know what needs to be taught.  With standards, there is a set of ideas that need to be implemented into the class so the students get the most out of their education.  These standards will help the students as well because if they know what they need to learn, they will be able to learn more effectively.
       Another benefit from standards is evaluation.  When you have standards, it is easier to evaluate how well a teacher is teaching.  If the music educator has students who do not know a large amount of the standards after years of being taught by one educator, it is likely the educator is not effective.  This helps administrators find bad teachers, so they can replace them with better ones, for the benefit of the students.  They will be able to find a teacher who knows the standards and how to effectively teach them, and the students will learn what they need to.
       When music educators ignore some of the standards, they are not helping their students become well rounded.  Some of the standards are very easy to teach, and are common sense for any music educator, but others are more difficult, but just as important.  When you only teach some of the standards, your students will never know all there is to music, and it will hinder them in their learning.  When all standards are taught, students gain a large understanding in music, and they will be more likely to be successful in music later in life.

Lehman, Paul. (2004). Raising the bar.

       This article is about how the national standards changed music education.  Paul Lehman believes that the standards have helped music education immensely.  The standards helped people realize the importance of music in schools, and how serious it is.  Lehman talks about how the state standards are different than the national standards, but are based on the national standards.  The teachers in states with poor state standards can depend on national standards to help them teach their students.  The main problems Lehman sees in how the standards are implemented are not with the music educators, or the standards themselves, but in the education system in our society.  Achievement levels in music and students in music have improved through the ten years with the standards.  After the standards were given, people in education began accepting music as a curriculum.
       In my school district music has been accepted as an important class.  The school had not tried to cutting parts of the program until just this past year.  My high school band director is in charge of the music education in the school system, and he is very good at following the standards, and using them as an argument.  He was able to stop the school from cutting parts of his music program, because he mentioned how that would effect the standards he teaches.  The school board listened to his argument, and agreed that it would take away from the education of the students, and so the music program was not cut.
       I agree with this article because the standards have helped music education become a respected subject. Having standards has made school systems realize that students can learn from the music classes.  When they looked at music education before the standards, they did not see it as important or effective.  Now, with the standards in lace, the schools see he effects music has on students, and what they can learn, and it gives the music programs more respect.
       Music educators have also been more effective in teaching their students.  With standards, they are able to look at a set of guide lines to help them educate students.  Before the standards, some teachers were not sure of what they should teach, and it made it difficult on the teacher and the students.  The standards help the teachers know what to teach, and it gives the students a well rounded education which helps them in their future.
       The music programs now have a more effective argument against program cuts.  The schools who try to cut programs, must look at the standards and decide if the students would lose education without the music classes.  The music educators can use the standards as an argument to keep their programs and help the students learn music effectively.  With out the standards the music programs would have virtually no defense, and they would not be able to stay in schools.

Reimer, Bennett.  (2004). Preconceiving the standards and the school music program.

       This article is about the problems in music education surrounding he standards and how to implement them in the classes.  The author talks about wanting to move on from the past, and teaching different things in schools to better fulfill the needs of the standards.  He states that we need to change our programs if we want people to start respecting music more.  We are hurting ourselves by only focusing on the first two standards, but none of the others.  The author believes you should focus on the roles of the standards, and what you must focus on to complete the standards.
        I agree with some aspects of this article.  I do not agree with what the author believes about the programs that are set forth.  I do believe that the programs in schools have the potential to teach students all of the standards.  The music educator may need to make an effort, but it is possible.  The band and choir and orchestra programs which are most common, have the potential to teach the standards, even if they do not already teach all of them.  The program may need to change slightly, but not to the effect that the author of this article believes it must.
       I do agree with the thought that schools only focus on the first two standards.  The first two standards are the easiest standards to teach as a music educator, because they are purposes of having a music program.  The issue that needs to be solved is how to incorporate all of the other standards.  This could be as simple as adding different segments to your lessons, or as difficult as changing the whole program.  The author believes educators need to change the entire program, but I disagree.
       I also agree with what the author said at the beginning of the article.  I believe the standards help the music educators have a helpful argument against having their program cut.  The standards give music education a purpose, and that helps the educators defend the values of the music programs.  The standards also show what the students could potentially learn from the classes which is helpful also in showing how music education can help students become successful in the future.