Category Archive

Well, if you had “mass disruptions caused by an unexpected global virus pandemic” on your “Things That Can Mess Up My March 2020” bingo card, place a chip on that square and pat yourself on the back!  But, if you’re like the rest of us and are upping your cleanliness and hygiene game, the information below as to how to … Read More

Music ensembles are more similar to sports than most music teachers will admit—mostly because I think music teachers as a whole tend to focus on how the culminating activities of music ensembles and sports are so different rather than focusing on how the learning processes of music ensembles and sports are very much the same.  Every year is a new … Read More

I think one of the most difficult things about teaching music in 2016 has to be the difference between how society has been conditioned to think of learning versus how music teachers know learning exists within their content area.  Objective assessment is obviously important, but music teachers are often frustrated at how poorly music-learning translates into objective grades.  Letter grades … Read More

I’m a wannabe carpenter. I have two uncles who are carpenters and had a father who, while not a carpenter, was certainly handy enough to be one (he did make our kitchen cabinets once upon a time). I inherited the handy genes from my dad, have gotten a lot of good tips and instruction from my uncles, and have a … Read More

I’m sitting here this morning in a silent classroom as a group of sophomores diligently completes part of their Keystone Exam. They read, re-read, fill in their bubbles, check their work and repeat for a solid hour and 45 minutes. The “powers that be” in the PA Department of Education want us all to believe that this is the most … Read More

It has been over six months since I’ve updated the blog, which is too long. Typically, I get the urge to write when something in the news related to music education catches my eye, or if I notice a particular trend among our band and/or orchestra students that I think may be addressed effectively in a blog post, or if … Read More

As this year draws to a close, I have been reflecting upon how this year contained some absolutely outstanding performances by our music students, and that both the high school band and orchestra performed more this year than in years past.  A fellow music teacher I greatly respect from another district recently said to me “if you don’t know why … Read More

“How are you?” This question can elicit many different responses, but there is one response that seems to be occurring with greater frequency when this question is asked: “Busy.” Perhaps this is not a surprising answer to hear from adults, but the degree to which this is the answer I hear the most from students *is* surprising.  The point at … Read More

While the Quaker Valley School District will be 60 years old in the 2016-2017 school year, the Quaker Valley High School Marching Band will be celebrating its 60th season in 2015-2016.  We have big plans in the works for that milestone year (we’re not letting any secrets out yet!) and we want to have alumni involved.  There’s just one (big) problem–save … Read More

I haven’t updated the blog in several months….Being a news junkie, I have seen several pieces in the news about music or music education that I’ve been thinking about how I could synthesize into one cohesive blog post.  The problem is that there have been so many neat little articles about things related to music education that trying to cram … Read More