Music Education –
This fall finally feels more normal, after the previous 3 years of covid lock downs and precautions. As a piano teacher, I am seeing most of my piano students in person now, they can participate in local music recitals and piano festivals, and they can take in-person performance and theory exams, if they so choose. Piano students and their families look forward to celebrating their or their child's achievements at these feature events, the events provide motivational goals and rewards for the music students, and the students gain recognition and appreciation for their efforts.
I attended the 3-day International Conference for Dalcroze Studies at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh this summer (2023), and stayed for 2 weeks to take some classes at the Dalcroze training centre while I was there. I am really close to completing the requirements for the Dalcroze License - I think I can complete it next summer, if I keep practising in the meantime. Dalcroze is an approach to music education that uses the moving body to develop musicianship at any skill level, but ideally paired with or as a pre-requisite for private music lessons.
During the latter part of my 25-year career as a music teacher in the public and
secondary schools of Ontario, there was significant professional development about
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). A quick look at the Ontario
Ministry of Education's web page on Curriculum and Resources (https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/program-planning/cross-curricular-and-integrated-
learning/stem-education) shows a description and justification for STEM. There are
some boards that have adopted STEAM as their new curriculum (STEM plus the
Arts), and I suspect we may soon see a similar directive here in Halton. This would
elevate the educational credibility of the arts, which includes humanities, language, dance, drama, music, visual arts, and media, to a more esteemed status. Should such a
move occur in the near future, I am hopeful that it would accompany a curricular
appreciation and awareness for nature, relationships, and diverse communication,
while enabling students to develop self awareness, meaningful expression, and
multiple ways of learning and knowing.
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