able students. One of the primary themes during the election was the plethora of misinformation, dubbed “fake news”, which swayed many voters based on what was currently trending. As educators, our jobs are not to teach students what to think, but to think for themselves. Independent thinkers can make more sophisticated and educated decisions about important issues, and music is an excellent medium to do this. Encouraging projects where there are no right or wrong answers will help students to think in more complex ways. Writing a musical composition, critiquing a musical work, or find- ing new methods of performing existing pieces may provide students with the freedom to express themselves without fear of judgment or failure.
4. Practice what we preach This may seem like an obvious point, but there are always mo- ments that exasperate and frustrate us, whether we are dealing with unruly students, irrational parents, or uncooperative administrators. This is a part of any educator’s career, and although at times we may feel that our efforts aren’t appreciated as much as they should be, we must stay the course and show the qualities in ourselves that we wish to impart upon our students. I always tell my students that we have no control over others; all we can do is control ourselves and act ac- cording to our own consciences. Music is replete with examples of messages about the power of our own hearts, and how a positive act can influence others to do the same. Celebrating these qualities can serve to eliminate words and actions that insult, demean, or exclude any individual or group of individuals.
Most of these suggestions are aspects of teaching that we as mu- sic educators accomplish on a daily basis. Even so, it is sometimes difficult not to become disheartened and pessimistic when we turn on the news or access social media and see examples of vicious de- bates that negatively affect our nation. While it seems that there may be relatively little that we can do to rectify this situation, it is impor- tant to focus on the individual students we serve and guide them to work for something better through their own beliefs. It may sound hypocritical to ask students with differing opinions to work together to solve their differences when our own government is incapable of such progress, but it is necessary if we want to help them create a society of respect, tolerance, and equality. As music teachers, we have the ability to accomplish this using a unique and vibrant medium, proven to have been a significant factor in fulfilling the promise to create a more perfect union for all.
I appreciate your comments and would enjoy hearing your thoughts and suggestions. Please contact me at
andrew.lesser@yahoo.com or visit my website at
www.andrewlessermusic.com, and thank you for reading.
&
®
Start a chapter at your school in 3 EASY STEPS!
Join the only national honor society for student musicians in grades 6-12
MARCH 2017
chapters | student members
nafme.org/Tri-M
1,775 75,000 43 TEMPO
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
