standards
Standards: Evidence-Based Truth and Beauty Laura Burns, WMEA State Chair, Standards
One of my favor- ite undergraduate courses at UW- Madison was an introduction to art history. Every Tuesday and Thurs- day, 500 students would gather in a dark auditorium,
looking at art from the Renaissance to modern times, with a professor giving us pointers on what to notice in different art- ists. When reminiscing about this class, I remember one sentence that the professor stated over and over in the semester. Some- times flippantly, other times in the most serious moments, he would peer over the podium and say: “That is why you are here, right? You wish to seek truth and beauty!”
Daniel Levitin wrote that “Science seeks to find truth in the natural world; art seeks to find truth in the emotional world.” Music education classrooms are the synthesis of both of these worlds. To be a music educator is to be both a scientist and an artist. Standards provide the framework in which we can measure and make informed curricular decisions. It is part of the trifecta that educator’s practice in our classrooms:
We rely on our teaching expertise to cre- ate vibrant learning communities for our students. We balance this expertise with the needs and preferences of the individual students in front of us. It is a beautiful im- provisatory dance between these three areas that creates the experiences where students access truth and beauty.
Creating professional development spaces in which we can take the time to reflect on these standards is crucial in creating classroom spaces where truth and beauty flourishes. The WMEA Standards Commit- tee is currently working on a professional development opportunity for educators that explores both the WMEA Standards and the Social Justice Standards. We wish to create a professional development space in which music educators throughout the state can learn and share from one another. We want to create a space where we can all share how we incorporate the WMEA mu- sic standards into the curriculum and how we support the well-being of all students. It is in the sharing and reflecting of these standards, that we become better educators.
The theme of the 2025 Wisconsin State Music Conference is “Building Vibrant Communities.” What better way to
“Creating professional development spaces in which we can take the time to reflect on these standards is crucial in creating classroom spaces where truth and beauty flourishes.”
support this idea than to explore standards that help us to create communities that celebrate diversity, affirm individual identi- ties, and give music students tools to create, connect, respond and broaden their musical growth in the pursuit of truth and beauty.
Laura Burns is an orchestra teacher at Oregon High School and also serves as the string specialist at Edgewood College.
Email:
lauracburns@me.com
Start or renew your chapter today!
Start or renew your chapter today!
Join the only national music honor society for students in grades 6-12.
“Tri-M means a society of people who want to make the world better with music.”
—Jordan P., Tri-M chapter president
Tri-M@nafme.org |
nafme.org/Tri-M
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—Jordan P., Tri-M chapter president
Tri-M@nafme.org |
nafme.org/Tri-M
April 2025
Join the only national music honor society for students in grades 6-12.
“Tri-M means a society of people who want to make the world better with music.”
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