Tag: education
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The Impact of Assessments on Music Education: Balancing Understanding and Grading
As we start to wind down the end of the school year, at my school we started another round of discussions about assessments. The general questions related to the topic is centered between students knowledge and understanding vs. the actual number or letter grade students receive. In general, everywhere in the United States, students are…
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Classical Music in Flim
I recently watched two movies featuring classical music as a backdrop. Like most dramas, the story lies in the characters’ personalities and their environments. Both ‘TÁR’ and ‘Chevalier’ use classical music as a stage to tell the stories of strong personalities operating at the height of their profession. ‘TÁR’ felt more like an episode of…
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Why Teachers Aren’t Ready to Reopen Schools – The New York Times
This was an interesting listen as I am planning my music classes for the new school year. Especially as I plan to include topics related to diversity, equity and inclusivity. How equitable is education right now for all of the stake holders?
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Teaching Orchestra and Band in a Digital Space: Day 15
Close One and Cheers: Like most Friday’s before a break from school occurs, thing are bound to go wrong. Sometimes it’s students behaving unruly or planned events that disrupt the day, like a class parties. You never know what might come up of these days. Today my “WTF” moment happened due to poor bandwidth. Now…
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Teaching Orchestra and Band in a Digital Space: Day 14
Tired: On a typical day I feel like I get to move around a fair amount. With conducting ensembles and moving around campus, I might even say I am very active. On occasion I might get a work out before my day starts. However, since the coronavirus era of teaching started, my movements have been…
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Teaching Orchestra and Band in a Digital Space: Day 13
Live sound in a virtual space: Now that things are settling into what seem more and more a regular routine, I started to ask some fundamental questions about the user experience within my virtual platform. How is the sound of my voice received by my students? When I speak or demonstrate on my instruments, what…
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Teaching Orchestra and Band in a Digital Space: Day 12
Three Great Moments In One Virtual School Day Today I had several experiences with students and colleagues which are cause for acknowledgement, appreciation and gratitude. Teaching Assistant Before the term started, one of my students in the advanced orchestra approached me about being a teaching assistant. Currently, the school doesn’t have a policy regarding this,…
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Teaching Orchestra and Band in a Digital Space: Day 11
Duet with myself: Today starts the 3rd week of the spring term. Some things feel normal and routine, as mentioned in the previous post and other things feel new. One of the actives I enjoy doing with students is active listening of music. This typically involves listening to a piece of music or two with…
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