esme expanding success in music education
esme is a group of Ontario music educators from various public boards and universities that are involved or interested in promoting and facilitating Music In Education that is in addition to traditional ensemble/performance classes: ESL, guitar, rock, open, multi-disciplinary, multi-level, keyboard, vocational, composition, improvisation, creativity, you name it. We feel that there are many crucial programs that do not fit the most commonly accepted and promoted ideas seen as valuable music education.
As many of us know, these types of classrooms can provide unique challenges. We want to join together to share best practices, overcome difficulties, exchange resources, facilitate partnerships, and validate the important work that many of us are doing in our programs. We will be mostly looking for creative "better fit" approaches to these classes as different from finding ways to have them fit the traditional rehearsal/performance model.
In the spring of 2012 a group of us met in order to discuss and promote this expanding definition of success in music education. Some of the key ideas and beliefs that arose are:
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music education can be a place where students and teachers explore interacting with and living well in our world
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music classrooms can be centred on student background, interests, empowerment, and individual creativity
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with a focus on the creativity of all involved and the exploration of sound (both music and non) we can meaningfully engage more students
This meeting included teacher presentations and informal sharing. We have decided that a great way to promote these, often non-traditional, programs is to have a non-competitive festival where students can share and interact with other programs and adjudicators (with categories such as guitar, rock band, song-writing, interesting instrumentation groups, student composition and arranging, midi composition, improvisation, and more).
We also want to meet as a group regularly to share stories of success as well as resources.
Please leave your email if you would like to be informed of this group’s activities and direct anyone you think might be interested this site
Thanks
esme