Summer Reads

Hi everyone! It's Aileen from Mrs. Miracle's Music Room. I've been enjoying summer for a few weeks now. It's the first summer for several years that I haven't had to teach any levels programs. I LOVE to teach Kodaly levels, but I decided this summer to just take some time to spend with my family and relax! (Considering we moved the last day of school, I'm pretty happy with that decision!)

So besides spending time with my family and unpacking boxes, I've been doing a little bit of reading, which is something I haven't done in a LONG time! Although I love to read novels, the type of reading I'm talking about is school-related, to help reflect on my teaching and go into the new year with fresh ideas! Here are my summer reads...make sure to click on each picture to see more information!

"Classroom Management for Art, Music, and PE teachers," 

by Michael Linsin

I read about this book in the Music Teachers Facebook group, and was immediately intrigued. The book was written by a former classroom teacher who now teaches PE, so he has some great perspectives on the difference between the two environments. He presents several ideas that I'm excited to try out with my students in the fall! It's also a great summer read, because the chapters are super short, so it's easy to put down and pick up later!

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Kodály Levels Programs

Hi folks!  Christopher here.

The internet has been a remarkable tool for professional development of music teachers.  From Facebook groups and blogs to M.A. programs in Music Education that operate fully online, there are an incredible number of ways to get new ideas and repertoire for our classrooms.  For music teachers, who are often the only music specialist in a building, it can be particularly beneficial.

But for those who are interested in Kodály-inspired education (or Orff or Dalcroze, for that matter), there is nothing like a Levels class.  These all-day, intensive classes are most commonly offered during the summer, and last either two or three weeks.  I took my Kodály Level I right after I finished my teaching certificate, because I scored a job teaching elementary music and I knew enough to know that I didn’t know anything.  I needed more goods.

On the first day of the course, I sauntered in, critically surveyed the class, then beelined towards the back of the room to sit next to those students who looked like they were the most likely to talk.  Fun: that’s what I was here for.  To be sure, I also hoped to learn how to be a good music teacher, but I definitely wanted to meet some awesome music teachers, and crack jokes in the back of the class.  A wrench invaded these plans, however, and that wrench was Rita Klinger.  As she started talking the first day, it quickly became clear that what was streaming from her mouth was not mere words and music, but gold – wisdom that, even as a 20-something, I knew that I could not afford to miss out on.  Regretfully, I bid adieu to my too-cool-for-school friends, moved to the front of the class, and never looked back.  The good news for my quest for fun was that the laughter never ended – at its core, Kodály is about joyful music-making for everyone, and I continued to laugh with my classmates and teachers.  To be sure, I was constantly challenged, and I worked hard to improve my musicianship skills and my teaching chops.  But that challenge helped me learn to hold myself to high standards as a teacher, and ensure that my students are both learning and having fun – the holy grail of teaching.

I’m here to say: Take a Level!!  And if you have already taken your Levels, consider going back for related study (and look down at the bottom of this post for some specific suggestions to consider).  As educators, we never stop learning.

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Highlights from the 2015 OAKE Conference

Two weeks ago, I had the honor of chairing the 2015 OAKE conference in Minneapolis, MN. It was a whirlwind of meetings, sessions, and events...but it was so wonderful to see the two years of committee work come to fruition! I didn't get to attend as many sessions as I usually do at a conference (as I was running around making sure everyone had what they needed) but I did get to sit down and enjoy a few sessions. Here are a few highlights and lessons learned from the conference:

• From Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, I was reminded that conducting and outstanding pedagogy can transform a choir's sound. Fernando presented the mini-conference with a demo choir of participants, in which he worked one-on-one with eight conductors. Although I only saw snippets of the mini-conference, as I had an OAKE board meeting at the same time, I was once again amazed by his ability to not only constructively work one-on-one with conductors--gently helping them to improve their conducting and thus, the choir's sound--but his own musicianship and conducting. I walked into the mini-conference again at the very end of the mini-conference, as Fernando conducted the demo choir, and was amazed by how much he had transformed their sound in 3 hours! (As an aside, Fernando teaches with the American Boy choir, and will be featured in the film "Boy Choir" with Dustin Hoffman! See the trailer below!)

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