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In these days of constant
competition for funding, time in the school day, and
competition for students, music teachers find sometimes
find themselves at a loss to explain the value of
participation in a choir for four years of high school
and three years of middle school. We are often viewed as
the "fun" class where the students do not have to do any
"real" work. We are given the students no one else wants
because "everyone can sing, can't they?" Special-needs
students are mainstreamed into our classes without our
consent, without proper funding to provide for their
needs, and without adequate help in preparing to deal
with them or assisting them to be successful in our
classes. We often work in poorly maintained class areas
with insufficient funding, antiquated materials, no
textbooks, and limited, if any, attention from
administration. We seldom receive in-service in our
fields yet we are expected to provide full support for
any initiatives from any other subject matter. It does
not matter than "No Child Left Behind" identifies music
as a core course; because we are not tested, we are not
given consideration. In spite of these circumstances we
succeed against all odds putting out successful student
performance-based learning into the public eye numerous
times a year. Our students are happier than most, do
better statistically at school overall, and are
considered prime candidates for career options both in
and out of the music field. The link below will take you
to a page of links to advocacy information that will be
useful to parents, teachers, students, administration,
and anyone wanting to support music in the schools. |
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