Category Archive

Catchy title isn’t it?  I regret I can’t take credit for it!  The title comes from a book written by music education advocacy guru, Dr. John Benham.  The book is a culmination of Dr. Benham’s 30 years of research regarding what works in music education, how to guide a program through difficult circumstances, and how to take the music program … Read More

Unfortunately, there have now been two instances during the course of this school year where there have been significant national tragedies on a large scale–the Sandy Hook shootings and now yesterday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon.  Having to come to terms with such events is challenging for everyone as we struggle to make sense of the completely nonsensical. The act … Read More

Earlier this week, I wrote about the emphasis placed on AP and Honors, how this emphasis has been heightened in our current educational climate, and how this emphasis sometimes outweighs continuing music study in high school.  I also mentioned that I had spoken to directors of admissions from several local schools including University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne, West Virginia University, Franklin … Read More

“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.” –Albert Einstein   Now, more than ever before, high school students feel the pressure of getting the “right” classes on their high school transcript so that they can get accepted to the college of their choice.  In the past 10 years in American education, a … Read More

Even though it seems early to be thinking about next year’s school schedule, the guidance counselors at the middle school and high school are already in full-blown scheduling mode and are beginning to speak with students about registering for classes next year.  Much has been made of the difficulties (both real and perceived) music and art students seem to have … Read More

Now that we are entering Week 10 of the school year, while most aspects of the year are becoming more busy, one aspect is settling down (at least for now).  Scheduling.  Even up until two or three weeks ago, I was both gaining and losing students in my classes as students and parents negotiated scheduling priorities.  I am always happy … Read More

Some of you may have noticed that music teachers are obsessed with numbers–particularly when speaking about the number of students involved in their music programs.  There’s a slight possibility that music educators who make their living by teaching students to count to relatively small numbers like “four” over and over again may just have a deep psychological need to bring … Read More

Hi all, I wanted to take a moment to address something that will be new to the band and football audiences at our first home game this week.  Due to the football collaboration between Quaker Valley and Cornell High Schools, we will have the pleasure of hosting the Cornell High School Marching Band as a home band addition at four … Read More