Make the Arts Curricular - Shuler

Britt Beil
MUSIC 23241
March 15, 2011

Make the Arts Curricular

               In today's schools, we still view education in a more developed pragmatism environment because we are taught lessons to help us get a job and be an educated citizen in our society. This view doesn't leave much room for music and other arts because they aren't generally used to get jobs or function in society. Scott Shuler discusses why he thinks schools should accept the arts in their curriculum and then he talks about how educators should develop the subject to help the acceptance process. He explains how an art educator should set up their curriculum and what kind of content they should use. He then talks about how art educators sometimes need to schedule activities and such after school, unlike most other curriculum teachers. He discusses assessment, grading, and growth in the curriculum for art teachers. 

               I always hated when people who were in choir would say that were just in it for the "easy A" that they get by showing up. I think that was the only downfall of my choir teacher is that she didn't challenge us enough and make us work for that A. People who didn't try would just come into class and do nothing the whole time and end up with an A, and I feel that isn't fair to those of us who were working like crazy to improve ourselves. This definitely falls into the curricular grading mentioned by Shuler. I feel that tests aren't necessarily the only way to grade students in a musical ensemble and teachers should find a way to test the progress of the choir in a more fair and productive way.

               I definitely agree with Shuler that the schools in America are way too shortsighted and that they are only focusing on the basic steps to becoming a productive member of society. Unfortunately, by doing this, they are taking away so many good opportunities for students to develop even more than they can with just the basics. I also agree that many music educators are forced to select repertoire and other supplies just for entertainment purposes when they perform because of low budgets. I don't think this is fair for the students and the listeners because they aren't learning the more complex and intricate sounds that would challenge them, but instead they are playing/singing superficial songs just to please higher powers.

Shuler, Scott C. (1990). Making arts education curricular. Words of Note, 1-14.

Music in Today's Schools - Lehman

Britt Beil
MUSIC 23241
March 15, 2011

Music in Today's Schools

               The main point of this article is to describe why music is essential in schools. The author, Paul Lehman, gives several rationales and reasons for the importance of music in today's schools. He also lists a couple issues that schools present when teachers are trying to convince them to include music in the school along with a few facts to prove that these are not valid excuses. He mentions that according to administrators, there isn't enough time in the school day or enough money in the budget for music classes, but neither of these are necessarily true. The time in the school day could be altered to allow more time for a music class and the budget is directly linked between the teacher/student ratio, not the subject being taught. He then continues his article by talking about the reasons that music in schools is important for the students. His reasons include that the arts are important in our culture, music provides an outlet for creativity and self-expression, and creates opportunity for success for students having difficulties in other curriculum. There are several more reasons to the list but that is a general overview. He ends the article just by summarizing what has already been said.

               I can relate with a few of the reasons music is essential in schools that Eisner mentioned. The main one I relate to is that music provides opportunity for success in other subjects because I always had difficulties focusing in my other classes and I never wanted to be there. Music gave me a reason to want to go to class and because I was excited for my choirs, I would be in a better mood and able to focus in all of my classes. I also felt like music was the only way I could express myself in high school and I think because of that, I have learned to be more expressive and able to voice my concerns more now. This has helped in my development in several different ways.

                I agree with one of his main points that music shouldn't need a thousand reasons to be included in schools, the only reason should be that it is worth knowing and worth learning about. Music makes a significant impact in our lives everyday. If you take a moment to think about your day, I am sure every single person could say that they heard some form of music on any given day. Music is a powerful and profound symbol in our society. It can express different emotions, stories, etc., and I personally don't want to be in a world where music isn't taught in schools.


Lehman, Paul R. (1987). Music in today's schools: rationale and commentary. Words of Note, 5-16.  

Misunderstood Role of the Arts - Eisner

Britt Beil
MUSIC 23241
March 15, 2011

Misunderstood Role of the Arts

               In this article, Elliot Eisner focuses on the importance of arts in the schools and how people perceive them today. One of his concerns is the lack of time the schools provide for these classes and how that is affecting the students. He believes that schools who don't provide the arts can't give their students the proper opportunities the arts supply in human development. He discusses the common flawed beliefs that people have such as human conceptual thinking requires the use of language, sensory experience is low on the hierarchy of intellectual functionary, and intelligence requires the use of logic. He then tells the reader four contributions the arts provide such as not all problems have single, correct answers; the form of a thing is part of its content; having clear objectives and pursuing them clear-cut aren't always productive or necessary; and arts can help with the distinction between expression and discovery.

                I have had many experiences where there just wasn't enough time in my choirs and art classes to get everything accomplished that the teacher wanted to do. Whether it was because students were slacking off during class, or interruptions by the school, or it just took longer to learn something than expected, it was very frustrating for the class and the teacher. Also, my choir teachers was one of the first teachers I had who would ask a question, and then tell us that there were more than one answer. Of course, at a younger age, this was mind-boggling for me because I had been taught that if you ask a question, you will receive one answer, so the music classes definitely helped in the development of critical thinking for me.

               I had a lot of neutral feelings while reading this article. I didn't particularly agree or disagree with any of the statements or main points. I do believe that if schools don't have art and music classes, they are definitely taking away from human development in the students because of the many qualities and basic skills the classes have to offer. Overall, I just wasn't as interesting in this article as some of the others we have read so far.

Eisner, Elliot W. (1992). The misunderstood role of the arts in human development. Phi Delta Kappan, 591-595.

Designing Substantive Playing Tests - Byo

Britt Beil
MUSIC 23241
March 8, 2011

Designing Substantive Playing Tests

               The article's main point is to describe and show the significance of an effective playing tests for bands and orchestras. The main ideas in the article can be adapted to other sorts of ensembles as well to help with the assessment and improvement of the students. A music teacher must think about the musicality and measurement issues to create the ideal test to inspire higher thinking for the students. A teacher must also have a main goal in mind to help guide the student to the proper outcome. The article then talks about what to look for in an accomplished learner and then he talks about how to assess the students when using the tests periodically. He then lists some outcomes of using his methods and some concerns that teachers can work on and improve in the development of the tests.

               The majority of the article discusses how to adapt the playing tests to an instrumental group so I don't have much experience with this form of assessment because I have never been in an instrumental ensemble. I can generally relate to being able to assess where my progress is by testing myself musically, but I have never been tested by a teacher. This article didn't really relate much to me and it was difficult to read most of it.

               I agree that having your students take a playing test on occasion is an effective way of figuring out how the students are progressing and figuring out what you need to change to help the learning process. One thing I do not agree on is how often Byo said the students should be tested. I feel that at the high school or middle school level, the students don't have enough in class time to really learn the music and giving them only two weeks to improve major issues is not reasonable in this situation. Maybe a test a month is more realistic, and definitely can be highly effective.

Byo, James L. (2001). Designing substantive playing tests - a model. Music Educators Journal, 39-44.

Writing Rubrics for the Music Classroom - Whitcomb

Britt Beil
MUSIC 23241
March 8, 2011

Writing Rubrics for the Music Classroom

               This article is spent describing what a rubric is and does in the classroom to help benefit the teacher and the students. According to Whitcomb, the music educator should also have a general understanding of the standards and knowledge level of students in the language arts and writing classes and of course other subjects, but these are crucial for writing papers in the music class. Whitcomb talks about creating a rubric with both musical categories and writing requirements and she also discusses how to compose a rubric for performances. She also feels that the students should have some say in what is put into the rubric that they would also find interesting to write about.

               Generally, I never really had to write a paper about music until I got to the college level, so I didn't need any rubrics in my music classes. However, I did have rubrics in my English classes and it was definitely significantly helpful when writing a paper because it told me the information needed to make an efficient paper and get the grade I wanted. In college, we have used rubrics in several of my classes and it definitely helps in case you don't have a firm grasp of what to write about so it gives a bit of an outline of what you need to know.

               I agree with the benefits of a rubric, it is a flexible tool for assessment of music and communicates the goals for the students given by the teachers. I also agree that the students should have some input in the rubric the teacher creates for them because it is important that the students decide what they would like to write about and are interested in so they will succeed. I also agree that by handing out the rubrics early it helps the student feel more prepared when they know exactly what the teacher is looking for in advance. I feel that the rubric is definitely beneficial for the students and the teacher and an effective way to assess the comprehension level of the students.

Whitcomb, Rachel. (1999). Writing rubrics for the music classroom. Music Educators Journal, 26-32.

A Portfolio Model for Music Educators - Hill

Britt Beil
MUSIC 23241
March 8, 2011

A Portfolio Model for Music Educators

               This is an informative article about how to properly create, explain the uses and importance, and the history of a portfolio. Today, many universities require a portfolio for a music education major to graduate and practicing teachers need to keep a portfolio to keep track of their improvements and accomplishments. Hill then describes what a portfolio is and a brief history of how it was created and formed. There are three types of portfolios, learning, assessment, and employment, all of which are significant and can be used for several different purposes and a teacher can use sections of each type to create an even better portfolio. Hill also mentions the significance of not only using a hard-copy of the portfolio, but also a digital copy for several reasons.

               In high school, we were taught in our English classes how to compose a resume and it was mentioned a few times that some people in the future would need to build a portfolio as well, but the teachers never went into much detail about it. I did learn a few things from the resume building that I think will be beneficial when creating my portfolio, like taking all of my positive attributes at the forefront and keep it very professional. The article mentions recording yourself as a performer or teacher and giving yourself some feedback to help build critical thinking and self-reflection abilities, I have done this for a few classes and I definitely feel like it helps show how you are improving and is effective in the learning portfolio.

               Based on the information I gathered from this article, I feel that using a portfolio is a very helpful and effective way to show growth, progress, and that you are capable of holding a job position. I agree that by having a digital copy of your portfolio definitely shows that the student or teacher is good with technology and can definitely be beneficial in the classroom. The brief history provided in the beginning of the article was very informative and interesting to read. I feel confident that I have a lot of the information needed to start the portfolio which is great.

Hill, Cheryl F. (2008). A portfolio model for music educators. Music Educators Journal, 95(1), 61-72.

Enhanced Assessment - Burrack

Britt Beil
MUSIC 23241
March 1, 2011

Enhanced Assessment

               A main point that Burrack makes is that music educators can't assess students based solely on attendance and technical skills, they need to start using thinking skills. Burrack then discusses different forms of assessment such as student self-assessment and large-group assessment. He then discusses how to fit assessments into grading and he talks about student reactions to assessments and how they can help students improve.

               In high school, my teacher would always play recordings for the class without telling us who the ensemble singing was and then she would ask us to make little notes about what we hear. After the song would end, my teacher would ask what we heard and what we think the ensemble could do better. Finally after we would give our opinions and observations, she would tell us if it was another ensemble or if it was a recording of us. I felt that this was a really effective way of improving the ensemble and working on listening skills. 

               I definitely agree with the above statement that music teachers can't successfully assess their students based on attendance and technical skills. It takes much more than just showing up on time and being able to do the basic skills to be a great musician and students should know this. Student self-evaluation is also a good way to have students understand how to do things right and improve without private lessons with someone telling you exactly what you are doing wrong. It can also improve listening and analyzing skills which is crucial to becoming a great musician.

Burrack, Frederick. (2002). Enhanced assessment in instrumental programs. Music Educators Journal, 27-32.