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It is obviously unrealistic to expect
students to acquire skills and knowledge in music unless they
are provided with adequate opportunities to learn. This means
not only that qualified teachers and sufficient time to learn
must be made available but also that the necessary instruments,
materials, equipment, and facilities must be provided. Every school
must offer a learning environment in which students have a reasonable
opportunity to achieve the skills and knowledge called for in
the standards.8 In many schools this will require an
increase in the time and resources allocated to music.
Teaching
Materials
The Standards specify what students
should know and be able to do, not the methodology or specific
teaching materials to be employed. Those decisions are left to
school districts and individual teachers. In any given setting
some materials will be more effective than others in achieving
the skills and knowledge outlined in the standards.
One of the most important principles
in selecting teaching materials is that only materials of high
quality will be used. All teaching materials selected must be
among the best of their genre at that level of difficulty. For
every genre, style, and historical period some works are of better
quality than others, and, while knowledgeable persons may disagree
about criteria, quality is always a basic consideration.
In selecting teaching materials
for use in their classrooms and rehearsal halls in 2020, teachers
will be guided by the following principles:
1. Materials will be developmentally appropriate
for the students. The age, background, and experience of the
students are important considerations in selecting teaching
materials that will be effective.
2. Materials will be appropriate for the teaching
strategy employed and for the instructional setting. Even the
best materials may be ineffective when used with teaching strategies
for which they are unsuited or in instructional settings where
they do not fit.
3. Music repertoire will be varied with respect
to genre, style, historical period, and cultural or ethnic origin.
This variety is important in helping students to understand
the broad and basic role that music plays in the lives of human
beings and to realize that there are many different but equally
valid forms of music expression.
4. Music repertoire will contain both elements
that are familiar to the students and elements that are new
and challenging. If there is nothing in the materials that relates
to music with which the students are familiar, they will have
difficulty understanding the materials and will be slow to accept
them with enthusiasm, while if there is nothing new or challenging,
the materials are probably of little educational value in that
setting.
5. While the music repertoire selected must all
be of good quality, the same criteria for selection need not
be applied to every work. For example, some works may be chosen
because they have withstood the test of time; some may be chosen
because they are particularly useful in teaching technique or
musicianship; some may be chosen because of their usefulness
in teaching aspects of history, geography, sociology, languages,
science, or other disciplines; and some may be chosen simply
because they are especially appealing to students and audiences.
Teaching Strategies
Like teaching materials, teaching
strategies must be developmentally appropriate and suited to both
the instructional setting and the content being taught. They must
be varied in recognition of the varied learning styles of individual
students. Also, they must be sprinkled with new and imaginative
practices on a regular basis in order to improve the teacher's
effectiveness and to ensure the personal growth and development
that lie at the root of professionalism in teaching.
These proposed guidelines are based
on the fundamental premise that if teachers use good music, and
if they teach it well, students are likely to be engaged and to
learn. More important, they are likely to be motivated to continue
to seek out and to learn music throughout their lives.
This chapter describes a music program
for 2020 characterized by universal access to instruction, a comprehensive
curriculum, an adequate learning environment, utilization of community
resources, and continuous inservice teacher education.
The music program outlined in the
standards and described further in this chapter can play an essential
role in providing a rewarding and satisfying life for every man,
woman, and child in the nation. It can truly enhance the quality
of life for every individual—but only if it is implemented.
Implementing this program will require the cooperation and support
of all who value the arts and all who share a commitment to providing
a high-quality education for every young person in the United
States.
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