CPIII Blog
In Jones' article he says that in order to have more creative and economy knowledge workers, students need to be involved in the community arts, not just in schools. How do we as music educators make this happen? I was thinking about this a lot while reading the article and the only thing I really could come up with was for the teacher to be really involved in the community's music outlets. If the teacher is directing a big choral work in the community or at a church, the teacher could invite the students to sing with them. Or, if the teacher is involved in a community musical production and invites the students to the performance, the students might enjoy it and think of auditioning for something themselves. What do you all think? Are there any other ways to get our students involved in the community?
posted by Anonymous @ 12:15 PM
1 Comments:
At home in Barbados, the relationship between the community and school music programmes is already in existence. One of the things which has helped foster this is our annual National Independence of the Creative Arts (NIFCA). It is a huge festival with competitions in every aspect of creative arts, including the Fine and Performing Arts. School choirs and bands are involved in a big way, but the festival includes everybody, everywhere. The school music experience then is not separated from the rest of the community, but the two have an integrated relationship, provided through this festival.
As I compare this situation with what seems to obtain here in the US, American school groups are involved more in festivals and competitions centered on them, and it's possible that this has had an impact on lessening the involvement with the community, by separating the two. I that the suggestion of involving school groups in community events by way of the teacher's pre-existing involvement is a good one. It can also work the other way. A teacher or school can sponsor an event which invites significant participation from other segments of the community and help foster the relationships that way. Mentorship programmes, I think, could also be a great way to do that, by connecting students directly with practising musicians.
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