I'm home sick today (yuck), but decided this would be a good time to get you caught up with some of the big music issues going on in my district right now. I know I can't be the only one facing situations such as these. Let's get a dialogue going. Ready, Set, Read, Respond.
First, I'm very fortunate to report that I am not on a cart full-time at my one building. (Yet.) We are one first grader shy of me getting the boot from my classroom, however. At this point, they will be using my classroom 3 times a year to set up a computer lab for MAP testing. This means that 3 times a year, for about a week each time, I will be traveling from room to room on a cart. The first MAP session with me cart-bound went fairly well, but I felt like it could have gone better. I want to give a big shout-out and thank you to Danielle for commenting on my previous post and sharing her great ideas (and photos!) of how she makes the whole cart thing work for her. (You are awesome and I look forward to keeping in touch with you!) I think the next MAP go-round will definitely work out better.
So, how many of you are getting the squeeze or have already lost your rooms? Do you feel like a valuable part of your students' education team or are you made to feel like a babysitter while the "real teachers" meet in their PLC's? I'm fortunate to feel like I'm a valuable team member, but music teachers in other buildings in my same district are made to feel differently.
Second, our district passed a bond issue this September allowing us to build 3 new school over the next few years. 2 elementary schools and 1 high school, to be exact. This will also have direct implications on how general music is set up in the district. Currently, our students K-6 receive 60 minutes of music instruction each week. The music teachers of the district have been pushing for years (around 35, to be exact) for students to receive 90 minutes of music instruction each week, to be on par with what students in other districts around the state receive. With a new high school on the horizon, it looks as though our middle schools will soon be moved to a grades 6-8 set up rather than the 7-9 that they currently are, and that the 90 minutes might actually become a reality.
In addition to the "minutes" issue, an additional, but related, debate that is raging is this: Should the 6th graders still receive general music, even when they're moved up to the middle school? If so, how should it be structured? My concern is that general music would become the "dumping ground" for those 6th grade students not currently enrolled in band, choir, or orchestra; and I do not want to see that happen. Not fair for the students, not fair for the teacher(s). My opposition has stated that since 6th grade currently receives general music instruction, why would we want to take that away from them and give them less music opportunity? My response to that is, give the children 90 minutes each week from K-5 and they'll actually be getting more.
Adding another twist to this, our state legislature, in their most recent session, eliminated language in the century code mandating school districts to include music and art instruction in the curriculum. While our superintendent has very clearly stated she has no intention of eliminating music, the ultimate decision is not up to her--she can advise the school board, but they will have the final say in the matter, should a motion to remove music instruction be made. Am I wrong to think that we, as a team of music teachers, need to tread (somewhat) lightly and choose our battles very carefully?
OK, that's where I'll leave things (for now--ha!) I'll be back later with some specifics as to what's been happening in my classrooms so far this school year.
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