One of my main goals as a music educator is to provide authentic music-making opportunities that live in the real world for my students. I want my kids to see themselves as part of a larger community of musicians and composers, because we know that when students feel a part of something beyond the classroom walls, they are motivated to make discoveries and go deeper into the world of music. Continue reading Community Music Making in the Classroom with Soundtrap and Noteflight
The news ruined my curriculum planning.
My plan was to continue our medieval Humanities studies by learning more about Feudalism and Christianity in Europe for the remainder of the second quarter. Then, after Winter Break, we would dive in to the origins of Islam and study the Middle East. But the news of the bombings in France could not be ignored. Continue reading Global Shift
I’ve recently been thinking a lot about Tom Little’s new book Loving Learning: How Progressive Education Can Save America’s Schools. In it he highlights a number of progressive school values that prepare students for success. Continue reading Original Group Song Performances
The Library Department is about to host a NYSAIS conference with the EdTech department around the importance of collaboration between librarians and technology teachers. As the field of school librarianship continues to grow and change, librarians are discovering that a successful partnership with technology faculty is not just a good idea but vital to creating young digital citizens who know how to evaluate information, protect privacy, and form healthy online communities. It should be easy, but sometimes we are our own worst enemies when it comes to sharing curriculum and classrooms. We are often too quick to say, “But I can’t give up time to collaborate, or I’ll never get through my curriculum!” or “Our schedules just don’t match, it’s hopeless to try and plan something,” or “But I love teaching this topic, I don’t know if I want to share it with anyone!” These all too human responses remind me of a blog post I wrote for Library Lost & Found about giving it all away. Even though it can sometimes feel counter intuitive, the only way to improve, advance and grow is to share, share, share. When we give it all away, we quickly discover that we get it all back–with interest!
