Some Thoughts After MISTEC

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Before I start writing, please let me say this disclaimer: this entry is full of my thoughts after conversations, presentations, and observations while in Ireland. I have not researched these topics further than stated above nor do I mean to offend anyone with these thoughts. I am simply sharing some of the thinking and mulling I've been doing while in Ireland at the MISTEC conference. I also apologize in advance if you get confused while reading...Im going to be free writing and won't be proofreading for flow and order. Thanks for bearing with me! :-)



When I initially signed up for MISTEC I assumed there would be a few professors since teacher education was part of the commission but I did not expect everyone to be a professor or a Ph.D. candidate. In the end, I'm glad this was the case because my week in Ireland allowed me to really think about my teaching, the American music education system, how muSic fits into people's lives all over the world, and what makes a quality music education program. Being given the space to think and mull was so refreshing; I hadnt realized how much I missed doing it! When you're in the thick of teaching, you're consumed by the what and when that you often ignore (or simply forget to acknowledge) the why. This conference came at the perfect time because all summer I've been so focused on the "What" and "when" for my curriculum next year that I needed a forceful reminder to actually stop and think about WHY and how does this fit into a world context. I am a thinker, I've always been a thinker and I enjoy daydreaming/thinking/wondering. Before this week I didn't realize how much I MISSED doing this while home; it's too easy to get caught up in all the hectic details of life.



Anyway, while Ireland, I had the opportunity to hear the latest research and learn about music education systems in Canada (Quebec, Manitoba, and Toronto), Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland, Kenya, Hong Kong, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Israel, and Greece. Everyone runs on a primary and secondary school model; primary school is our equivalent to 1-6th grade and secondary school is our equivalent to 6-12th grades. In every country represented at this conference, music is primarily taught by the classroom teacher (or generalist); there are little To no music specialists in primary schools. Initially, I couldn't get past the idea that boys and girls around the world were not getting a quality music education in the younger years And in comparison, how advanced the US's system seemed. I remember thinking this when I went to Sweden during undergrad when i learned they did not have music in primary school. But then I started to think, what defines quality? Is it the amount of time spent on a subject? We all know this not true. Is it who is delivering the content? Possibly, definitely plays a role. Is it the authenticity of the instruction? Possibly. Is it the relevancy of the content and instruction? Maybe. Although most of American elementary students are taught music 30-60minutes a week by music speciailists, there is certainly a lack of learning and preparation to be lifelong musicians Going on in the system. Maybe our way isn't necessarily better? Maybe just different? (A radical thought, I know). A lot of the professors at the conference stated that they liked the model of having generalists teach music and music specialists work with the generalists to mentor and show them how to teach music. They stated by having it as an integrated part of the school day, music is embedded into the students day and is seen as something as part of their lives and education, not something separate or different. A good point for sure. However, this model has its own challenges as staTed from the research presentations and conversations while at MISTEC. Many generalsits dont end up doing any music with their students because they don't feel comfortable so only musically inclined generalists end up doing music with their students, secondary teachers are faced with students who have no skills and background knowledge in music and students who are highly advanced, there is no national curriculum for primary music, and music isnt acknowledged as a necessary subject.





There are definitely pros and cons to both systems, which got me thinking...how can I take the pros from everyone else's system and incorporate them into my setting? The one thing that particularly struck me was having generalists integrate music into everyday teaching shows students that music is simply a part of life and is something everyone can do. I feel that often classroom teachers in America avoid doing music in their rooms because "that's the music teacher's job" and you only "do music in music class." Now i know this is not the case everywhere nor with everyone but in general, I feel this is the attitude towards elementary music in the states. In turn, students perceive music as a separate subject and not an integrated part of their lives...maybe this is part of the reason why so many students drop music once getting to high school? So what does this all mean for me and my teaching? I want to somehow encourage classroom teachers to integrate music into their instruction and not treat music so much like a separate, forbidden subject. I alone cannot show our students that music is all around us and a part of our lives and nature as humans. i haven't really hammered out what that is going to look like or how I am going to encourage teachers to integrate music in their classrooms but I know I need to do it somehow.





Something else that really struck me while learning about music education from all over the world is that regardless of where we are, everyone has the same general challenges: government focus on math and reading (science, history, the arts, etc. diminishing), advocating for the importance of music in schools, preparing preservice teachers for a 21st century classroom, incorporating composition and creativity, and meaningfully integrating technology into music instruction. No one country has it "figured out" or a model that seems to have it right. This may be a simple thought to some but for me, it was huge. I guess all we can do is keep on researching, communicating with colleagues from around the world, sharing ideas, and framing all this in our own cultural contexts.

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