There is a very good chance the story on how music educators are using the show American Idol in the classroom will be broadcast Sunday evening between 6:30pm and 7:00pm on ABC during the weekend world news tonight segment. If you happen to be by a TV Sunday evening watch it and let me know what you think. See this post for more details.
The Willie Mae Rock Camp is looking for volunteers and campers for the 2006 summer rock camp for girls. Based in Brooklyn, New York the camp is modeled after the Rock n Roll Camp for Girls in Portland, Oregon. If you happen to work in New York, whether you work with student rock bands in your school or not, you might want to inform students of yours about this great opportunity. Definitely take the time to listen to some performances… Read More »Rock Camp for Girls
This past week a crew from ABC weekend world news report visited my classroom to interview me and observe how I infuse the show American Idol in the classroom. It will probably air on ABC around May 21st or 22nd – I’ll post the details when I know them. I posted my response to the National Association of Music Education inquiry about the use of American Idol in the classroom a few months back. It was a great experience to… Read More »ABC Weekend World News Interview – American Idol and the Music Classroom
“Q Mr. President, a cultural question for you. There is a version of the National Anthem in Spanish now. Do you believe it will hold the same value if sung in Spanish as in English? THE PRESIDENT: No I don’t, because I think the National Anthem ought to be sung in English. And I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English, and they ought to learn to sing the National Anthem in… Read More »Nuestro Himno – The New National Anthem?
While information about Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian revolution taking place in Venezuela is somewhat one-sided in the U.S., some of the positive things happening are getting reported. Apparently music education in Venezuela and classical music are taken very seriously. For many poor children in Venezuela music education is a transformative experience and plays a positive role in their lives. It is interesting that while many poor youth in Venezuela perform in youth orchestras, many young people in the US… Read More »Venezuela & Music Education