About Me


I am a certified Orff-Schulwerk elementary music teacher, teaching in an urban school. I switched from secondary to elementary music teaching in 2006 and it's been the best move (not financially! ) of my career. If you want to have major impact on students concerning music education, elementary is where it is happening. Disclaimer: The topics in my blog do not necessarily reflect what is happening in my current teaching position or with my current students, administration etc. I have a long teaching history and may chose to deal with an element or problem that I have witnessed or experienced in a previous school or have seen being dealt with by other teachers I have encountered...so there!

How to Decrease the Number of Elementary Students in Secondary Music

January 11, 2012

Posted by The Orffsite Webmaster on Monday, July 12, 2010

1. Have the District or State create a typical standardized music assessment test.
2. Spend most of your music time teaching music reading from the page and preparing students for the standardized test.
3.Have students write rhythmic compositions before they have internalized the rhythmic building blocks.
4.Have choir students initially learn all their music by singing solfege and ignore the text until the end of the teaching process. Make them write the solfege letter above each note.
5.Teach rhythm reading the way the Junior High Band Director teaches it.
6. Emphasize performances instead of the classroom learning experiences.
7. Ignore the average child and build your program on the "talented" child.

Posted by The Orffsite Webmaster.

 

So Long Performance Base Music Education

January 11, 2012

Posted by The Orffsite Webmaster on Saturday, July 31, 2010

As an Orff-Schulwerk elementary teacher and a former secondary music teacher, I can say I'm glad to have almost gotten out of the music contest level of instruction. In secondary music, recruiting and comparing my first division with another schools first division was of primary importance. Outside performances was next on the list, after all, a performing group must perform. Sure, I had non-varsity groups where students with lesser...


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Posted by Jerry Bradley.

 
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