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From: Troy Johnson via kmeamembers1

<kmeamembers1@ksmea.org>
Subject: [KMEA Members] What's New in the Kansas Music Review!
Date: April 27, 2019 at 4:42:44 PM CDT
To: <kmeamembership@ksmea.org>
Reply-To: Troy Johnson <tjohnson@ksmea.org>

What's New in the Kansas Music


ReviewKansasMusicReview.com The end is near! Well, the
end of the school year, that is. As you prepare for your final
concerts and all those mundane year-end tasks, please don't
forget to leave in your students the reason why you teach music.
Or, in the heat of the moment, have you forgotten? Have you
been so intensely engaged with all of the minute tasks of a
teacher that you neglected to think about the larger task of music
education? In truth, we often get so busy that we can't see the
proverbial forest through the trees. If this is you, maybe it's time
to sit down with a cup of coffee, some paper and a pen and write
down the reasons why you chose to teach music. And, maybe it's
time to see what others think. The articles in this month's KMR
may be able to help you enter your summer with some good
ideas to think about as you rethink and refresh on your much
needed break. Happy Reading! KMR Editor Steve Oare
editor@ksmea.org

New articles in the Kansas Music


Review include:
Southwestern Division Collegiate Summit
Panya Amphone, KMEA Collegiate President
This July 19- 21, Oklahoma City University will host the first ever
Southwestern Division Collegiate Summit. This divisional summit
is intended to provide opportunities for Southwestern Division
collegiate members to network with fellow future music
educators as we focus on advocacy and leadership development.
Advo-Angle and Government Relations: What is
Ahead for Us?
Kelly Knedler, Advocacy Chair
Advocacy is defined as an act of pleading for, supporting, or
recommending where the ultimate response sought from the
audience is a "Yes!" vote! The KMEA Mission Statement says: The
mission of the Kansas Music Educators Association is to support
music educators by fostering leadership, providing professional
development and promoting the advocacy of music learning in
schools and communities. KMEA Music Advocacy and "The Advo-
Angle" exist because of the Mission Statement! And we are here
to provide music education advocacy in all of our schools and in
our communities.
Northwest District Musings: Learning from Retired
Teachers
Don Mordecai, Northwest District President
As a Kansas Band Director in a public school, there are many
people I admire. My colleagues come to mind, because day in and
day out, they are at school, making the world a better place for
the students! This includes teachers, coaches, administrators,
custodians, secretaries, bus drivers, cooks, nurses, well, you get
the idea. But there is one group of people that has always been
special to me; retired band directors. I only see a lot of them once
or twice a year, but when I do, they really make an impact on my
life. I wanted to write a short article that had something to do
with retired band directors, their experiences, what they found
most worthy of their time, and what they may be doing now. As I
began to explore this topic, I reached out to three such
individuals, and what I found is very interesting to say the least.
This piece is more about what I learned, but in the future, I hope
to have my internet conversations with them published so that
you can read for yourselves what makes them tick, and what they
remembered most about their careers.
North Central District News
Jamie Minneman, North Central District President
Greetings from the North Central District! This has been an
exciting first year for me as president, and I am so grateful to be
working closely with some of the best music educators and all-
around people in the state. I want to thank my executive board
and the KMEA board for their guidance and counsel throughout
this year.
Imagining the Kodály-centered Instrumental
Classroom
Brian Meyers, Oxford OH
Reprinted with permission from the Oklahoma Music Journal, Fall
2017 Volume 24 #1
Have you ever really stopped to think about what a Kodály-
centered instrumental classroom might look like? In many ways,
it would physically look just like any other instrumental
classroom. However, in the Kodály instrumental classroom,
students start with singing as a way of becoming acquainted with
a song. The voice is then paired with the fingers, building an
auditory relationship between the two, which leads to performing
the song on the instrument. In the Kodály classroom, we encode
notation (writing it) as well as decode it (read it) as a way of
aiding students in becoming musically literate. Finally, the Kodály
classroom is student-centered and builds upon their knowledge,
whereas the traditional classroom is teacher-centered and built
upon the knowledge of the director or that which is contained in
the method book. Simply imagining the differences between
traditional and Kodály based models can help us begin to
conceive of how we might instigate change.
Influencing At Risk Students through Routine and
Procedure
DeLee Brown, Salem OR
Reprinted with permission from the Spring 2018 issue of the
Oregon Music Educator
Are kids changing, or is it just me? I'm sure educators have been
asking themselves this question for decades as we move from
generation to generation. I would submit that children have not
changed all that much, but the circumstances and the
experiences they are having, certainly have. We are keenly aware
of students who are coming to school with basic needs not being
met. The ACEs research around adverse childhood experience
and trauma are bringing to light the ever-increasing number of
students who are affected by trauma and its effect in on their
learning and behavior in our schools and classrooms.
Music Educators: An Important Part of the Solution
to the Adolescent Mental Health Crisis
Erin Bailey, Salt Lake City UT
Reprinted with permission from the Utah Music Educators Journal,
Fall 2018, Vol. 64, No. 2
Adolescence is a time of rapid physical, social, cognitive, and
emotional development. Many people assume that children
experience more emotional turbulence during adolescence than
they experience in early childhood. However, evidence suggests
that adolescents today are facing a mental health crisis that is
unprecedented in history. While there are many factors affecting
adolescent mental health, new studies show that participation in
music can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression in young
people, and it can help students feel connected to and accepted
by their peers. As music educators, we are in a prime position to
affect the mental and emotional health of our students in positive
ways. We can do this most effectively by focusing on ways to
keep our ensembles inclusive and participatory.

Other items of interest from NAfME


include:
Got Ethics? Ethical Issues and Conundrums in Music
Education
Paul K. Fox
Are you able to navigate that sometimes "foggy" pathway
towards understanding the overlapping concepts of: Personal
morality, Regulations of law, Professional ethics, or Professional
dispositions? With serious allegations of professional misconduct,
incidents of sexual harassment or discrimination in the
workplace, or violations of trust involving CEOs,
managers/supervisors, celebrities, politicians, and even teachers
in the news every week, now might be a good time for a
"refresher course" on school ethics . . . that is, if you ever had
one!
Collegiates, Clean Up Your Social Media: Getting
Ready to Apply for a Job? It's Time to Curate Your
Social Media!
Paul K. Fox
Have you ever gone on the Internet and searched for your name?
Have you assessed what your image (and "personal brand") say
about you on all the social media platforms? According to a
McAfee family safety blog, in anticipation of future employers
researching you and everything with your name on it, you should
make a concerted effort to "launder" your online presence. -
"People are watching you right now. Like it or not—agree with the
intrusion or not—you are being Googled, judged, and analyzed by
the body of content you've posted online. Whether you are
applying to a college, for a summer job, or even currently
employed, you can bet someone who matters to your future is on
your digital trail."
Broader Minded Beat: How Much Does Talent
Matter?
This originally appeared in the second edition of the Broader
Minded Beat newsletter (May 9, 2014).
It may be true that wide variations exist in natural aptitudes for
things like music and sports. But is being blessed with vast
natural ability enough? Or is it even necessary? What does it take
for any high performer—be it in music, athletics, literature, or
really any field for that matter—to achieve the highest level of
excellence in their field? Any good educator or coach will tell you,
if they haven't already, that the work matters. Consistent,
focused effort along with good support and coaching inevitably
produces learning and improvement, along with side benefits like
self-discipline, self-awareness, determination, and patience.

Kansas Music Review - kansasmusicreview.comKansas Music


Educators Association - ksmea.org

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