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Marvelous Madison Music - Mary McManus

5/9/2014

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I asked my Aunt Mary, active music education advocate and singer in the Madison-based band Rosewood, to do some research on a local music booster group of which she has been a member for many years: the Madison Music Association. Oddly enough, her name also lends well to my attempts at alliteration...

A few summers ago I was out in my backyard planting flowers when I heard a curious hammering sound. It sounded like construction but too specific and metered. (My husband and his brother spend their lives on building sites: I know what construction sounds like.) For the next few weeks I heard this sound from time to time and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what it was. I cannot remember how I finally became enlightened to the fact (or who told me), but it turned out to be a woodblock metronome belonging to the marching band, the newest part of the music program at Madison High School. I was very excited to have them practicing so close to my house, mainly because I was in marching band in high school and have many fond memories of those days of practice and football games. However, I could not believe that our high school (that I knew was filled with so many talented teens) did not have a marching band before this summer.
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I had been a member of the Madison Music Association (MMA), a non-profit corporation, for many years, since my oldest was in first grade. In fact, I was the MMA liaison between the elementary school and the high school. I had only attended a few meetings, so it made sense that I had no idea we didn’t have a marching band. By the time the year was over, that new marching band leader took those kids from beginners to award-winning marchers. It was amazing to see what a little passion, and a lot of hard work, had created. 

The MMA was established sometime in the 1970s primarily to supplement the music program. I have seen it transform over the last 10 years and in particular the last 3 years it has become a phenomenal force in the Madison public school system. The goal in the by-laws of the MMA is to create a meaningful relationship between the parents, students, music and arts faculty, and the public. It supports the students, faculty and all the visual and performing arts programs of the Madison Public Schools, kindergarten through twelfth grade. The organization constantly provides assistance and encouragement, along with financial assistance to applicants of the summer music program and aid in defraying administrative expenses associated with arts education.

We sponsor many fundraising events such as the ever-popular “Dessert and Jazz.” This yearly event combines dessert in the cafeteria with coffeehouse-style entertainment from auditioned high school students, followed by an energetic jazz band concert in the auditorium. “Arts Matter,” a concert put on by the music teachers, is another successful event as the students enjoy watching all of their skillful music teachers turn into talented performers. Two more favorites are the “District Strings Festival” and “Bandapalooza,” which pull all orchestra and band students in grades 6-12 together to make music.

We have also granted a number of extremely useful items to the Madison public schools. Band shells, sound systems, posture chairs, piccolos, ukuleles and a marimba are just some of the fun and exciting additions to our band rooms and stage. This fall the Madison Junior School did not have the funding it needed to present a fall play, so the MMA stepped in and granted money to reinstate the Fall drama (which my daughter was in) and the play was a wonderful success.

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The MMA officers are a group of parents of Madison K-12 students currently participating in any of the music or art programs. The officers include a president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer with 1-year terms. The past few years, the MMA has been working on getting itself more well-known. It has been low-profile for a long time but through hard work and advertising with posters, banners, websites it has come a long way.

It's just $20 to support arts education in Madison schools and become a member of MMA.

Let me tell you, I have been the membership coordinator for over 7 years and have watched membership go from paper to electronic. I spent many a summer stapling and stamping to get those membership packets out in time for the August mailing before school starts. Now you can get the membership form online (see below), print it out and send in your dues!
mma_membership_2013-2014_form.pdf
File Size: 119 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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St. Nicholas Superstars

3/18/2014

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Today I got to visit St. Nicholas Primary School in Oxford! I was shown around by my mum’s cousin (my first cousin once removed) Harriet who I last saw when her family came and visited New York City a few years ago. It was great to see her again and I am very grateful she arranged the visit to St. Nicholas.
St. Nicholas Primary School (SNPS for the purposes of this post) is a co-educational community primary school (roughly ages 5 to 11) with no religious affiliation in the Oxford village of Marston. According to the Department for Education website, SNPS has 360 students with 13 of them receiving extra resources for “Autistic Spectrum Disorder” and “Speech, language and communication” issues. It was with this group of kids that I spent my day, observing the Communications and Integrations Resource Base (the CIRB or “the Base”) where they get small group or even one-on-one support away from the mainstream classrooms. Many of the adults who help out are volunteer Teacher Assistants (like Harriet) who come in once or several times a week. The students who learn in the CIRB are mostly kids with Autism, although they widely vary on the spectrum from those who are “high-functioning” with Asperger’s syndrome to those with severe Autism. The kids are split by age group, with 5-8 year olds on one side of the staircase and 8-11 year olds on the other. Some students split their time in the CIRB and mainstream classrooms, but many stay in the CIRB all day long. Let me tell you: there was a MASSIVE difference between the two groups as I got to spend time with both. I got to do a lot of different things throughout the day, met a lot of amazing people, and learned some very valuable things.

After meeting Harriet at the bus stop, I checked into the school as a visitor and wound my way through what seemed to be a maze of hallways to the CIRB. All the kids start their academic school day at 0850, although there are some before-school clubs which meet in the mornings before school. 
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When the Base’s kids first walk in (on the 8-11 side), they do some individual work and then move into a bigger group to work on handwriting skills (this includes OT hand-strengthening exercises and other activities to focus and quiet the group). They put up the day of the week (along with other things) on a Velcro board, then moved to a dance activity (which they do every Tuesday). At least one student joined the mainstream class at this time, but most of the students combined with the other side of the CIRB and went into the assembly hall. Here they did some physical exercise, dance routines, and following of simple directions: the kids seemed to have a great time. Next was music with rhythm, memory, and singing games and songs. Some of the kids got very involved with the activities and looked like they were enjoying them! When the groups broke up again, I stayed with the younger kids and saw math and counting practice along with a size comparison activity. Then came lunch, break, and play time (students had an 30 min for lunch and 30 min for recess), at which point I moved back to the older group to observe and participate in silent independent reading, stations, board games and “choosing time” (kids get to pick their own activity). Finally, students were dismissed at 1450 (mainstream students left at 1515).

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One of the more interesting things I got to see was the station time the older kids did towards the end of the day. Essentially they were puzzles or activities meant to challenge them, like “build a copy of this out of blocks” or “draw the mirror image of this design.” There was very little if any verbal instruction from the adults and it was fascinating because I could actually see their minds working as they solved the problems given to them. The board game time was also a valuable part of the day as the adults worked on social skills like being gracious winners and not getting too “bent out of shape” after a loss. There seemed to be a focus on social skills, which is extremely valuable for kids with Autism, and they made a point to go over how to behave in certain situations.

After the students had left for the day, I asked the adults some questions about their school and the system as a whole. The biggest thing they said needed to be improved was that the government and schools needed to begin treating students as individuals. For example, it would be unreasonable to require that students must pass English and math to leave school, since for many special education kids that is an unattainable goal. The adults also said that SNPS was very good at providing creative outlets for the kids and that often the school observes a week-long theme (this week was “Science Week”). Students also have the opportunity to participate in many extra-curricular activities, as well as having a fair amount of the day put aside for physical activity. Specifically, the kids in the Base went swimming once a week and horseback riding every 3 weeks, along with practicing dance routines and break times.

There also seemed to be a great music program from what I saw, and the teachers agreed that their school was very supportive of the arts. The mainstream and the CIRB’s students put on a whole host of concerts/talent shows for the school’s governors and parents, where kids play the piano, sing songs, and dance routines. Apparently there’s also at least one music assembly a week, and the music teacher gets everyone clapping and singing along. The TAs also told me about the school’s choirs and musical groups, including an orchestra with parent volunteers as teachers and participants! While the school has a great commitment to creativity, they did say that the arts were unfortunately almost always the first things cut when money was tight (which seems to be a universal problem, at least in the UK and the US!).
Overall I met some great teachers and assistants, whose patience and caring were boundless. I really did learn a great deal and I had a blast while doing it. I want to thank Harriet for arranging the opportunity, as well as the staff and administration of St. Nicholas Primary School for welcoming me into their wonderful school!!!
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Boundless Benefits

3/14/2014

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Before I get into some of the benefits of music education, I need to provide a disclaimer about myself. I have been involved in music since 5th grade when I joined my middle school choir. In 6th grade I auditioned for and was accepted into the New Jersey Youth Chorus (NJYC), which I stayed in until 10th grade. While in middle school, I also participated in the band, playing the alto saxophone, something which I fully expected to continue in high school, but never got the chance due to scheduling conflicts. In high school, I was involved in many of the school’s select choirs, as well as County, Region, and All-State honor choirs from freshman until senior year. I co-founded and directed “Men in Black A Cappella,” West Morris Mendham High School’s male a cappella group, for three years and I was elected Choir President for my senior year. I now participate in The Citadel Cadet Chorale and have loads of fun performing and rehearsing with them.

I can’t even remember all of the opportunities and experiences I had with these groups, but here are a few of my favorite memories:
1.      Competing at Hershey Park
2.      Going on tour with NJYC in Italy for ten days
3.      Performing at NJ Performing Arts Center
4.      Performing in Carnegie Hall
5.      Performing at the ACDA’s Eastern Convention
6.      Singing in over twenty different languages and countless genres
7.      Running a musical group like a (profitable) business
8.      Helping to orchestrate an invitational with a headliner (Street Corner Symphony)
9.      Participating in and then running a stage crew for several different productions
10.  Singing on a street corner with my closest friends
11.  Making friends that will last a lifetime
12.  Making a difference in peoples’ lives every performance

The greatest thing about music in schools is that it encourages so many great values and principles. Rehearsal is the most abundant aspect of music, and it instills principles like hard work, dedication, the importance of practice, and the drive for perfection, while at the same time teaching kids that if something isn’t perfect, it's OKAY! I have never had a music educator who stresses perfection over expressing emotion and having fun.

Since there are so many, I’m going to break down the benefits of music education into two aspects: emotional and practical.

Emotional Aspects
I have interviewed dozens of current and past music students and educators in order to gain insight into others’ experiences with music education. I have come to one overarching conclusion: across the board, music simply has the power to bring joy into peoples’ lives. Peter Potash, a junior at West Morris Mendham High School (WMMHS), says music has helped him “discover the true beauty” of some music. “When I sing these pieces,” he says, “I feel better about my life no matter what I had been feeling before.” Paul Brodhead, a sophomore at WMMHS, says, “It has given me an outlet to relieve my stress and anger” and Brian Jeffers, a freshman, agrees, “It cools me down if I am in a bad mood.”

Dr. Jason Vodicka, Assistant Professor of Music at Susquehanna University, says he sees students developing countless abilities, including “The ability to think and feel deeply, talk about feelings, perform in front of a large group of people (makes giving a 5 minute speech seem simple!), and integrate heart, mind, and body.” Both students and educators can see the emotional benefits of music.
Practical Aspects
I turned primarily to the music educators on this one, asking them what skills they have seen students develop as a result of music education. Patty Danner, WMMHS Choir Director, pointed at teamwork and performance. “Perhaps we are training professional musicians, but we may also be training managers who will be running meetings, or public speakers. Most professions require teamwork and the understanding it is in everyone's interest to develop the entire team.” The Director of Choral Music at The Citadel, Nancy Lefter, lists “concentration, communication, and camaraderie” and retired West Morris Central HS Choir Director Dr. Vincent Rufino includes “Divergent thinking, decoding a graphic language, developing an aesthetic sense, self-confidence, fine motor skills, and a historical perspective outside the venue of wars and conquests.” Retired music teacher Karen Johnson lists “cooperative collaboration, articulation, discipline, memorization skills, and appreciation of all arts.” This doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the benefits, although it is interesting that educators trained and working in different places all see similar effects on their students.

All-in-all, there are many clinically proven benefits to music education, as well as those observed first-hand by teachers and students in the field. Music education has given me so much and has provided me with skills I continue to use today.

Bottom line: music has a profound effect on students,
with both emotional and practical benefits.
Links:
VH1: Save The Music

6 Benefits of Music Lessons

11 Facts About Music Education

About.com: 5 Reasons to Play a Musical Instrument
Journals:
Musical Intelligence and the Benefits of Music Education

The Importance of Music Education

Music in the Classroom: Its Influence on Children's Brain Development, Academic Performance, and Practical Life Skills
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Meet "Musical Madness March"!

3/1/2014

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Welcome to Musical Madness March! The theme of many of the posts and articles this month will be specifically based on music education. There have been countless proven benefits that music education can provide, from improved language ability and spatial intelligence to better performance (pardon the pun) on standardized tests, all while teaching the value of hard work and perseverance. According to The Telegraph, choir singing “boosts your mental health” even more than playing a team sport does! Larger vocabularies, better overall academic performance, and bigger paychecks are just some of the measurable long-term benefits, not counting the friendships made that last a lifetime or other qualitative benefits.

Over the next four weeks, you can look forward to posts like the ones below, all with contributions from past and present music educators and students!
- The benefits of music education and its impact on kids (with input from music educators as well as past and current students)
- The impact of extra-curricular musical activities on students, educators, and the school community
- A look inside one of New Jersey's premier children's choirs, the New Jersey Youth Chorus
- The long-term effects of music education on career path and educational attainment
- A look at the impact music education has on the community at large.
- The impacts of musical education from a mom's perspective

I have taken input from over several dozen current and past students and educators and will be featuring first-hand accounts of their experience with music education. Several guest authors will also be making contributions as well!

In order to properly observe Musical Madness March, I urge you to like "The Oxford Observer" on Facebook where I'll be posting a host of videos, articles, and current events dealing with music education! Click on the button to the right to visit the Facebook page and share it with friends!

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This whole month will culminate in the unveiling of a new portion of TheOxfordObserver.com, so stay tuned!
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