Be encouraged! - You are the key to student achievement!

If you are a music teacher like me, you spend much of your time justifying the value of your subject area to administrators, fellow teachers, the community at large, parents and students. Everyone knows, although they might not take the time to follow the research that music causes positive outcomes in student achievement. Yet despite our personal and researched knowledge we have a hard time pushing past the fact that although music is indeed worthwhile for it's own sake, it is also a critical component of any meaningful intervention.

The good news is that this is a NEW YEAR!

We have the chance to carefully examine each aspect of what we do in our limited time in music and really make each moment instructionally meaningful for every student.

This really is my favorite time of the year because as I plan I can spend my time imagining my classroom free of interruptions and discipline issues. I can reflect upon things that happened last year and make better more refined plans. By the grace of God, prayer, hard work and good attitude we can get a little better at teaching every year.

Here is a great video by PBS called music instinct that you can stream from netflix in it's entirety if you have it, or watch segments on the PBS website. This video is a great overview of neuroscience of music it features Yo Yo Ma, Bobby McFerrin , and is narrated by Audra McDonald. It is inspiring and is worth sharing with all of your friends.

Ya'll have a great year