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I am only one *Edward Everett Hale For Students We're pleased that you are choosing to participate in music lessons. Music lessons are a lifetime investment. Scientists have uncovered the first concrete evidence that playing music can significantly enhance the brain and sharpen hearing for all kinds of sounds, including speech. "Experience with music appears to help with many other things in life, potentially transferring to activities like reading or picking up nuances in tones of voices or hearing sounds in a noisy classroom better," researcher Nina Kraus, a neuroscientist at Northwestern University, told LiveScience. Further tests indicate that students who had participated in music scored significantly higher on verbal memory tests than their classmates who had not. Medical research and reports from business schools and corporations increasingly acknowledge the long-term impact of serious music study on health and business skills. Texas Music Teachers Association (TMTA), the professional association for independent and collegiate music teachers in Texas, supports these findings. Tuition covers: · Private lessons, master classes, group lessons, studio recitals · Lesson preparation and planning/bookkeeping (usually 2 hours prep for one hour of lesson) · Professional organization memberships (provides networking with colleagues, opportunities for students to participate in festivals, contests, competitions, and theory programs) · Studio expenses (photocopies, computers and software, internet fees, student incentives and rewards, instrument maintenance, postage,) · Recital expenses (programs, facility rentals, awards, refreshments, etc.) · Continuing Education (Conventions/Workshops/Conferences/Lessons) that keep the teacher current with new methods and findings in pedagogy Arts Education Day at the Capitol
The Texas
Coalition for Quality Arts Education (TCQAE) coordinated our 5th Arts Education
Day at the Capitol on March 5th, 2007 and it was a smashing success!
In the morning, students visited Dr. Shirley Neeley, Commissioner of Education,
the Governor Perry, Lt.Governor Dewhurst, House Speaker Craddick and our
Legislators and gave them packets of arts education advocacy information. We
held a press conference at 11:00 a.m. Representative Rob Eissler, Chair of the
House Public Education Committee, sponsored the day’s events. Over 800
outstanding students performed in the Rotunda and on the South Steps of the
Capitol. They were remarkable! String students of a member from Austin District
MTA were selected to perform. Legislative Updates
Senate Bill
530 was passed out of the House nine hours before the end of the session on
Memorial Day and was sent to Governor Perry for his signature. It was a wild
ride over the weekend with various versions of the bill language being debated
among the Senate and House conferees, including a move to go back dangerously
close to the Senate version that required six semesters of physical activity in
middle school and that did not count structured recess in the 135-minute weekly
physical activity requirement in grades K-5. AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE MTNA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR During the month of March, arts advocacy takes center stage as myriad arts organizations converge in Washington D.C. to encourage governmental support of the arts. In fact, MTNA is a national co-sponsor of Arts Advocacy Day in our nation’s capital on March 14. MTNA joins with Americans for the Arts and dozens of other national organizations to ensure that funding and arts-friendly public policies are adopted at the federal, state, and local levels. As an independent or collegiate music teacher, you may sometimes question the effect on your day-to-day professional life of these public advocacy efforts. But be assured there is a dynamic connection between, for example, public music instruction, which is directly impacted, and your private studios. In fact, our futures are intimately connected, for if music and the arts are just “frills” in the public sector, then music instruction in the private sector will be adversely impacted. MTNA will remain a staunch supporter at the national level. But our resolve is not sufficient. You must be personally involved and advocating for music and the arts in your sphere of influence. Here are some ideas and resources you may find helpful in your advocacy efforts: 1. Every conversation about your work is an opportunity to change the way your work is perceived. Be passionate, be informed and be unapologetic. 2. The MTNA publication Community Outreach and Education for the Arts Handbook. A handbook for promoting music and the other arts in our schools and communities. Includes updated information sources as well as a fill-in-the-blank template designed to help IMTs accumulate and organize information about various community resources. 3. Websites devoted to advocacy: A public service of the Music Education Coalition. MTNA is a supporting organization. Up-to-date information on music and learning, help from experts and how to start a coalition.
AMC 's goal is to build credibility for music and music education, especially at an early age, and to expand that portion of the population that enjoys and makes its own music. Website contains articles, music advocacy resources and latest research.
Artslynx is designed as a portal to the best information on the arts available on the web. Material is specifically optimized for educators, students, and professionals working in the arts. Also features “Arts on the Line” – tools for arts advocates, including articles and extensive list of “links,” and speeches.
· www.artsusa.orgAmericans for the Arts is a leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. With more than 40 years of service, it is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts.ArtsMarketing.org is a resource for teachers and students in arts administration/arts management programs and for all members of the arts community, across all artistic disciplines. Through ArtsMarketing.org, artistic peers and marketing professionals address daily marketing needs and longer-term marketing issues for those working in the area of arts advocacy and music education. The California Arts Council works for a broad public understanding of, and appreciation for, the positive impact the arts play in enriching cultural, economic, and intellectual life in their communities and schools. Website includes usable information for any state, not just California. 4. Build a coalition in
your community with other arts advocates – teachers, church musicians, I promise you our total commitment. But it will amount to little without your personal involvement. While you are only one, your efforts, interest, and work in the area of arts advocacy are crucial to our successes at all levels. As we work together, personally and in partnership with other arts organizations, we will fulfill our mission “to advance the value of music study and music making “ to everyone in our country. Sincerely, Gary L.
Ingle Help the TCQAE Fight for Arts Education in Texas
We would like to invite you to become an Individual Member or Organization Member of the Texas Coalition for Quality Arts Education (TCQAE). The TCQAE is the nation's largest COALITION of arts, education, and parent organizations supporting fine arts (music, art, theatre, dance) programs in our schools, Pre-Kindergarten through college. We are a non-profit Statewide Service Organization of the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA). The upcoming Legislative year may be one of the most
important years for arts The TCQAE has accomplished much: SupportMusic.com
Receives Strong Boost as
Education Secretary Rod Paige Urges Schools Not to Cut Arts
Programs July
26, 2004 – Education Secretary Rod Paige gave a strong boost to
SupportMusic.com, the entity’s affiliates throughout the United
States and community-based arts and music education advocates
everywhere when he sent a two-page letter last week to America’s
school superintendents (approximately 16,000 nationwide) urging them
not to cut art programs. Secretary
Paige’s directive also encourages states and local communities to
access funding available through Department funding programs, or
Title programs, to support arts education programs.
The arts are identified as part of the core curriculum in No
Child Left Behind education legislation. SupportMusic.com
was launched in 2003 by the Music Education Coalition with the goal
of offering resources and information to parents, educators and
organizations to help guarantee music education to every student.
Since its inception, SupportMusic.com has joined with dozens
of national and local affiliates to generate support of music
education in schools. Secretary
Paige issued the letter after learning that arts education programs
are in trouble because of the No Child Left Behind Act. District leaders warned that state budget cuts and the focus
on math and reading in schools have limited arts instruction.
Paige appointed former National Endowment for the Arts
Education Director Doug Herbert as a special assistant to ensure
that the arts do not get shortchanged under NCLB. “As
I travel the country, I often hear that arts education programs are
endangered because of No Child Left Behind…It is disturbing and
just plain wrong,” Paige wrote.
“For both the important knowledge and skills they impart
and the ways in which they help students to succeed in school and in
life, the arts are an important part of a complete education… As
we work together to implement NCLB, let’s ensure that all children
have the opportunity to learn and grow in and through the arts.” “We
welcome Secretary Paige’s clear directive on the role that the
arts play in the overarching goals of the current No Child Left
Behind legislation,” states Mary Luehrsen, Director of Public
Affairs and Government Relations NAMM (International Music Products
Association) and Executive Director IFMR (International Foundation
for Music Research). “Research affirms the importance of
music and arts education as part of the core curriculum, equipping
children with the skills they need to create a positive future.
If we want to assure achievement and success for our children
both in school and in life, we must make sure that they have access
to music and the arts today and in the future. ” ABOUT
SUPPORTMUSIC.COM www.SupportMusic.com is
the source of information for the largest initiative ever in support
of school music programs. Dedicated
to inspiring action to support music education, the initiative
offers resources to parents and educators to help them impact
decision-makers to provide the funding, teachers and equipment
needed for music education. The
initiative was launched by the Music Education Coalition, an entity
formed by NAMM, the International Music Products Association and
MENC, the National Association for Music Education. To
find out how your organization can help keep music in schools log
onto www.SupportMusic.com. For
information contact: For more arts and advocacy links, click
here. |
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