Immediately following the release of the National Standards for Music
Education in 1994, MENC--The National Association for Music Education released
Opportunity-to-Learn Standards for Music Instruction as a guide to what
schools should provide to help students achieve both the National Standards for
Music Education in grades K-12 and the MENC prekindergarten music education
standards. MENC recommends that states either adopt these opportunity-to-learn
standards or use them as a basis for developing their own. The standards
challenge all who are committed to high-quality music instruction to work
together to improve the teaching and learning of music in the nation's
schools.
The writers of the opportunity-to-learn standards were well aware that new
technologies have an impact on the ways schools deliver music instruction.
Throughout the text of those standards, there are references to computers,
software, MIDI equipment, CD-ROMs, and other resources that are important to the
world of the music teacher, as well as essential to the world of music outside
the classroom. In the years since the publication of the opportunity-to-learn
standards, technologies useful for music education (as for all education) have
grown more capable, more varied, simpler to use, and certainly more
ubiquitous.
janie reneau on 26 Mar 11Many students feel exactly like this young girl did. We have to involve parents, students, and teachers in finding ways to help children succeed, not fail
