Choral Caffeine: That First Word

The very first word in the National Standards for Music Education is . . .

 

                                    SINGING

 

I’ve always thought that was pretty cool.

 

Yes, of course, the standards have been with us for more than a decade.  Yet it’s worth noting that the National Standards for Music Education is an educational reform that has been proven to actually work.

 

Because they are successful, it is worth re-acquainting ourselves with the core of their merit.  In his article “Using the National Standards for Choral Teaching” (ICDA Notations, Vol.23, No.1), James Fronczek provides a concise checklist of ways to use the nine points of the National Standards in a choral environment.

 

“Choral teachers around the country are finding that the standards are making their jobs more interesting to themselves and to their students as well as preparing them for future testing which is just around the corner in the arts. In all likelihood you are probably using the standards more than you think. It is not difficult to do.”

 

(To access the full article, simply click the highlighted title. For additional articles on a dazzling array of choral topics, visit  ChorTeach.)