Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God, But only he who sees, takes off his shoes; The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries. Elizabeth Barrett Browning I recently came across this quote and had an immediate, visceral response. Brilliant! So insightful. Leave it to Elizabeth to knock it out of […]
Inspiration
Alice Parker’s Keynote Address at the 2021 ACDA National Conference
Transcription of the address presented March 19, 2021 Greetings, dear Friends and Colleagues. It’s a pleasure and an honor for me to be with you today. The only thing I wish is that we could be here together and singing. That would be the best. But since that’s denied us for the moment, let me […]
Off The Podium: Inspiration, Part 1
In the contemporary climate of data-driven education, you don’t hear much about inspiration in the popular rhetoric about music education and its role and purpose in the lives of children. But in fact the music teacher’s most important responsibility is to inspire her students. Inspiration is difficult to assess and, if acknowledged at all, often […]