Latest Education Articles http://www.articlee.com/ Articles at ArticleE Directory en-us Strategies and Styles in Teaching Music http://www.articlee.com/education/strategies-and-styles-in-teaching-music.html http://www.articlee.com/education/strategies-and-styles-in-teaching-music.html Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:36:21 -0600 Teaching music is vital for every student’s progress for it empowers our creative side. This makes us well-rounded persons. However, it does not gain as much interest from students as other subjects do. Music, for some, is just another part of the curriculum, or an icebreaker from their tedious academic load.

Nonetheless, the music teacher can make this subject more interesting and a lot of fun. This could actually be a venue for students to harness a talent or even discover a pursuit that some have never realized. Thus, the key here is to draw enthusiasm from students towards music.

For instance, the seemingly boring topic on musical theories finds an ally in interactive programs, mostly thru computers. There are online and downloadable activities available wherein students can learn and adopt in more enjoyable and interesting ways, such as in the forms of quizzes, activities or games. At the same breath, teachers will be able to assess their students’ learning.

But the fun comes when these theories are put into action! It appears that one of the best ways to attract students’ interest in music is by teaching them skills in playing music. The ability to play musical instruments, or even the process of learning them, allows the students to be directly involved in music.

Of course, music teaching styles differ for every educational level. But suffice it to say that it goes from simple to more complex as students advance. This will depend on their interests and priorities at that stage.

Younger children would probably appreciate encompassing music to children’s literature. Youngsters learn their first music usually through nursery rhymes. Incorporating movements with music would possibly prick their interests by playing games with musical accompaniments or while singing game songs.

For older students, they may be trained to play more complex musical instruments. They may also be introduced to interactive activities online, since they are more mature to practice responsible access of internet resources.

Older students can also be introduced to more complicated musical concepts. Teachers can impart them via lectures or sample music or songs that relate or exemplify some definite and certain principles. Self-confidence can also be fostered by asking students to partake in musical activities or performances that showcase their talents.

Furthermore, students, both young and old, can be encouraged to make their own musical compositions. It will enable them to have an almost “concrete” grasp on music, both how it works and how they can make it work for them.

A basically new and critical strategy for music teachers is tapping technologies. Technological advances in making music, listening to music, and even sharing music must be exploited by music educators. A wide array of computer software, being mostly interactive, entails students’ full attention, and promotes both rational and creative thinking among them.

Resources for music teachers are abundant. They can be found both inside and outside the classrooms, and even in virtual reality. What is crucial is that music teachers actually tap these varied resources, to put color and vibrancy to music teaching…and learning!

]]> Music Teacher Resources at Your Fingertips http://www.articlee.com/education/music-teacher-resources-at-your-fingertips.html http://www.articlee.com/education/music-teacher-resources-at-your-fingertips.html Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:26:57 -0600

Music is not a theoretical subject like Science or Math that is why it is arguably more challenging to teach such. Music teachers must then tap resources to further augment, enhance and improve their teaching competence. Instructional strategies, methodologies and materials, including various music teacher resources have been developed thru the years that most music teachers use for their lessons.

 

One such approach is the Kodály method, which stresses the benefits of physical instruction and response to music. It resides within a fun, educational framework built on a solid grasp of basic music theory and music notation in various verbal and written forms. Trademark methods include the use of solfege hand signals, musical shorthand notation (stick notation) and rhythm solmization (verbalization).

 

Another is the Orff Schulwerk, which begins with a student’s innate abilities to engage in music, using basic rhythms and melodies. It encourages improvisation and discourages adult pressures and mechanical drills. To accommodate the requirement of the approach, a special group of instruments was developed from modifications of the glockenspiel xylophone, metallophone, drum, and other percussion instruments.

 

The Suzuki method, meanwhile, uses music education to enrich the lives and moral character of its students by creating the same environment for learning music that a person has for learning their native language. Love, high quality examples, praise, and a timetable set by the student’s developmental readiness for learning a particular technique make up this said environment.

 

Swiss musician and educator Émile Jaques-Dalcroze also worked out a method divided into three fundamental concepts – the use of solfege, improvisation, and eurhythmics. The last, the method’s trademark, teaches concepts of rhythm, structure and musical expression using movement. It allows the student to gain physical awareness and experience of music through training utilizing all senses, particularly kinesthetic.

 

Other notable methods include Gordon Music Learning Theory, which provides the music teacher a comprehensive method and resources for teaching musicianship through audiation, the developer Edwin E. Gordon's term for hearing music in the mind with understanding. Another is Conversational Solfege, which views music as an aural art with a literature based curriculum. The scheme consists of rhythm and tonal patterns and decoding the patterns using syllables and notation.

 

The Carabo-Cone or Sensory-Motor Approach to Music, on the other hand, involves using props, costumes, and toys for children to learn basic musical concepts of staff, note duration, and the piano keyboard. In Manhattanville Music Curriculum Project (MMCP), meanwhile, students are given freedom to create, perform, improvise, conduct research and investigate different facets of music in a spiral curriculum.

 

New methods for community music education in urban setting are Applied Groovology and Path Bands. It advocates parents encouraging their children to more freely experience the natural joys of improvised music and dance though “grooving and dandling”. Path Bands, in particular, use improvised multicultural brass bands for active lifelong participation in music.

 

New methodologies and strategies are sure to arise. These will be welcome addition to the accepted set. Yet, no matter how many choices there exist, any noble music teacher would choose only what he thinks is best.

 

]]> Music Teacher Website: An Effective Tool in Learning and Teaching Music http://www.articlee.com/education/music-teacher-website-an-effective-tool-in-learning-and-teaching-music.html http://www.articlee.com/education/music-teacher-website-an-effective-tool-in-learning-and-teaching-music.html Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:17:48 -0600

It is true that no one could stop anyone who insists to learn right. That is why it has been a good news to everyone that we are evolving to a much high-tech system year by year. Because of new trends and technology, people have created lots of stuffs that could help and make the lifestyle of people from different walks of life not that much complex and complicated. This even includes teaching and learning music. There have been many developments in making music learning and teaching fun and a hit. This is the same reason music teacher websites are intended and made for.

 

Nowadays, one of this useful and helpful ways that people usually rely on is this music teacher website. The website has been the simplest and quickest way of finding, gathering, browsing and a lot more in search for everything we tend to look for – all in relevance with music. It is just as simple as clicking and browsing the net; then, instantly you could get the information you need.

 

Thus, you can also achieve the desired outcome you are looking for, without the need of stepping outside to your house. That is why most people habitually surf through online net with a similar and certain purpose. As Internet has become the window to the global world, no wonder, music teachers also use the website to have an easier and a more accessible method to reach out to those people who want to explore and get into the world of music.

 

Through this music teacher website, those people who have their interests in and questions in mind about music can actually be easily found and accessed. This is the quickest way a music teacher website helps and aids those music teachers and as well as those people who want to be taught, trained, and educated more about music.

 

More so, this type of music-related website lessens the difficulty of searching for more and different forms of music teaching style, music lesson or anything about music. In fact, there are several created websites that has been established, which pertain to Music Teacher Website. This mostly includes general information, music lessons, activities, games, and the likes, all with regard and relevance to music.

 

Hence, in this website, there are specified ways in which people can learn music via net by simply following the indicated lesson plans and other instructions given by that particular site. Such is also consisted of communication of music teachers to their students by means of giving surveys to their students for the enhancement of the music teaching approaches and strategies.

 

In addition, with the outgrowing number of the website that are concern to music, music teacher, music lesson, music instruments, and more on about music this will give great help to everyone. May be, these benefit all – not only the students, but also those people who willingly like to enter such a website that can give them an overview and connection to music.

 

]]> Darwin's Conversion http://www.articlee.com/education/darwins-conversion.html http://www.articlee.com/education/darwins-conversion.html Sat, 29 Nov 2008 02:25:32 -0600
Much is usually made of both these incidents, but God fearing Christians and creationists need not take solace from these stories. Even if we grant that Darwin did repent at the end of his life, and also that he never said that man evolved from monkeys, it does not help the present state of evolutionary dogma.

Irrespective of what Darwin might have said or taught, the Theory Of Evolution has become a mighty philosophical force today. It is a thinking meant to oppose all belief in God, and therefore one should spend time in exposing its fallacies instead of taking comfort in Darwin's alleged conversion. However, to set the matters straight, in this article we will give some information about Darwin's religious (or irreligious) faith.

To start with, Darwin was born in a Christian family, but he was never a deeply religious person. On the contrary, it is obvious that from a very young age he had started disbelieving in God and this attitude kept on hardening with the years. If anyone reads his "The Autobiography Of Charles Darwin" he will be surprised to note that in this book Darwin advances various arguments against spiritual belief. In fact, all the arguments that atheists, agnostics, and secular humanists bring against God today can be found explained and defended here.

Darwin had a strong belief that this world with the unbelievably complex life-forms that are seen can be explained without appealing to the doctrine of creation. This means that, in all possibility, the primary purpose behind investigation of nature was not to discover unknown scientific truths about God's creation, but to lend support to his feelings against God and the Christian faith.

Since many of his family members and close friends were God-fearing Christians, his wife and well wishers often used to press him not to express his atheistic ideas too explicitly. Because of this wish, Darwin's rejection of spiritual beliefs has never come out openly before others. However, a careful reading of his writings leaves no doubt in these subject.

After much deliberation Darwin finally decided that the Old Testament is manifestly false history of the world, and that the Tower of Babel and the record of the giving of Rainbow was all only imaginations. The God mentioned in the Old Testament was a revengeful tyrant who was no more to be trusted than the gods mentioned in the sacred books of the barbarian races. He concluded further that there is nothing like a revelation from God. The miracles mentioned in the Old and the New Testament were completely false because they are just not possible. The gospel accounts are full of historical errors and contradictions, etc.

Darwin was against teaching belief in God to children because, according to him, this would interfere with the their intellectual growth in future.

After all this we are told that there is a very famous story that at the end of his life, Darwin repented of all what he had done. It is said that he expressed his newfound belief in Bible to a certain Lady Hope.

Many creationist investigators have tried to verify this story, but could not find any historical evidence whatsoever to support it. This means that it is better for Christians not to repeat this story without further confirmation. Even if this story is confirmed in future, it is not going to affect the teaching of the Theory Of Evolution. It is because even though Darwin is the father of the modern theory of evolution, the present day teaching of evolution does not depend upon what Darwin said or did not say.

The theory of evolution has become a mighty philosophical force, which is being promoted knowingly or unknowingly for doing away with belief in a Creator. This teaching will not at all be affected by anything that might be reported from the life of Darwin.

Instead of taking comfort in the alleged spiritual conversion of Darwin, concerned people should devote their time and attention to how the foundations of evolution can be exposed scientifically and rationally. Science has built-in methods of evaluation that can be used to test any assumption. Science has built in methods of checking its own theories, and when these tests are applied to the Theory Of Evolution, this theory starts to crumble. This is the reason why suddenly there is a flood of scientific books against Darwinism.

Scientific theories must be proposed on the basis of firm logical and scientific foundations If the foundation is shaky, the theory will also be shaky. At this level it is easy to expose the fallacy of any theory, including the Theory Of Evolution. so instead of taking comfort in the alleged spiritual conversion of Darwin, let us concentrate on the theory of evolution directly. Only this will guarantee that this false philosophical system does not sell itself to our youngsters in the name of science. ]]> More Loyal Than The King Himself http://www.articlee.com/education/more-loyal-than-the-king-himself.html http://www.articlee.com/education/more-loyal-than-the-king-himself.html Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:27:14 -0600
The blind faith in evolution has produced a whole breed of scientists and writers who will just not look at the whole matter objectively. As a result, they are not only ignoring the new evidences against this theory, but are also still teaching as true things that have been discredited long ago.

The greatly acclaimed "fossil-man" is one such example. The Piltdown man was exposed to be a fake, but it is still mentioned in many books as a proof of evolution. The Neanderthal man has been proved to be fully human, but he is still depicted in biology textbooks as an ape-man. The older and distorted pictures of Neanderthal man are still published even though it is based upon a wrong reconstruction. Java man is still an object of respect. But several decades from today, its discoverer had confessed that he had cheated the whole world to get a name and reputation for Java man !
The Embryological proof of Ernest Haeckel was a deception. He had made numerous pictures of human and animal embryos, and claimed that these pictures showed how the human embryo passes through a number of animal stages -- through which it had evolved in the past. But after some years other researchers found that it was all a deception, and then Prof. Haeckel was tried by the Jena University Court. He was found guilty, and he not only confessed his deception but also alleged that many of the best men working in different fields of biology were guilty of similar practices. But even eighty years after it was all exposed as
fraud, the Embryological proof is still being taught in a number of textbooks around the world !!

The general impression which people have of scientists is that they are men, completely detached from all forms of biases and prejudices, having only one aim -- the discovery of truth. This world would have been a simpler place to live if this were so ! A number of researched books and scientific papers have appeared recently which show that scientists do have their own biases and prejudices, and that they even cheat the process of science to maintain/prove their point of view. Obviously, this habit will be carried into the writing of textbooks also. They have found that the probability of cheating and bias is highest in Biological sciences !! This is the most interesting modern illustration of being "more loyal than the king himself !" The alleged proofs have been discredited, but even several decades after the exposure they still cling to those nonexistent proofs !

It is very strange how we the human beings behave. Plenty of people belonging to the evolutionary camp demand that Christians should abandon their belief in Bible because it is alleged to contain many errors. These allegations have never been demonstrated to be true, yet they feel it a sufficient cause to abandon faith in Bible. On the other hand, when the same people are confronted those with proofs of evolution which have been discredited by their own scientific companions, they refuse to reject the theory of evolution. Not only that, but to top it all, they still cling to the discredited proofs to support the theory of evolution.

Everyone will realize at once that we have a very interesting case in our hands. There are two groups here. The Bible-believers, and the evolutionists. The evolutionists demand that belief in Bible should be abandoned because many people have alleged it to be full of errors. These errors have never been demonstrated, but according to them, the allegation itself is enough ground to reject the Bible. But on the other hand, when the evolutionists are told that all of their classic proofs supporting evolution have fallen from favour or have been disproved, they maintain that it is not enough to shake their faith in evolution. Further, they are not willing to accept discredited proofs as false or contrary to evolution.

Obviously, the evolutionists are not being very scientific towards their theory, nor are they being very charitable towards those who would like to believe in the Bible. The objective reader is invited to investigate the matter further and come to his own conclusion ! ]]>