DISQUS

Brenda Muench · 7 months ago

I think the idea of using your current position as a music education student to facilitate discussions with professors and other students is a wonderful idea!!! I think many folks could benefit from the information you could produce. For me it would be great to hear what professors at the college level are thinking about the process of educating future teachers. There's not really a nice way to connect current teachers "in the field" with professors in colleges around the nation unless you are taking a class toward a degree. There is so much we could learn from each other!

Andy Zweibel · 7 months ago

Brenda-

You make a really great point! Discussions with professors and administrators can not only benefit other college students, but also the elementary and secondary teaching community, who probably don't get the opportunity to have discussions with these higher-education professionals!

Thanks for visiting, and thanks for the awesome podcast you and Carol do; it's a big inspiration!

Aram P · 7 months ago

I like it. It's kinda like having a workshop but available to massive amounts of people...

Andy Zweibel · 7 months ago

Thanks for the comment, Aram! That's a great way of thinking of it! The great part is that there can then be discussion on the subjects of each episode's "workshop" topic in the comments here online, where the episodes of the podcast are published!

As I think of it more and more, I think that I'm going to give this a try!

Steve · 6 months ago

I can relate to your feelings. When I decided to pursue my teaching credential and Master's degree simultaneously, one prof commented to me that it was impossible to be a "master" teacher when I had never taught full time. He had a good point; now that I've been out in the field a while, my focus and thesis would be different than they were back then.

You are in a unique position. As a college student, your blog can provide help to other college students and potential music majors. How about posts on topics like "top myths about music degrees" or "what my high school teachers didn't tell me about college"?

Also, you have a fresh perpective on music education and may not be as jaded as the rest of us in the field. You might be more apt to think of new ideas and approaches, while veteran teachers might be inclined to think of all the reasons why certain ideas wouldn't work.

Keep on blogging! And as for the podcast: Go for it! I'd love to hear more podcasts about music education that aren't so focused on technology. Again, you have the unique opportunity to interview fellow college students as well as your profs. And maybe your profs can direct you to local music teachers worth interviewing.

Andy Zweibel · 6 months ago

Thanks so much for your thoughts, Steve! I've been reading your blog for a long time, and love hearing your thoughts on teaching!

I love those topics you suggested (they were already on my list!) And you make a very interesting point about being more open to new ideas and having a fresh perspective.

I'll be sure to let you know when the podcast goes live! Thanks again for visiting!

emma · 6 months ago

hey - don't know if you've seen this yet but it seems pretty up your alley.

http://www.dci.org/news/view.cfm?news_id=7ddca0...

DCI and MENC are forming an educational partnership. cool!

Andy Zweibel · 6 months ago

Ha! As a matter of fact, I was at the DCI event last night where this was announced! I'm at MENC's Music Ed Week this weekend in Washington :)

Thanks for the heads up!

music teacher · 6 months ago

You, indeed, have a great informative blog. Your posts provide a lot of useful tips and references about various topics in music. Please continue writing your stuffs.

Thanks for sharing us your music teaching resources! Also visit this music teacher blog for more tips and resources.

ed2 · 5 months ago

Some of the better podcasts I have seen, actually get a community around them to do guest podcasts, so when you're busy, the community lives on. You can bring in experts to do podcasts, or with permission, rebroadcast an episode from someone else's relevant topic. Looks like you've got a good start here.

Andy Zweibel · 5 months ago

Thanks, Ed, and thanks for your great comments! I ended up ditching the podcast idea, and instead going to a website, which you can find at http://musicedmajor.net if you're interested! Thanks for your great comments!