Thank you for extending to us the opportunity to express our views at the meeting on May 3rd.We appreciated the frank and open discussion and are confident that you will convey our views to the Board of Regents.
As you requested, here is a summary of our views as expressed at the meeting:
Arts Endorsement for Elementary Teachers
·We believe that preK-2 grades are critical to the formation of basic music concepts (e.g. pitch discrimination, sense of rhythm, vocal production) and that the skills necessary to properly and safely develop these cannot be gained by non musicians in 12 – 15 hours.
·Certified music teachers incorporate the methods of Orff and Kodaly, teach instruments and songs, organize drum circles and are sensitive to the development of the very young voice.The amount of material to be learned is challenging for an undergraduate music education major who has already demonstrated skill and talent in music.
·We understand that the annotation is meant as “additional preparation” for common branch teachers, but our experience tells us that school principals will see this as an SED endorsement that these few hours are all that is needed.
·We believe that classroom teachers will avoid or put off teaching music if they are uncomfortable with it or simply relegate music instruction to playing recordings.
·This annotation was a request from New York City schools to improve music instruction in the many NYC schools that do not have certified music teachers.It would, however, impact the entire state, including the non-city elementary schools (virtually all) that now have certified music and art teachers in place.From our experience, we believe that this is likely to result in some rural and suburban schools moving away from certified teachers to save money.This is a particular danger in the current fiscal climate.
·We believe that students in New York City deserve the same high level of instruction as student in the rest of the state!
·For the past few years we have heard from a variety of sources (e.g. NCLB) about the need for “highly qualified” teachers.This annotation hardly exemplifies that and in some schools may result in just the opposite.
Expansion of Middle Level Arts Requirements
·NYSSMA supports expanding opportunities for students in the areas of dance and drama, but not in lieu of the current requirements in music and visual art.
·We are very concerned with unintended consequences that we believe will be realized if only one or two of the four arts are accepted.There will be great temptation to use such regulations for expedient and short term solutions (e.g. cost cutting, scheduling by guidance counselors) without regard for the sequential nature of established music programs.Our experience is that a student dropped from orchestra for scheduling, for example, almost never returns to the program.Their instruction on violin or cello is in effect terminated.
·We are concerned that regulations designed to solve problems in New York City will have a negative impact on rural and suburban school districts where music and visual art programs are in place and taught by certified music and art teachers.
If you need further clarification of our views or seek additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thank you, again, for meeting with us in Albany.We share the common goal of providing the best and most complete education for all children in New York State.
