Author Archives: mllama4

dinosaur farts

Posted on September 20, 2014 by mllama4

R – “What are you going to do with your life to be more than a dinosaur fart? Think about it! Can you imagine what that must have been like back then? A big deal, right? But what lasting impact … Continue reading →

Posted in Etcetera | 2 Comments

failure

Posted on August 30, 2014 by mllama4

R – I embarrass easily. It is not one of my finer traits, and even less one I’m particularly proud of. What that has meant in practice – throughout my entire life – is to resist the opportunity to take … Continue reading →

Posted in Etcetera | Leave a comment

be bop a lula

Posted on August 23, 2014 by mllama4

R – Back at the advent of Rock and Roll, the original host of the Tonight Show, Steve Allen, had a routine where he would take a popular song and read the lyrics as prose. The sheer ridiculousness of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment, Standards | Leave a comment

have it both ways

Posted on June 14, 2014 by mllama4

R – One of the core issues I have with High School music programs in this country is that they often pass themselves off as academic and essential while not being so in practice, placing an emphasis on non academic goals or meeting the needs of … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Assessment, Standards | 1 Comment

what would happen

Posted on May 31, 2014 by mllama4

R – What would happen if… …students universally had more music instruction in their lives each week in 2014 than they did during the Roosevelt administration (pick either Roosevelt)? …music teachers universally used their programs primarily to educate the musically illiterate rather than … Continue reading →

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fatigue

Posted on May 24, 2014 by mllama4

R – I’ve never written on this blog before about feeling worn down. I’m feeling worn down. Fatigued. It is the closing of a school year that has been a good one in so many ways. As a matter of … Continue reading →

Posted in Etcetera | 1 Comment

dream come true

Posted on May 10, 2014 by mllama4

R – In the Summer of 2010, Argy Nestor, then the Visual and Performing Arts Specialist at the Maine Department of Education, called me up and asked me if I would be willing to take a week in August to attend … Continue reading →

Posted in Etcetera | 1 Comment

unattainable

Posted on May 3, 2014 by mllama4

R – “Let’s realize first that the arts are not an ivory tower of retreat. They are a doing. They are a making. They are sweat, strain, cramps, blisters, tears, blood, profanity and mocking laughter.” – Robert Shaw Vivaldi’s Gloria, … Continue reading →

Posted in Music is work, Performance, Rehearsal | 1 Comment

nhmea

Posted on April 12, 2014 by mllama4

R – I had the joy of presenting two workshops and a reading session for the New Hampshire Music Educators state conference yesterday and it was a blast. Wonderful to see former students-now-teachers, friends and colleagues as we talked shop … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Assessment, Etcetera, Standards | 2 Comments

building bridges out of witches

Posted on April 5, 2014 by mllama4

R – I had three moments this week that were on the one hand completely unrelated, and on the other completely tied into genuine fears I have about the juncture we’re at in education right now. We’re at a crossroads philosophically, but decisions are being made … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment, Standards | 2 Comments