Author Archives: mllama4

george seurat and choral performance

Posted on May 4, 2013 by mllama4

R – The first of my two Portland Community Chorus performances was last night and I was really pleased with how it went. There were gobs of moments where I feel the chorus captured the artistic intents of the composers … Continue reading →

Posted in Performance | 3 Comments

the interconnected circles

Posted on April 3, 2013 by mllama4

R – As a follow up to my initial discussion around spot on teaching, I want to elaborate on my thoughts around that true balance between the three domains (circles) of 1) developing in students an interest and love for … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Etcetera, Standards | Leave a comment

leschetizky had it right

Posted on March 30, 2013 by mllama4

R – My standards based head exploded a little bit when I read a great blog post earlier this morning over my Saturday coffee which really resonated with me: are you a diametrically opposed teacher. Natalie is referring to Theodor Leschetizky (1830-1915), … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment, Standards | 2 Comments

spot on teaching

Posted on March 23, 2013 by mllama4

R – Yesterday I had correspondences with two colleagues of mine, both of whom coincidentally are former students as well. One of them forwarded me a wonderful blog post on the value of music education to 21st century learners (please … Continue reading →

Posted in Music is work, Rehearsal | 7 Comments

process vs. product

Posted on March 16, 2013 by mllama4

R – “We should not judge people by their peak of excellence; but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started.” – Henry Ward Beecher. There isn’t a music teacher alive who doesn’t already understand the … Continue reading →

Posted in Etcetera | 2 Comments

nothing to learn from beginning teachers

Posted on March 2, 2013 by mllama4

R – Okay, I’ll let you in on a pet peeve of mine. Ready? When you say “first or second year teacher”, many people automatically speak in their “oh, isn’t that cute” voice.  As they begin to have a conversation … Continue reading →

Posted in Etcetera | 6 Comments

lessons from my sports legends, part 2

Posted on February 9, 2013 by mllama4

R – There are two more things that immediately come to mind when I think of Larry Bird, Carl Yastrzemski, Dale Earnhardt Sr and Tom Brady. 3) Work hard at getting better; work hard all the time. Yaz was in his mid … Continue reading →

Posted in Etcetera | 3 Comments

lessons from my sports legends, part 1

Posted on January 19, 2013 by mllama4

R – My guilty pleasure in life – and I am painfully aware that this being the case reflects the necessity of my needing to lead a more interesting life – is listening to WEEI Sports Radio on the way … Continue reading →

Posted in Etcetera | 3 Comments

stephen smith and peter pan

Posted on January 12, 2013 by mllama4

R – In my last post, and a few others as well I believe in the last year, I alluded to my KSC sophomore education professor, Stephen Smith. I could write a book on the lessons he taught his students, … Continue reading →

Posted in Etcetera | 7 Comments

thank you

Posted on December 22, 2012 by mllama4

R – I’ll tell you later why I’m writing this post this morning, but first I want to allude to two former teachers who had a profound impact on me. The first is Stephen Smith, my Intro to Education professor … Continue reading →

Posted in Etcetera | 2 Comments