“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
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Meritocracy: how to fix the problems
Tag: education
And how to ask a better question “What’s in it for me?” This is the underlying question almost everyone has running in the back of their minds. Someone makes you an offer and you automatically ask it. “What’s in it for me?” Parents ask a variation, “What’s in it for my child, my family?” It’s […]
There are several sizes of Ukulele. This instrument, from Hawaii, has had a major resurgence in the last decade or so. (If you’ve never heard of Jake Shimabukuro – just google him now.) And why not? It’s so fun! And portable! Plus you can get a really nice one for less than $100. The four most […]
My family loves to watch American Idol as well as The Voice. These competitive singing shows are fun and introduce a new audience to a lot of great songs, old and new. The shows are both well produced and fun and get you involved with each contestant’s story so that you care whether or not […]
What is the most important factor in a student? Many people would say it’s talent, or effort, or persistence, or luck or some combination of these. Behind all of this is something that is more important – the proper mindset. Recent research (Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007) has shown that there are two different mindsets among […]
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Some Kids Have A Secret Advantage
All parents want the best for their child and after-school is an opportunity for extra enrichment beyond the classroom. Yesterday, The Atlantic published an article, After-School Activities Make Educational Inequality Even Worse. The author, Hilary Levey Friedman, interviewed and followed 95 middle-class families over 16 months who were involved in soccer, dance and competitive […]
By Andrew Ingkavet With all of my students, I stress the importance of memorizing their pieces, especially for performance at a recital. Here’s some of the reasons why. Repetition is the Mother of Skill How many times did Tiger Woods hit a golf ball before ever entering a competition? Apparently he was already golfing at […]
I’ve been teaching how to count rhythm to most of my students using Michiko Yurko’s genius method of naming note values with easy and fun to say words. I highly recommend her book Music Mind Games for all music teachers and home-schoolers and interested parents.. For example, a one beat (quarter note) is called BLUE. […]
A new study in the journal Social Science Quarterly reveals that music participation, defined as music lessons taken in or out of school and parents attending concerts with their children, has a positive effect on reading and mathematic achievement in early childhood and adolescence.