Music Educators Journal

The process of music education is often colored by the competitiveness of our society. James Austin, an assistant professor of music education at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, discusses the questions surrounding competition and suggests ways in which teachers can answer them.

The opportunities for study presented by Advanced Placement courses offer your highly motivated students the chance to learn even more. Richard Colwell, distinguished professor of music education at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, looks at these classes and suggests how they might be used in school programs.

The effective teaching of college students requires strategies that are appropriate to the students' level. Robert A. Cutietta, assistant professor of music at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, explains that teachers may have to adopt different teaching styles to match the needs of individual groups of students.

Beginning instrumental study calls for many of the skills that are developed in elementary general music programs---and it can incorporate many of the same techniques. Vernon Burnsed, associate professor of music, and Pamela Fiocca, assistant professor of music at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, explain how.

The recent trend toward statewide teacher evaluation systems may reflect unfairly on music teachers. As Donald K. Taebel, associate professor of music at Georgia State University, Atlanta, explains, state evaluation instruments often fail to recognize the special techniques used by music educators.

The end of a job can be a new beginning! Jana R. Fallin, an associate professor of music education at Kansas State University in Manhattan, tells how you can turn the loss of a position into a chance to broaden your professional horizons.

Getting professional musicians involved in your program can educate students and gain the community's respect at the same time. Lynn Kleinman, a teacher at Memorial Junior High School in Mentor, Ohio, recounts her school's experiences with members of a professional opera company in producing The Mikado.