The Education and the Changing World

ow important really is the teacher in the education sector? Many people rely heavily on the teacher at schools for the education of their children. At the same time, educational institutions also take pride of their teachers’ capabilities to impart knowledge on the youth. They invest heavily on recruiting the best teachers to be part of their staff. It seems, therefore, that these educators play a central role at schools and in the education sector, in general. In this article, the characteristics of a good teacher and his/her responsibilities will be discussed in an in-depth manner

Teachers are an integral part of a learning institution. You cannot find one school that has no teacher in its staff. Of course, it cannot be called a school if it does not have teachers. A teacher is a person who is responsible for conveying knowledge to the students to prepare the latter to become productive and competitive members of the society. As amply called, a teacher teaches the students on the relevant information, skills and experiences they need in accordance with the established curriculum.

A good teacher has the quality and capability of effectively conveying knowledge and wisdom to the students. This is important as the teachers are the trainers of the new generation of citizens, who will be the heirs to the society. It is the task of the teacher to train well and prepare the youth to face the challenges that will come upon them once they have graduated from school. A teacher has the responsibility of passing the knowledge from generations pass to the future caretakers of society. These tasks have been made greater by the development of society and the advancement of technology.

As society and technology progresses, the challenges that are facing the teachers are also becoming enormous. They must be able to cope with up with the rapidly advancing technology along with their teaching methods. At present, more and more students are hooked up with the Internet. Thousands of information, a number of which are harmful to the students, are posted on the web. This could prove detrimental on the learning process of the students. Teachers must be able to screen, or at least find a way to screen, these things or give clarifications on these unwanted information.

On the other hand, teachers can take advantage of the technological innovations. They can also use this technology to improve their teaching methods. If they are linked with other schools, they can use the convenience of the Internet to communicate with other teachers to share experiences, methods and information on effective teaching.

It can be said, therefore, that teachers are very important in the development of society. Without them, the passing of knowledge, accumulated from the past generations, to the new generation of caretakers of the society will not be possible. This responsibility bestowed upon their shoulders is an enormous task. The profession of teaching is one of the noblest professions in society. As the great philosopher Aristotle once said, there are only three true professionals in society; they are the lawyers, the doctors and the teachers.

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Alternative of Education

Alternative Night School and Credit Recovery are new programs that have been added to Elmira City School District’s already existing alternative day high school. Elmira City School District recognizes that students have varying learning styles. They also understand the difficulty that some students face when they become credit deficient. In response for the need to prevent increased drop out rates, and attempting to increase their graduation rates, the Elmira City School District added Alternative Night School and Credit Recovery programs.

It is the belief of the Elmira City School District (ECSD) that “Every Student Succeeds”, when in reality we know not every student succeeds in a traditional school environment (classroom settings, or even in a traditional school day). As a result, the Elmira City School District has organized and developed two additional alternative settings for high school students in their Credit Recovery and Night School also referred to as “Twilight” school. The addition of Credit Recovery and Twilight School brings the total number of alternative schools in Elmira to three, including an alternative school setting during normal school hours. These alternative settings assist in meeting not only student’s needs, but also the needs of the district to meet New York State graduation requirements and federal mandates such as No Child Left Behind.

Elmira’s Credit Recovery Program began in October 2007. Initially the program was offered in a central location, but as it expanded it was moved from the Alterative High School and offered at both Elmira Free Academy and Southside High schools. Classes meet for two hour sessions with two sessions an evening offered. The first session runs from 3:30-5:30 and the second session runs from 5:30-7:30. All sessions are Monday thru Thursday. Students receive approximately 26 hours of instruction for each course, which is six hours more than the State Education Department requires for credit recovery. Elmira City School’s alternative programs are funded through grants and a program entitled “Contract for Excellence”. As of June 2008, 195 credits have been awarded, thus reducing potential summer school enrollment and class size in day school by not repeating courses. Course offerings include, but are not limited to: English 9-12, Global Studies I & II, U.S. History and Government, Participation and Government, Economics, Algebra A, Geometry, Health, Living Environment, Biology, and Physical Education.

Credit Recovery is a collaboration of administration, teachers, students, and parents. The district provides students who meet strict eligibility requirements the opportunity for two credit recovery classes each afternoon. The class focuses on core content in the subject areas. Students and their parents sign an agreement to abide by the guidelines, which include attending all classes and completion of all work until proficiency is met. Credit Recovery instructors determine when a student reaches proficiency in the course to provide a passing grade.

Students who enter the Credit Recovery programs are assessed to determine areas of mastery and learning gaps. Their instruction will focus on individual areas of need. In some cases these courses may also provide opportunity for success on Regents exams. Research indicates that students who are unsuccessful at school are at a greater risk of dropping out. It is the belief and hope, that a Credit Recovery program will help those students identified as possible drop outs obtain academic success while having the potential to meet graduation requirements.

The following is a list of characteristics and best practices utilized by the ECSD as a foundation for Credit Recovery.

* An assessment of student’s strengths, weaknesses and instructional needs.
* Personalized learning plan and student goal-setting initiatives, with parents involved if possible.
* Flexibility in scheduling to meet the needs of a broad range of students.
* Computer assisted instruction is augmented by top notch teachers. This technology is effective but is no substitute for teacher centered instruction.
* Students enrolled may remain at their home schools.
* Credit received is applied towards graduation requirements.

Appromixemtently190 credits have been awarded this school year. Of these credits nearly 20-25 seniors from both Elmira Free Academy and Southside High school will graduate this June as a result of taking one or more Credit Recovery courses.

The second alternative school concept adopted by Elmira City School District is Night School or also referred to as “Twilight” school. This concept offers students supplement instruction allowing students to attend in a different setting and time. Many of the students attending night school are credit deficient, and utilizing Credit Recovery would not be an option. These students typically are several years behind. However, Night School is not limited to just these types of students. Some students have taken Night School classes to advance the number of credits needed to graduate, to either graduate early or free up time to take elective courses being offered at the traditional setting.

Night School is designed to supplement and/or replace academic classes available in day school. Eligibility for Night School requires students to be enrolled in one of the districts high schools, be credit deficient or academically ineligible to graduate with their cohort, and be referred by and administrator or school counselor.

Night School began in February 2008, upon approval from the Board of Education. Initially, approximately eighty students were recommended for the program. Each student receives an entrance interview by the superintendent, building administration, school counselor, and parent /guardian. Students receive 96 hours of instruction for 1 credit courses and 48 hours of instruction for .5 credit courses. Students attend from 3:30 to 7:30 Monday - Friday. Each student receives 3 hours of instructional times as well as 1 hour of physical education instruction. Courses meet for 32 instructional days for one credit course and 16 days for half credit courses. In addition each student who attends night school is eligable to receive a bagged lunch.

Half credit course offerings include, but are no limited to; Computer Applications, Careers, Art, Music Theory, and Health. A full credit course includes; English 9-12, Global I & II, U.S. History and Government, Participation in Government, Economics, Wildlife, Biology, Earth Science, Math A/ B and Geometry.

While meeting these goals Elmira City School District will provide quality schooling and education throughout the day and school year. These alternative settings will also help the district to successfully meet their vision that “Every Student Succeeds”, while understanding not every student succeeds in the same way. I believe that while these programs are great opportunities for our students, they also should not be a crutch. As these programs fall under the microscope of the community, I urge the community to realize that today’s students come to us with varying issues, and do not resemble students of ten or twenty years ago. It is our job as educators and the community to provide the best and least restrictive environment to educate our youth.

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Education for all children

Georgia G. Markea
Post-doc and PhD in Music Education,
University of London, Institute of Education
School Adviser for Music Education,
Based in Athens

We are all musical; we just need the opportunity’, claims Welch (2001) and certainly he is right. Music is a language and expressing it in words constitutes a natural activity for us; so also our need to sing derives from our very same nature. Music was born with speech. In ancient Greece indeed our language was called ‘prosodic’ because it was sung. As characteristically mentioned by ancient writers on harmony, ‘Greeks used to sing through words and speak through song’.

International research has shown that when children are born not especially gifted in music, if they begin from an early age to study a musical instrument they will develop further skills, with positive results not only in music, but also in whatever other field they choose. Indeed recent research (see Gorman, 2005) shows that involvement with music can check the destruction which occurs in brain cells with Alzheimer’s disease.

Nevertheless, the human brain in each case is musical. Consequently we are all able to sing, whether in tune or out of tune. Also, irrespective of the level of our musical abilities, we all have the same disposition to express musically, listen to, or perform ourselves the melodies which touch our hearts.

The fact that Music educators have students to teach who biologically are always in command of a musical brain significantly facilitates their work. In each case the Music educator can trust to the abilities of all his students regardlessly, as well as expressing high expectations for them. On the other hand, students could develop their skills to the highest level if at the same time they did the requisite practice (see Picture 1). This readiness to study is inspired in them chiefly by their teacher or by an individual from their background (family or friends) who they really love and through their progress want to please.

Even the exceptionally talented Mozart possibly would not have achieved the same success in music if he had not been so industrious as well. As characteristically mentioned in the book Mozart (see Solomon, 1995), this great composer was successful since ‘he simply wanted to learn music’. In short the existence of musical abilities which a musical brain affords is not sufficient. Even Mozart’s progress in music was significantly due to the fact that he actually studied a great deal. In constant study his true love guided him to music itself, a matter, however, which again stems from what you command, as we all do – a musical brain.

What occurs in the inner part of the human brain?

According to research carried out in the Centre concerned with the Education of Gifted Children on Rhode Island in America, one of the prevailing myths about our brain is that we employ only 10% of it. By contrast, in neurological studies carried out up to the present moment it has been demonstrated that there is not a single person on earth who has any part of the brain albeit small, unexploited. This favours us educators if a person considers that in the course of our teaching we address ourselves to students of whom 100% of their brain is functional. Besides, it leads us to stricter self-assessment when we measure the results of our teaching.

As regards what happens in our brains concerning the development of our musical skills, Trainor et al. (2002) confirm the view that our brains are musical from birth. The researchers in question claim that the registering of special elements of music takes place automatically in the human brain and consequently there exists a certain part of our brain which is mainly concerned with music.

According to research carried out, the brain of a professional musician who has begun studying music from a very early age presents a disproportionate size in the acoustic crust (see Zatorre et al., 1998; Pantev et al., 1998). Likewise, in a study by the pathologist Thomas Harvey on the brain of Einstein (his brain has been preserved for purposes of research) a small clot was located in his kinetic crust. This usually relates to musical ability. In fact Einstein played the violin from a very early age. One further finding from the same research which deserves to be mentioned is that genius in whatever branch of science or art has nothing to do with the size of the brain, but with difference in its structure (see www.press-argolida.blogspot.com). As noted, Einstein’s brain differs chiefly in this respect from the average.

Are the musically talented created or born?

We are all by our nature gifted with musical abilities. An exception is the case of ‘Congenital Amusia’ (see Peretz, 2001), which nevertheless most probably is acquired and brought on by damage to the brain chiefly owing to lack of a suitable environment during the course of critical periods for the development of musical ability. Also, one other special case for children is the exceptionally talented in music who could really survive or learn music no matter what the environment (see Markea, 2005).

Most students command a musical brain. Nevertheless, finally their development in music will depend chiefly on the environment in which they grow up. For all of us, our first favourite music was our mother’s singing when we were still in her womb. With her singing began the acquired development, just in our foetal stage, of our musical skills. Indeed, as has been demonstrated, it is of great significance whether our mother’s singing was in a musical tone. This will function as a ‘diapason’ and will later ‘tune’, correctly or not, our own singing also. Moreover, according to the musical preferences of the background in which we develop, we usually choose what music we will listen to for the rest of our lives.

The attempt to develop motivation for learning music from children’s backgrounds has been demonstrated also to contribute to their musical development. According to Deci & Ryan (1985), when students’ motivation proceeds from within themselves, they are instigated by external factors, or their behaviour is based on the choice which proceeds from their own decision and is boosted by their self-awareness, which is also the basis for autonomous orientation. According to McPherson & Davidson (2006) also, students succeed in music when they have acquired their own motivation, their own goals and sense of purpose for learning to play music. Then they will form their own methods for dealing with technical or musical difficulties on each occasion and will find under their own responsibility the way to secure the necessary time for their daily study as well as tailoring the world of their study according to their own tastes. Also, they will be able to evaluate their playing by themselves. In each case, even the exceptionally talented students, will have better results if they have close to them people (such as their teachers, parents or relatives and friends) to support them in their studies.

Gagné (1991; 1995) distinguishes the terms ‘gifted’ and ‘talented’. A gifted person is considered to be the one who has natural abilities in a certain field, while a talented person is one whose abilities are moulded and developed within the environment. In each case, whether we characterize a student as ‘talented’ or ‘gifted’ it will be difficult for us to evaluate with certainly the level of talent which he commands. And this is because even the students who attend the same classes never have the same truly musical background. This is usually influenced by the student’s musical environment (chiefly family). If children’s parents have the appropriate culture they will have succeeded in guiding them promptly to study music or at least to love the world of art. Also the social background of children can have a positive or negative influence on their interest in music as well as their performance in it.

The connection between innate musical talent and the appropriate learning environment is what leads to the most perfect outcomes in the Music lesson. Nevertheless, according to research carried out in the Greek environment (see Markea, 2005), it seems that the exceptionally talented students on each occasion get better results than their fellow-students, not however because of the teaching or the environment in which they develop, but chiefly because of their innate talent.

Conclusion

If we accept that we are all by nature musical, our expectations for our students can really become greater, but also the interest of the community in the Music lesson is in urgent need of being increased. In the contemporary Greek educational system which rests on interdisciplinariness, in accordance with which all topics complement each other, Music cannot but constitute in itself ‘nothing more nor less’ than a major lesson.

References

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-determination in Human Behavior. New York: Plenum.

Gagné, F. (1991). Toward a Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent. In N. Colangelo & G. A. Davis, Allyn & Bacon (Eds.), Handbook of Gifted Education. Boston: MA.

Gagné, F. (1995). From Giftedness to Talent: A Developmental Model and Its Impact on the Language of the Field. Roeper Review, 18(2), 103-111.

Gorman, C. (2005). Music and the Mind. www.time.com, 14 November 2005.

Markea, G. G. (2005). Talent in Piano Playing: A Study of Exceptionally Gifted Soloists. Athens: Athens Institute for Education and Research. ISBN 960-88672-1-5.

McPherson, G. E. & Davidson, J. W. (2006). Playing An Instrument. In G. E. McPherson (Ed.), The Child As Musician: A Handbook of Musical Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Pantev, C., Oostenveld, R., Engelien, A., Ross, B., Roberts, l. E., & Hock, M. (1998). Increased Auditory Cortical Representation. Nature, 392, 811-813.

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