Music In The School

Description: How do some schools get music so right while others get it so wrong? Janet Mills, a former HMI and teacher, draws on work in more than 800 schools and published research as she seeks to help schools improve their practice - no matter how good it is already. Successful teaching, she argues, is creative, uplifting, enabling, and, above all, rooted in music. The aim of this book is to 'Put the music back into music'.Thought-provoking, challenging, and empowering, this book is an essential read for all those interested in music in schools, including class teachers, instrumental teachers, and researchers. Using informative and entertaining examples and anecdotes, Janet Mills criticizes notions such as 'musical children' and 'musical schools', and comments on the roles of instrumental teachers and so-called 'non-specialists'. She explores how music in school can, and must, interact with music out of school, and considers how to measure progress in music - and how not to. Music in the School is not a step-by-step guide to better teaching, but rather a springboard for consideration, reflection, and action. Anyone who cares about music at school will find this book a powerful tool. Review: Music in the School is a stimulating book that should be read by all involved in music education, and particularly by its main target audience: those who teach music in schools. Janet Mills brings to her writing a wealth of experience as teacher, researcher, author and inspector. Her prose is accessible, good humoured and contains much wisdom. It draws on a range of research evidence and integrates this well with examples of classroom practice. Music Teacher, Feb 06 Her latest book is typically provocative and thought-provoking ... Not everyone will agree with her prognoses - particularly those of less rigorous academic bent - but as a contributor to the education debate, Mills is a voice that simply cannot be ignored. Link, Summer 05 Table of Contents: Introduction; All change?; Teaching music musically; Creating, interpreting, and responding to music; Making music; Teaching instruments musically; How not to teach music musically; The musical student; The musical school; What music?; Making progress in music; The other eighteen hours; Why is music so boring?; Learning from research