Talking Up Music Education is a podcast from The NAMM Foundation about music education. In episode two, host Mary Luehrsen interviews Dr. Nola Jones, coordinator of visual and performing arts from Metro Nashville Public Schools.
“One of the students in our world percussion class got accepted into Berkeley,” said Jones. “We’re seeing not just statistics, but we’re seeing faces and names and children, and that to me is the most compelling.”
Sound bites from the podcast:
“We’re seeing that a buzz creates a buzz, and a rising tide raises all boats. We’ve embedded music in our curriculum, with greater fidelity and greater consistency.” - Nola Jones
“Music is a vehicle. If you can get a child involved and excited about making music…it’s a bridge to something wonderful.” – Nola Jones
“Teachers need to know that they can come into the classroom and take their individual passion and expertise and make it part of the plan. Then it’s magic.” – Mary Luehrsen
“We’re at a real crossroads in music education. Teacher evaluation is going to change nationally. There’s a national trend toward valuing teachers and evaluating arts teachers on what’s going on in the arts classroom and not the standardized test scores in the building, and if we don’t move that way, we’re endorsing the belief that what we do doesn’t matter.”
Talking Up Music Education is a podcast produced by The NAMM Foundation about music education. Host Mary Luehrsen chats with teachers, parents, students and community leaders who share stories about what they are doing to create music learning opportunities. Please download, share and subscribe to keep up with the stories that make a difference in music education advocacy.