Welcome to MUE 544.
I am delighted that you have choosen to join us this semester. One of the things that I've learned over the years is that the frenetic and hecktic life of school leaves little time for thinking. Once the year begins it's all hands on deck until the final whistle blows in late May. With so much "doing" we can't find time to think, let alone reflect. However, research tells us that reflection is an invaluable part of improving our pedagogy. In my own research I have come to discover that lasting changes in pedagogy are the result of changes in the way in which we think. There is a phrase that I learned in Reggio Emilia, Italy that seems to capture the message I'm attempting to communicate here. per portare cambiamento ci vuole il coraggio di uscire del noto e conosciuto. The literal translation is "To bring change we need the courage to get out of the known." To get out of the known. To get out of familiar ways of thinking, familiar patterns of thought. This is more difficult than it may at first appear because, after all, we are all creatures of habit. And, habits are hard to break. What I attempt to do in this course to to begin a slow process of bringing about a change in the way you think about music and about music education.
