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Vote for MENC in the Chase Community Giving Campaign

05/20/11 By 3 Comments

Andy Ritenour here to offer a bit of a challenge to all of you. As you may or may not have heard, MENC is in Round 2 of voting in the Chase Community Giving Campaign. They have survived Round 1 by being in the top 100 charities with the most votes. They have made it to round 2, but to win the $500,000 at stake, they must be the charity with the most number of votes. This is where you come in.

The Challenge

The first step of our challenge is for you to go and vote. It is super easy and only takes about 30 seconds of your time. All you have to do is:

  1. Click this link
  2. “Like” Chase Community Giving
  3. Vote for MENC

That was the easy, yet necessary part of the challenge. Now for the real challenge. After you have voted, get at least 10 of your Facebook Friends to vote for MENC in the Chase Community Giving campaign! There are quite a few ways to do this:

  • Message you friends and tell them why it is important to vote for MENC.
  • Invite all of your friends to the Facebook event Vote for MENC in the Chase Community Giving Project and encourage them to do the same with all of their friends.
  • Post on your friends’ walls.

Why Vote for MENC?

As part of the requirements to move on to Round 2 of the voting, MENC had to put their Big Idea in words, telling how they would spend the $500,000. Their ideas are very noble ones:

Creativity, discipline, teamwork … just a few of the life-long benefits of music study.  But kids across the country are losing access to music as school programs are cut back or eliminated.   The most affected are those who need it most – kids in underserved communities.  We will use $150,000 to provide 100 grants of $1000 -$2500 to school music programs in the most underserved areas to help students achieve success through music.  We will use $150,000 to develop resources and to provide training to help teachers create music programs with strong foundations and also to help those whose programs are facing budget cuts.  We will use $200,000 for a national web/social media campaign to encourage kids to study music and others to support school music programs.  We will feature teachers and students in programs that have received grants – to show what is at risk and what stands to be gained.  Our BIG IDEA:  The study and making of music by all

In addition, here is a video created by MENC to show their Big Idea:

Do Your Part!

With over 70,000 members in MENC, getting enough votes for this grant shouldn’t be a problem. So now we are calling upon you to do your part to help music education! As of this morning, MENC was in 51st place with a mere 614 votes (1st place has over 5,000 votes). To catch up, we need not only for you to vote, but for you AND 10 of your friends to vote for MENC! In order for MENC to stand a chance, they need YOU to vote and spread the word! With the state of education today, we all know that Music Education can certainly use this money. So please step up to the challenge: Vote and spread the word to win $500,000 for music education!

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100 Music Education Majors Tweeting!

01/08/11 By 1 Comment

Happy New Year! It’s time to get 100 Music Education Majors Tweeting for 2011!

Music Educators, encourage your students to get on Twitter, and Music Education Students, here is how you can participate! [Read more...]

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New Years Project 2011

12/07/10 By 7 Comments

Greetings, folks! Lindsay here!

A new year is upon us, so why not set some New Years Goals for Music Education?!

While reflecting on my experiences with Twitter, the MPLN, and blogging, I have realized that I am doing myself a huge favor by making my education and my independent learning compliment each other. Some of the things we are all doing in #MusEdChat and on Twitter is either foreign or unknown to some students and educators. There is a wealth of knowledge for musicians and educators on Twitter, and for students to participate in those conversations while they pursue their degrees, I believe, is a way to set yourself apart from the rest!

So here’s the goal: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advocacy, Professional Development

Collegiate Leadership Academy at MENC’s Music Ed Week

04/02/10 By 2 Comments

MENC has been planning for it’s 2010 Music Education Week in Washington, D.C. since last year’s event concluded. Music Ed Week is a week of advocacy, networknig, and professional development in the heart of the nation’s capital. I had the opportunity to attend last year, and was extremely pleased with my experience. The professional development portion of the week was done through “academies” in different concentrations (music technology, performance, jazz, research). The specialized academies were a wonderful way to separate the fantastic sessions that were presented.

The preparations for Music Ed Week 2010 (June 24-29, 2010) have begun in earnest over the past few weeks. MENC recently announced that housing and registration for the conference is open, and on Tuesday, they sent information out regarding a new academy for this year’s event, the “Collegiate Leadership Academy.” This academy is geared specifically towards collegiate members of MENC, and has sessions geared specifically towards future music educators. The (tentative) list of sessions includes:

  • “Hero Training: How to Harness Your Super Powers” with Milt Allen, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston
  • “Policy and Practice: What Does this Mean and Why Should I Care?” with Lynn Brinckmeyer, Texas State University, San Marcos
  • “Nine Liberating Habits of Change” with Scott Shuler (president, MENC), Connecticut Department of Education, Hartford
  • “Using Technology to Keep Sane” with Jim Frankel, SoundTree, Melville, NY
  • “Can I Do This for Thirty Years?” with Jack Elgin, Oscar Smith High School, Chesapeake, VA

Additionally, registration for Music Ed Week grants you admission to many other fantastic concerts and advocacy events over the course of the week. The other academies that are being offered this year are:

  • Choral
  • General Music K-12 Technology (keynote by Amy Burns)
  • Instrumental, “IN-Ovations” (Teaching techniques and opportunities for teachers of non-traditional curricula)
  • Jazz
  • Marching Music (registration includes ticket to DCI Show)
  • NACWPI (National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors)
  • New Teachers

Attendance at this conference last year was a very enjoyable experience for me, and one that I would strongly suggest you try to gain. If at all possible, try to find a way to get to Washington, D.C. between June 24 and 29 for this wonderful event! Hopefully, I will also be “live-blogging” the event this year, just as I did last year! Stay tuned for more information regarding this.

Are you already going to Music Ed Week? Let me know in a comment, and we can try to find a time to meet up!

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America’s Giving Challenge-Help Win $50,000 for Music Education

10/19/09 By Leave a Comment

Anybody who has been around the arts (and especially those who have or will have a carreer in them) knows that arts education needs as much support as possible nowadays. One organization that has done a fantastic job of supporting the arts (specifically music) education is MENC: The National Association for Music Education. MENC stives constantly to increase support for music in our schools, and I am proud to be a collegiate member of such an organization.

Another group that is doing wonders for causes around the globe is the Case Foundation. This month, the Case Foundation is organizing an event called “America’s Giving Challenge.” This challenge encourages people to use their online networks to build support over a specific cause or nonprofit. The challenge also congratulates the cause receiving the most donations over the 30-day period with a $50,000 reward. In addition, each day of the challenge comes with it’s own 24-hour challenge; the cause to receive the most donations over 24 hours (3 pm to 3 pm EST) receives an additional $1,000 prize!

MENC has taken charge in the need for music education advocacy, and has created a few causes to which people can donate for this challenge. Furthermore, MENC is making a push to win the daily award for today (October 19-20).

How Can I Help?

The cause that MENC is pushing for the next 24 hours is called “Advance Music Education.” You can donate through their Facebook page (note: you do NOT need a Facebook account in order to donate!). Any amount that you can contribute-even just $10-will not only help the cause, but will also help MENC try to win more reward money to go towards the cause!

Outside of this 24 hours, the other cause you can donate to on behalf of MENC is “Save School Music.”

If you have any other questions about this challenge, or would like more information on how you can help, check out the “Donate” page of MENC’s website!

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Music Ed Week LiveBlog

06/17/09 By Leave a Comment

MENC’s Music Education Week begins today in Washington, D.C. and I will be attending from Thursday until Sunday. Below, you can find a live-blog of the event that I will be contributing to, as well as anyone else who wants to! If you are at the event or have questions from the event, you can use this interface to post to the live-blog, or you can use Twitter to update your status with #musicedweek and your post will be included in the live-blog! I will also be updating in more than 140 characters over the course of the weekend, with posts here on MusicEdMajor.net! Enjoy the live-blog, and feel free to contribute if you have any thoughts to add! Just click “Watch Now!” to begin!

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MENC’s Music Education Week

06/15/09 By 8 Comments

This weekend, MENC, The National Association for Music Education, will be hosting the first annual “Music Education Week” in Washington, D.C.! I will have the privilege of attending, and am looking forward to it immensely.

What IS Music Ed Week?

Music Ed Week is an event in the nation’s capital during which thousands of music educators will be gathering for a week of advocacy and professional development. The event has now replaced MENC’s national conference; MENC decided that this week-long event would be a better avenue for gathering music educators of all ages together in a productive way. Some of the advocacy events will include a rally on the steps of the Department of Education and a march to the Capitol Building, where MENC will present Secretary of Education Arne Duncan with their Petition for Equal Access to Music Education. The week will also include a set of concerts, ranging in genres from jazz to concert band to drum and bugle corps, and everything in between! They are sure to be incredible performances.

In addition to these advocacy events and musical performances, Music Ed Week will include five two-day “academies,” which will operate as a normal conference would, with sessions and panels on specific topics within a subject area. The five “academies” include General Music, Jazz, Music Technology, Performance, and a Research Symposium. Registrants can participate in as many academies as they wish, as well as being able to choose which concerts they attend. This ability to completely customize your event is one of the greatest features of the week!

So who can attend?

Registration for Music Ed Week is open to anyone at all, with discounts being offered to MENC members. This includes, of course, collegiate members. Registration costs ranged anywhere from free (for just concert tickets) to hundreds of dollars (for multiple academy registrations). However, MENC announced in late May that registration to Music Ed Week for Collegiate members of MENC will be completely FREE! That’s right, all collegiate members of MENC will pay absolutely nothing to attend the event, no matter how many concerts, events, or academies they wish to register for! I am attending all the concerts, as well as the Music Technology Academy, and am looking forward to the opportunity to not only help advocate for music education, but to learn more about integrating technology into the music curriculum!

What can I do now?

If you’re interested in Music Education Week, there are a few ways you can get involved:

  1. Attend the event! It is not too late to register for Music Education Week! Collegiate members can use the collegiate registration form (note that the fees have all been waived-all they need is the record of what events you will attend). If you can make it to Washington this weekend, please leave a comment to this post, and let me know you’ll be there! I would love to meet up with you!
  2. Sign the petition. The cornerstone advocacy event of MENC’s week is the presentation of their Petition for Equal Access to Music Education to the Secretary of Education. This petition calls for the inclusion of music education into the core curriculum in America’s public schools. If you haven’t gotten involved yet, signing the online version of this petition is a great way to start getting involved in spreading the word about the need for music in every child’s education. Hurry, though, there are only a few days before the rally!
  3. Stay updated! If you aren’t able to attend the event, there are a few ways you can stay updated about what is going on in Washington this weekend. First, MENC’s website will be updated over the course of the weekend with information from the week. Second, attendees are sure to be active on Twitter (a microblogging service I explain in more detail in a personal blog post) throughout the event. You can follow my own Twitter feed, or follow the search page for the “#musicedweek” hash tag, which will be used on posts related to the event. Finally, keep an eye out on MusicEdMajor.net for posts throughout the weekend; I will be making posts over the course of the event recapping significant sessions or activities that I take part in.

You can view more information about this incredible event at MENC’s Music Ed Week page. Don’t forget to leave a comment if you’ll be attending, or if you have any other thoughts or ideas about the event!

Photo credit: Flickr photo by Ehpien

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