Music provides a powerful form of expression for the human spirit which can bring richness to every person's life. The unique combination of intellect, artistry, and feelingfullness required for musical expression distinguish it from other human endeavors, and ranks music among the highest of cultural accomplishments. Music has been an important part of education since at least the time of ancient Greece, and it continues to be a central subject in school curricula. In communities such as those within the Oyster River Cooperative School District, the compelling need for music in schools, as in life, is widely recognized.
Music is a core subject in schools because it shares the characteristics of the other important school disciplines. First, it has its own, unique mode of thinking; psychologist Howard Gardner calls it an independent form of intelligence. Second, there is a widely recognized body of important musical works by Mozart, Ellington, Sondheim, and others which every citizen ought to be familiar with. Third, people gain access to the art form by becoming literate in its notation system. One learns to silently think, to read, and to write music. Finally, for expression to be sophisticated, skills must be developed over time, skills that allow higher-level thinking in the discipline.
Therefore, we endorse a comprehensive program of study that is designed to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are necessary to make musical expression a meaningful part of everyday life. With proper support, this curriculum meets the requirements of the National Standards in Music, part of the Core Curriculum espoused in Goals 2000: Educate America, and the Frameworks for the Arts developed by the Board of Education of the State of New Hampshire.
This program of study begins with the aim of instilling in each student an acceptance of the value in daily life of appreciating and making music of many kinds. It presumes that good music education leads students to become adults who sing and play instruments at home and in the community; who listen attentively to a variety of music with understanding and a critical ear; who support the efforts of others to make music; and who share their musical interests with family and friends.
Accordingly, to achieve this aim, students will learn to:
In most cases the curriculum calls for students to "learn by doing," that is by making music. Since the subject includes both concepts to be learned and skills to be developed, a meaningful program of study will include frequent instruction with class time scheduled during the school day. Moreover, that program will be sustained throughout the school years in a way that provides for long term student involvement, learning, and accomplishment.
Where We Are -- Where We Are Going
The remainder of this document outlines district goals, K-12, which we have set for our students in the process of meeting the larger standards identified above. Currently, the district is meeting many of these goals. Others will require greater attention and resources than have been allocated in the past.
Success requires an adequate number of staff members with appropriate specialization to provide expert instruction in each of the areas; professional enrichment and in-service opportunities that contribute to the abilities of those staff members; facilities, equipment, and supplies that provide the opportunities for students to learn and to perform; encouragement from administrators, counselors, and other faculty that tells students that skillful musical expression is valued; and scheduling that makes access to music viable for each student.
Oyster River's K-12 Music Curriculum
At the initial January 15, 1997 meeting of the K-12 Music Curriculum Committee, the district's elementary, middle, and high school music teachers, under the leadership of Dr. Mark DeTurk of the Department of Music at the University of New Hampshire, began its efforts to identify key strands which they, individually and collectively, most wanted to include in the Oyster River music curriculum.
The goal of the committee was to identify and specify what students should know and be able to do at the end of selected grade levels. Focusing initially on a description of what the typical student ought to know, the resulting curriculum articulation should also describe a range of acceptable student accomplishments in Grades K-8 (where music is a prescribed component of the school curriculum at those grades), and specific student achievements that can be expected of students in Grades 9-12 who choose to pursue further musical experiences (through elective courses offered within the high school's Program of Studies). Further, the committee first directed its attention to delineating a broad, general framework for the K-12 music education curriculum, then moved towards more specific descriptors of grade-level standards and student expectations.
Principal Guidelines and Sources for District Curriculum Development. The committee identified a number of foundation sources including the National Standards for Arts Education and Performance Standards for Music created as a part of Goals 2000: Educate America, the anticipated New Hampshire K-12 Music Curriculum Frameworks, and the Minimum Standards for NH Public School Approval (ED 306). The committee chair and members also solicited exemplary music education curriculum documents from selected school districts in New Hampshire and nationally; committee members also obtained additional resource and/or reference materials from their own professional contacts. In general, the committee's purpose at each meeting was to:
THINK ABOUT goals and standards - What are we comfortable with? What would we choose to add, modify, or delete from existing frameworks, standards, or district curriculum? What knowledge and skills should be gained by the 'typical' student who participates in music education classroom or performance group activities in the Oyster River district?
By March 1997, the committee had cross-referenced the district's structures with the emerging New Hampshire K-12 Music Education Framework, largely to test the inclusiveness of the statewide Framework components as compared with the district-wide strands identified by the committee. Again, the Standards recommended by the National Standards for Arts Education served as the keystone for the committee's design and articulation of the K-12 curriculum for the Oyster River Cooperative School District.
The District K-12 Music Curriculum Strands
The eight K-12 Music strands adopted by the district committee are listed below with brief descriptive notations of each as stated in the district curriculum document: