Music Education at a Crossroads: Realizing the Goal of Music for All

Consider the status of music education as you read Music Education at a Crossroads, a collection of addresses from the Centennial Congress of MENC: The National Association for Music Education. Noted leaders in music education-including Paul Lehman, Bennett Reimer, Samuel Hope, and Michael Mark-joined Brenda Welburn and Anne Bryant in addressing the challenges and opportunities faced by music educators today. The Centennial Congress renewed a shared professional commitment to a comprehensive music education for all students and discussed the impediments to the vision of the Centennial Declaration: 'It is the right of every child to receive a balanced, comprehensive, sequential music education taught by qualified music teachers.'

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Foreword Chapter 2 Introduction: Music Education at a Crossroads Chapter 3 The Centennial Declaration Chapter 4 Celebrating 100 Years of Focus Chapter 5 The National Association for Music Education: Leadership for What? Chapter 6 Are We There Yet? Why Not? Chapter 7 Current Directions in Policy Development: Thinking and Acting on Behalf of Music Study Chapter 8 Changing the National Environment for Music Education from the Perspective of School Boards Chapter 9 Changing the National Environment for Music Education from the Perspective of State Boards of Education

About the Author :
Janet R. Barrett is associate professor of music education at the Bienen School of Music, Northwestern University. She served as president of the North Central Division of MENC:The National Association for Music Education from 2004-2006.

Review :
Music Education at a Crossroads is an historic book and should be in every music educators' professional library. Barrett has assembled the compelling presentations from MENC's Centennial Congress into one valuable publication along with twelve significant documents which are milestones in MENC's long history of promoting music education for every student. MENC: The National Association for Music Education recently celebrated its one-hundredth birthday, which initiated the perfect opportunity to review the focus and purpose of music education. During the Centennial Congress, national decisionmakers and respected leaders in music education engaged in thoughtful dialogue about the future of our profession and our society. Today's students embrace a multifaceted approach to learnin,g and their ability to utilize technology seems to be evolving at break-neck speed. Consequently, teachers and our profession need to reframe how we approach music education. This collection shares those conversations and historical documents, which will serve as a guiding light as we venture into a new century. When our honored profession reaches a crossroads, we need our very best help to see us through. This is one such time. Our wisest and finest again have risen to the occasion, producing a document historical in every sense of the word. From Gehrkens's 1923 Music for Every Child, Every Child for Music to the Centennial Declaration's: 'it is the right of every child to receive a balanced, comprehensive, sequential music education taught by qualified music teachers, our most cherished values have held true.' Here's to the next 100 years! Intending the book as a call to realize "the goal of music for all," Barrett has compiled inspiring papers from the centennial congress of The National Assocation for Music Education. The appendices include documents, standards, goals, and position papers useful to students and educators when advocating for students' rights to good music opportunities. Barrett is to be commended to her editorial choices for the book and its formatting. A solid resource. Recommended. The book sets out the challenges for music education in the twenty-first century from the perspectives of a politician, a music educator, a policy maker, and an executive. Each of these individuals provides a crucial piece that contributes to the composite picture, appropriately reflecting that ahcieving universal music education requires the ownership and participation of all stakeholders, not just music educators....Although the authors speak in different voices, their hopes and aspirations for a high-quality music education for all remain unchanged....The book is recommended for all music educators to gain a better understanding of the issues involved in the universalizing of music education.