Discover Musical Explorers: A Teaching Resource for Little Ones!
Musical Explorers has long been a beloved live program at Carnegie Hall for kindergartners through second graders. Using singing, listening, and movement, it builds fundamental musical skills through a diverse global music curriculum. Carnegie Hall has now made its curriculum... Read More →
Announcing the launch of Music In Action Journal: A Knowledge Hub for the Frontlines of Music-For-Social-Action
When cultural historians reflect on the late 20th and early 21st centuries, one of the most significant paradigm shifts noted will be the explosion of music-for-social-action initiatives across the globe. Inspired by the work of pioneering figures including Jorge Peña... Read More →
Editorial: Loving a Community into Wholeness
Some years ago, I was mocked by a Sistema critic for my statement that the essence of Sistema learning environments is to love children into wholeness. Although my statement was taken out of context, to make a point (as Sistema’s... Read More →
Addressing Teacher-Student Racial Bias
In some instances, Sistema teachers are from a different race or ethnic background than their students and families. In the U.S. Sistema field, the racial disparities between faculty/staff and students/families are widely recognized as a challenge, and the issue of... Read More →
Symphony for a Broken Orchestra
Found Sound Nation, in collaboration with Symphony for a Broken Orchestra, meticulously recorded the sounds of over 800 broken instruments from the Philadelphia public school district, in an effort to inspire the public to ‘adopt’ these instruments and fund their restoration for... Read More →
Like Your Life Depends on It
It’s a fact: how much a student cares about a piece she is learning makes a gigantic difference to her learning experience. It makes a gigantic difference to how she feels about her ensemble and what they are trying to... Read More →
Dealing With Students Who Have Anxiety
Most young people live with some level of anxiety that they bring to their learning opportunities, and some students carry additional anxieties because of stresses in their life situations. Some definitely need the help of psychological counseling to support them,... Read More →
Check out ASCD Conference Sessions Online
ASCD’s Empower 2019 national conference in March featured a number of presentations that are now available on their website. One presentation focuses on student self-assessment and reflection to deepen mastery. These essential habits for good learning are often ignored or... Read More →
Middle School Classroom Management
“Classroom Management” is always a hot issue for newer Sistema teachers. We at The WE have argued in previous issues that those worries are largely misplaced. Sure, there are some good basic teaching tools every teacher should know, but highly engaging musical... Read More →
EDITORIAL: Don’t Ever Ask That Question Again
“Did you like that piece?” “Tell me what you liked and didn’t like about that performance?” I hear these questions asked of music students everywhere I go in Western cultures. I hear that kind of liking/disliking question in most Sistema... Read More →