Louisiana Music Educators Association
CLICK HERE to return the the LMEA homepage.
President's Message
Carolyn Herrington
President, LMEA – September Article 2007
Welcome back! This has been one of the fastest summers….I know for me, band camp began in July this year, as school takes in for teachers on August 8th. It really doesn’t seem that we had enough time to slow down before it was time to begin again. Hopefully you have found a way to relax and get recharged for your students, because “ready or not”….here they come!
James Hearne and I had the opportunity to travel to Orlando, Florida for the MENC National Conference and represent Louisiana in the National Assembly. This meeting is hosted every two years and brings together the association leaders from all 50 states. The National Assembly included presentations by current MENC president, Lynn Brinckmeyer, president elect, Barbara Geer, (strategic planning) and a keynote address from Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas and 2008 presidential candidate – “Changing the National Environment for Music Education”.
As I look back over the last 10 years of notes from MENC meetings at the national level, our concerns are exactly the same:
1. Provide leadership in advocacy in music education.
2. Improve the quality of music teaching and learning.
3. Improve program effectiveness and operating efficiency of LMEA.
It is always encouraging to gather with the leadership of other states and realize that we share many of the same concerns, and to gain knowledge from those who have already been through some of the same struggles to keep arts programs alive and well. The states who have achieved their strategic goals have one thing in common: they have found ways to focus state departments of education, school districts, building level attention, and resources towards quality music education with an emphasis on keeping the arts a part of the core curriculum. As we work this year in our individual programs, we can be a powerful source for music advocacy by letting our community know how our students are achieving. We must take the time to get our students in the newspaper, play for public performances where our decision makers can experience young musicians first hand. Invite local officials to be a part of our concerts. I was so excited to hear presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, speak about still playing bass guitar with his rock band “Capital Offense”. He encouraged all of us to get out and help decision makers to hear and see the value of music and a solid education in the arts.
I know it is easy to sit back and ask why state decision makers don’t remember the importance of the arts, and to think that the total responsibility comes from places that the classroom educator can not touch. That responsibility starts with us…that initiation is ours to make at the grass roots level. I think there was a time when the importance of an education in the arts was common knowledge… that time has passed. The touch from the arts starts with us. I want to encourage you to be active, and let your community see your students in action. Louisiana has some of the finest programs in the nation…let’s do our part to get the music out.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE ARCHIVE
CLICK HERE to return the the LMEA homepage.