Aesthetic Music Education and the Influence of Bennett Reimer Essays

Aesthetic Music Education and the Influence of Bennett Reimer Essays Aesthetic Music Education and the Influence of Bennett Reimer Paper Aesthetic Music Education and the Influence of Bennett Reimer Paper An explicit concept since the late 1950s, aesthetic education first developed to provide a strong philosophical foundation for music education and continues to evolve as a solid theoretical orientation for current effective practices. Bennett Reimer has contributed much to the discussion and development of the value of aesthetic education for the teaching and learning of music. Others in music education also support and promote these ideals and focus on developing an improved understanding for music educators. Some scholars oppose the principles of an aesthetic education, recently demonstrated by David Elliott who favors a praxial philosophy of music education centered on musical performance. The work of Reimer shows an influence of these thinkers and illustrates the essential benefits of a professional emphasis on aesthetics, the branch of philosophy especially devoted to studying the value of the arts. With guidance from aesthetics, music educators better understand the value of music and its fundamental role within the school curriculum. With its introduction, aesthetic education provided an understanding of authentic fundamental characteristics of music not previously discussed and encouraged an articulation of those ideas into relevant objectives for teaching and learning. The appearance of Basic Concepts in Music Education (ed. Nelson B. Henry, 1958) and the college text Foundations and Principles of Music Education (Charles Leonard and Robert W. House, 1959) promoted the acceptance of an aesthetic-based philosophy as a guiding theoretical foundation. These significant resources encouraged individuals to put their previous intuitions into effective practice using a shared, progressive concept of musical experience and learning. Many music educators embraced aesthetic education (and continue to do so) because it reinforced the validity of music study in the school curriculum for reasons intrinsic to the art itself. Reimer emphasizes that we (as music educators) need not establish discipleship to one particular person or point of view of aesthetic education. The ideal of Music Education as Aesthetic Education (MEAE) does not exist as a particular collection of fixed certainties; it supports the attitude that philosophical truths develop and transform as we advance and verify new ideas. Many sources (books, journals, articles, etc. ) provide the insight of professional scholars on the fundamental values of music supporting the aesthetic approach. The music educator who commits to MEAE must seek this knowledge to understand the art of music beyond his or her own instincts. Only with that awareness can the teacher adequately portray a genuine representation of the artistic values of music to students. Reimer describes aesthetic education as the development of a sensitivity to the aesthetic qualities of things. He consciously avoids using the term definition yet provides a much-appreciated explanation that achieves that function. Reimer further illustrates that MEAE should encourage our ability to perceive and respond to conditions of musical relationships (e. g. tension-release, expectation-deviation) in perceptible objects and events. Musical works may possess various qualities (such as functional ones), but the primary significance of music should lie in its aesthetic value. If we abandon this unique characterization of music and emphasize its societal role, we risk degrading ourselves as well as our work. As teachers, we mediate the interactions between our students and aesthetic objects and should seek to improve these relationships with different experiences. Yet, we must first ensure that students have the ability to perceive expressive conditions as well as the ability to respond to them. Reimer distinguishes that effective MEAE cultivates a persons ability to yield meanings from (a work of arts) structures of interrelated sounds and to transform words, images, ideas, emotions, and any other socially shared human values by incorporating them as meaningful aspects of musical structure?. Abraham Schwadron also promotes this perception of feeling in music, pioneered by Susanne Langer. He asserts that formal education should address structural approaches to describing responses to music and not the emotive states that may result. That is, teachers should use elements of music to explain qualities of feeling (suspense, deception, resolution, etc. ) and not teach music as the translation of sound into emotion by the composer or the performer (i. e. , how does this music make you feel? ). MEAE should consider extra-musical descriptions, however, when those factors influence the understanding of a particular piece of music or musical process. Once we have created the potential for our students to recognize aesthetic qualities, we must encourage their ability to perceive and respond to those experiences. Teachers must present a variety of musical items and events to develop this aural aptitude. They must also guide the relationship between the student and the aesthetic object as each learner produces, conceptualizes, analyzes and evaluates music. In 1972, this philosophy led Reimer to emphasize the necessity of a unified curriculum in the arts and advocate curriculum development in music education. We observe this influence, years later, in the music section of the National Standards for Arts Education, published in 1994. These (relatively) recent standards, which Reimer helped developed, promote an expansion of the music curriculum and encourage a comprehensive approach to music instruction, which incorporates many characteristics of MEAE. Even with this concept of an inclusive aesthetic education, performance remains the primary curricular activity with which we attempt to realize our goals, especially at the secondary level. This myopic approach neglects other ways that people experience music (e. g. , listening, composing) and often emphasizes skill development over musical understanding. Bennett Reimer declares that, Our past and present mentality about music, so dominated by the performance model, is now beginning to be out of phase with the realities of our art. He offers that we can learn much from the Discipline-Based Art Education movement that recognizes that multi-dimensional curriculum guidelines (which include aspects of history, criticism, and analysis) enhance aesthetic experiencing. Embracing the ideals of MEAE means accepting that all students, not just a small percentage of gifted ones, should have access to the aesthetic qualities of music. By cultivating enjoyment in the majority of students (about 85 percent, Reimer implies) who choose not to perform, we also augment our authentic presence in the school environment. To achieve our aesthetic intentions, a transformation must occur that creates three aspects of a comprehensive music curriculum: the required general music program, the elective performance program and the elective composition program. These components would more accurately represent the three key functions involved in Western music: listening, performing and composing. A complete program of music, aligned with the fundamentals of MEAE, would use performance and composition to enrich the universal musical activity of listening emphasized by the comprehensive general music program.

HRIS Vendor Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

HRIS Vendor Analysis - Research Paper Example 2 The third company profiled was Atlas Business Solutions. They carry the following products: Staff Files 5.0, Visual Staff Scheduler PRO, Schedule Anywhere.com, Customer Appointment Manager, Ultimate Business Planner, Ultimate Financial Forecaster. No available information was posted in their website regarding their services. 3 The fourth company profiled was Ascentis Corporation. They carry the following products: HROffice. HROffice Employee Self-Service, Alerts, Staffing Solutions-Applicant Manager, Payroll Connect, and HROfficeASP. They also offer the following services: Carrier Connect, Employee Tracking Software-Staffing Solutions, and Business Intelligence Services. 4 The fifth company profiled was Spectrum Human Resource Systems Corporation. The company carry the following products iVantage, HRVantage, and Small Business Offerings. No available information was posted in their website regarding their services.5 The goal of every company or organization is to be responsive and profitable to the environment where they belong. Whether it is within or outside them, companies or organizations should be well organized in dealing with their human resources before they could successfully market any product or services. Human resources serves as the company's frontline, thus human resources are very crucial factor for any product or service performance in the market. The overall impression for the vendors and their products is that every vendor carries relevant HRIS software with almost similar features, they may be bundled or modularized. The advantage for bundled HRIS software is that you could maximize the use all the features that you need for an HRIS software as soon as possible but have bigger one time expense or cost. However, smaller companies may prefer modularized HRIS software to gradually achieve their needed HRIS software features commensurate to their economic and financial capabilities at a given time. Products of HRIS vendors I, II, III, IV, V are somewhat similar in their features, only which the product packaging varies. Services of vendors I and IV are almost similar in features and supports well their respective companies' product and third party products. These products regardless of the vendor company who developed them definitely help the organization to create a competitive advantage by being practical, cost-effective, informative, efficient, on time. However, there are differences in packaging, user interface design, and the technology that are being utilized. In planning to purchase an HRIS software system, one has to consider most is the availability if product support and product interfacing. Other features like

Scenario Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Scenario - Essay Example Nowadays, the sight of different non-governmental organizations actively participating in the community is a normal scenario. They become active members of the community as a means of generating change. The government, on the other hand, has its own plans on eliminating the different quandaries faced by the community. This is a way of fostering social responsibility. However, with the rise of individualism, man, who is a social being, diverts from the calling of his fellowmen. Thus, social responsibility is now in question. The clich statement, "no man is an island", greatly describes the need of man for others. Man is significantly affected by others' thoughts, feelings and behaviors whether or not others are present. It simply indicates that man is prone to social influence and can be manipulated by social situations. Therefore, man cannot separate himself from others since every thought, feeling, and action elicited by others, has a large impact on his very existence. The community is dealing with different predicaments, from poverty, political issues, diminishing values etc. The government acts as its chief protector against these problems. Poverty, which is said to be mostly the root cause of other problems, is dealt by the government by aiding the poor children in public schools with free breakfast.

Performance Enhancing Drugs Should Be Legalized Essay Example for Free

Performance Enhancing Drugs Should Be Legalized Essay The illegal use of anabolic steroids by professional athletes is often a hot button topic in the news. Steroids were banned due to the negative side effects associated with its use. Despite the ban, many athletes are suspected of illicit steroid use to enhance their performance. There is great cost associated with random testing to determine if such athletes use steroids. Anne Whitaker and Rosalyn Carson-Dewitt, in the article, â€Å"Point: Performance Enhancing Drugs Should Be Legalized†, make a somewhat effective argument as to why it should be legalized. This article provides an argument for the legalization of anabolic steroid use by athletes. The authors parallel the use of cosmetic surgery and unhealthy diet regimens by models and actresses and the use of steroids by professional athletes to stay at the top of their games. The authors provide factual information regarding steroids and the effects its use has on the body, followed by their opinion as to how legalization would benefit not only the sports world, but also society as a whole. Whitaker and Carson-Dewitt provide a number of facts regarding the characteristics of steroids, the effects of their use, and the history of its illegalization. They describe different methods for use: cycling (on and off use of a particular dose), stacking (taking multiple steroids simultaneously), and pyramiding (increasing and decreasing the dosage over time) (Whitaker and Carson-Dewitt, 2011). The authors go on to describe the physical effects of steroid use such as organ damage, stroke, cancer and high blood pressure (Whitaker and Carson-Dewitt, 2011). The authors then provide a timeline as to the banning of steroid use in various professional sports organizations followed by a national ban. It is the opinion of Carson-Dewitt and Whitaker that steroids should be legalized. They opined that legalization would have manifold benefits: increased safety and regulation of steroid use, decreased access and use of steroids by teenaged children; and reduction in the costs associated with testing. While, on the surface, these opinions seem to be logical, the arguments are not all supported by facts. The claim that legalization of steroids would reduce its use by teenagers, simply because they would be prescribed by doctors, is baseless. Teenagers would likely continue to access steroids through the same methods currently used. The cost of testing may or may not be reduced as regulation would still limit the amount of steroids to be safely used. Testing would still occur to verify that legal safe limits were observed. The factual information contained in the article is sufficient to provide a perspective from which to understand the authors’ argument. The authors fail, however to provide factual information to support their claims. This results in an argument that sounds plausible on the surface, but falls flat with any amount of critical thinking. For this reason, I believe the authors failed to make a compelling argument. References Carson-Dewitt, Rosalyn, and Whitaker, Ann. â€Å"Point: Performance Enhancing Drugs Should Be Legalized.† By: Points of View: Steroids, 2011.

Importance of the Trial in To Kill a Mockingbird Essay -- Kill Mocking

Importance of the Trial in To Kill a Mockingbird      Ã‚   The trial of Tom Robinson is central to our understanding of racial and social prejudice in Maycomb. Harper Lee uses Tom Robinson's 'crime' to bring tensions in the town to a head and the author uses the trial as a way of making the ideas behind such tensions explicit for the reader.    The two people involved in the so-called crime, Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell, are at the very bottom of Maycomb society. Tom is black and Mayella one of the poorest of the poor whites. However, neither of them fits into the stereotypes held by the people of Maycomb. Tom is honest, hardworking and dependable, as Mr Link Deas's shouted testimony and his demeanour in court demonstrate. Mayella is a member of the poorest and most shiftless families in the town yet she looks after her brothers and sisters, keeps herself clean and tends to her geraniums in the most difficult of circumstances. It is clear that before the alleged rape a sort of friendship had grown up between Tom and Mayella.    Tom Robinson was probably the only person who was decent to (Mayella).    Unfortunately the ideas about race and society held at the time meant that contact between them could never be anything other than distant and respectful (quite apart from the fact that Tom was married anyway). But Mayella's yearning for some form of close human contact emerges during the trial. She had saved for almost a year to have enough nickels to give her brothers and sisters a treat in order to have her house empty when she invited Tom inside. When she made her advance to Tom he was caught by his inability to hit a white woman and the extreme taboo that Maycomb placed on any form of... ...arrated by Scout is that her childish understanding is free of adult prejudice and expectations. She and Jem measure the proceedings against simple child-like ideas of truth and justice and find them grossly wanting. On the other hand Jem is an expert on court behaviour from watching her father on other occasions so she is able to give an insightful account into most aspects of the trial.    The Tom Robinson case shows the ugliness of both racial and social prejudice. Ultimately the jurors choose to vote along racial lines without regard for truth or justice. Mayella and Tom are both victims of Maycomb's prejudice but only Tom has to pay.    Works Cited Jones, Carolyn. "Atticus Finch and the Mad Dog." The Southern Quarterly Summer 1996: 56-63. Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York City, NY:   J.B.Lippincott Company, 1990.   

Poverty is a state of mind Essay

Even though some people make millions, poverty is still a problem in today’s society. There is an increasing gap between the wealthiest and the poorest people. This is also a problem in Britain. But is poverty really a state of mind? That is the controversial statement made by freelance writer Bernard Hare who in an essay from 2012 writes about his childhood in poverty in a mining family in Leeds. As an adult, he experiences a different kind of poverty. Bernard Hare was born in 1958 into a poor mining family in Leeds, but he never felt the poverty as a child. His explanation for this is that their house was warm, the neighbors were welcoming, and that he spent a lot of time with his grandmother who lived across the street. Because he did not want to end up in poverty like his parents and also after being encouraged by his grandmother, he got into grammar school and later college. He started to get into fights at stadiums because he supported the football club, Leeds United. He was also arrested on more than one occasion. When Hare got to college, he started to drink and smoke. But he turned it around and became a successful social worker in London until he also had to provide for his father due to mining strikes. After that it all went downhill for Hare. He took drugs, drank, and sold drugs and stolen items. This changed in 1995 when he met the Shed Crew who was a group of 10 to 14 year olds living in an old shed in Hare’s old neighborhood. It put things in perspective and in 1997 he decided to become a writer because he wanted to tell the world the story about the Shed Crew. The final product was a memoir called Urban Grimshaw and the Shed Crew. Hare uses contrasts in this essay to get his point across. First of all, there is the contrast between his childhood life and his adult life and the differences between the two kinds of poverty he has experienced. Secondly, there is the contrast between the poverty he lived in as a child and the poverty he sees with the Shed Crew. Bernard Hare has lived in poverty for the most of his life, but it has been two kinds of poverty. As a child he lived in absolute poverty where there was not always food at the end of the week. His parents drank and smoked occasionally but according to himself he had a good childhood anyway. He was loved and cared for even though the means were limited. However as a young adult, he went down the wrong path which included drugs, drinking, and criminal behavior. There he experienced a different kind of poverty. In a  way, he chose to be poor. As he also says so himself, he was capable of making good money but he chose the criminal way of life. You can take the boy out of poverty, but you can’t take poverty out of the boy. (P 3 ll. 163-164) As previously said, Hare was loved as a child even though they were poor. That is the biggest difference between Hare†™s childhood and the Shed Crew’s childhood. The Shed Crew had nobody to care for them, and they had been let down by society. Nobody is there to take care of them and to make sure that they will get a decent childhood. He uses his own experiences to shed light on how horrible the Shed Crew’s childhood has been. Hare was poor in terms of money but was rich on love and supporting company – mostly from his grandmother. However, the Shed Crew is poor both in terms of money, but they are also lacking love and support from responsible adults. They are lacking both in the spiritual and the materialistic way whereas Hare’s childhood was safe and good. Throughout the entire essay, Hare uses a lot of pathos in this essay while reflecting on his life story. He shares little, happy anecdotes from his childhood which are written in a humorous way, and he tries to create a mental picture of his childhood. As the years go by, the stories get darker and darker. There is not as much humor in his teenage and adult stories as there is in the childhood stories. This shows that the childish ignorance has disappeared from his mind and that he is now more aware of what is going on around him. Hare also writes that sometimes the decisions you make can effect whether or not you end up in poverty and more importantly how sometimes your choices in life can prevent you from getting out of poverty. For instance, Hare’s grandmother, who was teetotal, said this to him because his parents drank and smoked. â€Å"You’ll never have any money if you drink or smoke† (†¦) I was becoming aware that there might be a self-inflicted element to some people’s poverty. (P 2 ll. 93-94, ll. 98-100) Is poverty really just a state of mind? The state of mind of the person in question might be a contributing factor to whether or not that person is in poverty. However, to say that it is exclusively the state of mind is an exaggeration. There are a lot of contributing elements to why people are poor and the mindset of the person could be an important factor. In some cases it is and in other cases it’s just a matter of not having enough money to live. At least, it was a question of a state of mind for Bernard Hare.

The Stagecoach Non Verbal Communications And Social Classes

The Stagecoach: Non-verbal Communications and Social Classes The Stagecoach, a critically acclaimed film, which followed the adventures of a group of unlikely and unfortunate passengers escaping from the brutality of Geronimo’s Apache warriors, established the precedent of the classic Western movie, containing crucial Western archetypical elements such as Ringo the Kid that has not hardly changed today. Furthermore, Stagecoach espoused social issues of the time by including passengers of varied social status and standing and emphasizing on such interactions that cross the rigidly defined and impermeable social divides at the time. The iconic movie was produced during the transition between silent films and films with spoken dialogue, and the remnants of the former film style are conspicuous throughout the film. Although explicit and spoken plot was crucial for the storyline, non-verbal communication offered implicit cues to attentive audience members. Moreover, the fact that t he passengers were representatives of different social standings further amplified such non-verbal communication and cues. While the film Stagecoach established the quintessential Western movie, the film also underscored the importance of non-verbal communication in the genesis of the spoken dialogue era and emphasized the interactions between rigid social classes in a seemingly disordered environment that is the Western frontier. In Stagecoach, non-verbal communication complements the spoken dialogueShow MoreRelatedBrand Building Blocks96400 Words   |  386 Pagesadvantages - in part because the cost of the brand management team, sales force, and advertising is lower and can be spread over hundreds of product classes and in part because of logistical advantages. The result is more price pressure. Sales promotion is both a driver and an indicator of the price focus. In the 1950s, about 10 percent of the communication mix was devoted to price promotions. Those were the days when distribution was simple, retailers were concerned with building new stores rather