What About those Standards?
By Kathy Welling, Professor, Duquesne University

Hello students!
We have a state level "situation" that needs our IMMEDIATE action. This is REAL-LIFE advocacy work and we MUST have your involvement. This will affect your future as a music educator in this state.

VERY GENERAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
1. While National Standards exist, our state has NO standards for music yet.
2. The "Draft" PA Standards for Arts and Humanities has been presented to the State Board of Education (The decision makers for education).
3. The current "draft" is inadequate for many reasons. For example, it contains no discipline specific standards (i.e., the word music is not even in the table of contents). All of the arts are presented by the same content standards. The "draft" is weighted heavily on responding to music, NOT performing or creating music. The "draft" would allow local schools to teach to the arts standards and NEVER offer music to any of its students.
4. The State Board has asked for written "comment" from the field.
5. We MUST provide comment NOW or they will assume that we, the professionals, believe that the "draft" is acceptable.
*******6. The State Board of Education is meeting this Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 13-14, so we MUST get MANY letters to them BEFORE their meeting!

PLEASE DO THE FOLLOWING IMMEDIATELY:

1. READ the "draft" standards. They can be found at: www.pde.psu.edu/standard/stan.html.
2. Take this letter and put it in letter format. While the basis of the letter is written for you, please fill in any personal feelings regarding the standards in your own paragraph.
3. Download a copy of the "proposed table of contents" to include in the letters you are sending. (Editor's Note: Due to technical problems and my inability to upload the standards correctly to the webpage, please email us at pcmea@yahoo.com for a copy of the standards.
4. Mail a copy of the letter AND the table of contents to as many of the people on this list as possible.
5. Congratulate yourself on getting involved in the political process and (hopefully) helping to ensure that the children of Pennsylvania will have access to the best possible music education we can offer!