The General Music Program: The Viewpoint of Some Students

Abstract

As PART of the course work in one of our music education classes, “Music Education in the Junior High School,” students are required to read articles in the current issues of the MusIC EDUCATORS JOURNAL. When the recent February-March issue appeared, the article, “The General Music Program” by Robert W. John, greatly stimulated and challenged the students’ thinking. At the suggestion of a class member, it was agreed to write a group report which would be a consensus of opinion of the class regarding the ideas presented by Mr. John. In the following days the class was organized into committees which did research and reading concerning various ideas and areas presented in the article, then they presented their findings to the class so that they could be discussed. The following article is a result of this team effort. As a teacher of music education, I feel indebted to Mr. John for providing a springboard which enabled me to help the students synthesize and solidify their conception of the purpose and function of the general music class in the modern curriculum. Many times students are considered to be the uninitiated group that understand little of the intricacies of their chosen professional field. It is desired by this teacher that the impact of thinking students in music education may produce many positive results in future organization and planning of general music classes.