Many of us are privileged to work in schools and communities that offer children and young people opportunities in music education. This is however not the case for all Australians and you may be surprised to learn that 63% of primary schools in Australia offer no classroom music.
On Sunday 11 November 2018 at 7:40pm, the first episode of Don’t Stop the Music will screen on the ABC and ABC iView. Don’t Stop the Music is a landmark 3-part documentary series that follows the journey of an Australian primary school capturing the benefits and transformative effects of music education on students, teachers and families involved.
The series enlists the help of Guy Sebastian to inspire and mentor students, Dr Anita Collins to articulate the neuromusical benefits of music education, and the Salvation Army and Musica Viva who assist in the establishment of an instrumental program. Micheál McCarthy from WAAPA, who was recently a keynote presenter at the Kodály National Conference, mentors and provides professional development to the school’s classroom music teachers. The improvement in teacher confidence and student engagement stands as evidence to the transformative power of quality music teacher education.
KMEIA has always and will continue to advocate for quality school music education for all delivered by high-quality music teachers. The ABC wishes to use this series to kickstart a national conversation supporting this cause. For teachers aspiring to develop and improve their practice, please encourage them to consider enrolling in an Australian Kodály Certificate (AKC) Course. Pre-service music teachers can of course make use of our free student membership trial offer.
Keep an eye out on social media for ways you can contribute to the campaign. I urge you to share information about Don’t Stop the Music amongst your community and networks, and particularly encourage those in educational leadership and policymaking positions to become involved in the conversation. Please use the hashtag #DontStopTheMusicAU when sharing information about the campaign on social media.
This is a rare moment when a national spotlight will be focused on school music education, and I encourage us all to positively enter the conversation and be a part of the campaign.
Best wishes
Jason Goopy
President
Kodály Music Education Institute of Australia (KMEIA) Inc.
www.kodaly.org.au