YELLOW BRICK ROAD MUSIC

I don’t know about the rest of you, but at our school, there is a prevailing ideology that music, art, and P.E. are not as important as…well…any other subject. If school were an ocean, we’d be the anglerfish, minus the cool lights on our heads.

Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM) goes a long way in helping music teachers advocate for their subjects. However, it’s a tad more difficult to keep the momentum going during all the months that aren’t labeled with a catchy acronym. Like most music teachers I know, I have to be doggedly persistent to break through the negative preconceived notions about what music education is all about. So, when I became chair of our specials department a few years ago, I suggested creating a newsletter devoted to music, art, and P.E. The image below is an example of what our newsletter looks like.

Click on the picture to download this file for free from Dropbox. I’ve included editable PowerPoint slides (if you prefer to type it out), along with individual blank templates (if you prefer to write by hand and make copies).

I sometimes leave space for facts about the benefits of music education. To be honest, I include this just as much for the parents as the rest of the teachers. Some have not had any formal music education since elementary or middle school, so this is the space in which further advocate for music education.

What is the environment like at your school? Are the arts valued, disrespected, or ignored?

6 Responses

  1. I can't download the newsletter. I get a message that says that the link has been disabled. I really like the format you have used and would like to incorporate it into my classroom. Would you be willing to share this with me another way? Thank you!

  2. Thanks for letting me know. Dropbox recently had some security issues and they had to disable shared links. I'm in the process of re-creating my documents so that I can renew the links again without any worries about security. I will upload the newsletter again tonight and comment on this blog when I'm finished. If you have any questions or have any trouble downloading the letter after I renew it tonight, please email me at: [email protected]. Thanks for reading my blog 🙂

  3. Okay, I just updated the link. However, I suspect it may still have problems. If it doesn't work, please send me your email address, and I'll gladly send it to you that way 🙂

  4. Hey! I absolutely love the image I see on this website. The link attached does work, and brings up a different looking product. How can I get a hold of that specific image I see here? Thanks so much for putting it up! I'm a 1st year and I'm really excited about everything I get to figure out this year 🙂 Thanks so much for your help!

    1. Sadly, I've not been very good at updating older blog posts like these. I'm sorry about that! I updated the look of the specials newsletter, and the one that's pictured is no longer available. However, I'm always open to suggestions for freebies. Feel free to send me an email at [email protected] describing what you'd like. Then, I will send the freebie out in my next newsletter, which you can sign up for here: https://yellowbrickroadblog.com//p/newsletter-signup-form.html

    2. I just signed up as I'm excited about what I'm seeing. Thanks so much for responding and so quickly! I figured something out, and look forward to seeing all the things your blog has to teach me! Have a great one 🙂