The 2015 National In-Service Conference theme is “Empower Creativity.” This year we are celebrating how our members empower creativity in their classroom—instilling a lifelong love of music in their students.
“I empower creativity by giving students the tools necessary to realize their creative impulses.”
Salvatore Salvaggio
Member of NAfME for 32 years
Director of Music and Art K-12, Cooperstown High School, Cooperstown, NY
“If you reduce music to its natural fundamentals, anyone and everyone can play.”
David Mills
Member of NAfME for 1 year
David teaches at the Boys and Girls Club of New Haven, Wingspan Arts in New York City, Yale-New Haven Pediatric Hospital, and W.O. Smith Music Center in Nashville.
David Mills Music, Guiford, CT
“When provided with a safe environment full of stimulating information, the students’ creative selves thrive.”
Becky Dodd
Member of NAfME for 20 years
Becky teaches grades 4-8. Liverpool Middle/Elementary, Liverpool, NY
“Setting high expectations, then providing the tools to achieve them, provides a challenging yet safe environment for students to explore creatively.”
Deborah Lynch
Member of NAfME for 2 years
Deborah is currently the Director of Music and Creative Dramatics at Evansville Day School for Jr. PreK-12.
The Patel Conservatory, Tampa, FL
“A great way to empower creativity in the choral classroom is to allow students to improvise and create music on the spot. Sometimes I accomplish this through vocal warm-ups by allowing different sections and individuals to add original ostinatos to existing vocal patterns.”
Herbert Johnson
Member of NAfME for 13 years
Herbert teaches grades 9-12. Lakewood High School, Sumter, SC
“Balanced structure with free play and exploration grows creativity at Kelly Middle School.”
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.—Plutarch
Janice Bengtson
Member of NAfME for 3 years
Janice teaches first-year players (grade 7). Kelly Middle School, Springdale, AR
Last year Janice’s students had several opportunities to perform “total immersion” for a White House Initiative.
“Creativity is fostered when students use Apps to create their own accompaniment to structured designs.”
Barbara Sanders
Member of NAfME for 19 years
Barbara teaches grades 4-5. Oak Hill School, Franklin, TN
“Whether it be through song-writing and composing or developing choreography, student creativity is the driving force behind each day of learning in my choir classroom. I feel fortunate that I get to watch them develop as performers and young adults.”
Andrea Hasley
Member of NAfME for 13 years
Andrea teaches grades 6-8. Martinsburg North Middle School, Martinsburg, WV
“I empower my student’s creativity by making my classroom a safe place to make mistakes, to try out ideas, and by giving positive and constructive criticism.”
Erik Reinhart
Member of NAfME for 12 years
Erik teaches grades 9-12. Churchville-Chili High School, Rochester, NY
“We empower creativity in our traditional choirs through use of varying ideas related to dynamics, phrasing, etc. In our Jazz group, there is the added element of improvisational solos.”
Ken Riggs
Member of NAfME for 23 years
Ken teaches grades 9-12. Tahoma High School, Maple Valley, WA
“Music is the soundtrack to your life! This is what I tell my students; when I’m listening to the radio, or watching a movie, or I’m in a supermarket, and I hear a familiar melody or song or concerto or symphony, I think back to the first time I heard it and you know what, I’m back in time. It’s happened to you too right?”
Joseph Rutkowski
Member of NAfME for 32 years
Joseph teaches grades 9-12. John L. Miller – Great Neck North High School, Great Neck, NY
“Building student choice into collaborative work generates innovative ideas in music making.”
Leslie Imse
Member of NAfME for 26 years
Leslie teaches grades 9-12. Farmington High School, Farmington, CT
“To empower student creativity within my music ensemble classrooms, I try to encourage students to make as many decisions as they can as interpreters of the music – advocates on the behalf of the composer.”
Bryan Miller
Member of NAfME for 8 years
Bryan teaches grades 9-12. Leyden High School, Franklin Park, IL
“One of the ways I hope to inspire creativity in my chorus is by having students play instruments to accompany our singing. We bring out handheld percussion – chimes, shakers, drums – and have them create accompaniments. We’ve had students do the same with flutes and violins as well.”
Philip Steinbacher
Member of NAfME for 10 years
Philip teaches grades 4-12. Island School, Lihue, HI
“We empower creativity in the classroom by encouraging early childhood development centers to use our Musical Adventure book characters as ‘champions’ and ‘friends’ to incorporate into music immersion curricular activities.”
Kenneth Korber
Member of NAfME for 1 year
Health Education Group, Arlington Heights, IL
“The music room is a natural outlet for creativity. Through singing, dancing, playing, improvising, and moving, students are able to express themselves in a way no other subject offers. M.U.S.I.C. consists of:
Movement/dance
Understand (reading & writing)
Singing
Instruments
Create
The highlight of my day is to see the joy of students making music in a community where learning is occurring. We have the best job!”
Carly Schieffer
Member of NAfME for 3 years
Carly teaches grades K-5th. Bowman Woods Elementary School, Cedar Rapids, IA
“Our students are encouraged to be creative by participating in a drum circle where they can make up their own rhythm patterns and play music together. They also write and perform their own music on their recorders with known rhythms and pitches.”
Resheta Patton
Member of NAfME for 8 years
Resheta teaches grades K-5th. Dodge Literacy Magnet Elementary School, Wichita, KS
“To empower my students’ creativity in the music room, I take their natural, instinctive movements as they learn a new song or listen to music, and incorporate them into motions and choreography. Movement solidifies lyrics and form and facilitates learning, especially for children struggling to read.”
Eleanor Nesbitt
Member of NAfME for 38 years
Eleanor teaches grades K-5th. Alamance Elementary School, Greensboro, NC
“I find that learning music is so much more than looking at a piece of music and singing correct notes and rhythms. In order to learn and perform to the best of our ability, we have to transform the entire piece of music into a work of art, which means using every facet of our bodies and beings in the process.”
Joan Thomas
Member of NAfME for 30 years
Joan teaches grades 9-12. Pike County High School, Thomaston, GA
“Empowering creativity in students is as simple as giving children permission to explore, create, and make music that is meaningful to them. I tell my students that there is a musician inside of all of us – unleashing that musician opens a world of possibilities.”
Courtney Turay
Member of NAfME for 1 year
Courtney teaches grades K-5th. Lemons Mill Elementary, Georgetown, KY
“Students are encouraged to explore and refine their singing voices and instrument playing both in large groups and small groups. All children are seen as capable of being musicians. To this end, students work together to create performances and informances within the classroom and community.”
Elaine Hashem
Member of NAfME for 37 years
Elaine teaches grades K-5th. Penacook Elementary School, Webster, NH
“I empower creativity by allowing the students to take ownership of the music – by learning it on a creative level with instruments, song, and movement; and allowing them to become one with the song.”
Holly Beard
Member of NAfME for 3 years
Holly teaches P-3- 5th. Metro Christian Academy, Tulsa, OK
“Kids will be creative only when they feel comfortable making mistakes.”
Michelle Goethert
Member of NAfME for 2 years
Michelle teaches grades K-4th. Willow Brook School, Oak Ridge, TN
“Every week I take a day to focus on promoting 21st century skills (communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking); recently each group created an alternate ending to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star using glockenspiels.”
Rodney Harshbarger
Member of NAfME for 5 years
Rodney teaches grades K-6. Old Kings Elementary School, Flagler Beach, FL
“I empower creativity in my classroom by allowing students to lead sectional rehearsals. They are asked to accomplish specific tasks within those sectional rehearsals in a specified amount of time. The methods used are entirely up to them. I hope to engender not only dedicated and accomplished musicians, but future leaders as well.”
Kevin Caparotta
Member of NAfME for 17 years
Kevin teaches grades 8-12. Brother Martin High School, Metairie, LA
“Eyes twinkle, toes tingle, and joy abounds wherever creativity is allowed to flourish.”
Karen Hearn
Member of NAfME for 8 years
Karen teaches grades K-8. Brookstone School, Columbus, GA
“I empower creativity in the classroom by letting the students know that our music classroom is a safe environment to explore their voices, movement, instruments, or any activity. ‘No one laughs at another person’s honest effort’ is a rule to encourage self-expression and learning without ridicule.”
Nancy Bennett
Member of NAfME for 20 years
Nancy teaches grades K-6. Willow River School, Sandstone, MN
Add your thoughts in the comment section. And THANK YOU for all you do for your students!
Catherina Hurlburt, Communications Manager, October 25, 2015. © National Association for Music Education (NAfME.org)
