RY: One of the Council’s latest projects is providing sessions at state music educator meetings. For example, one of our Council members, Greg Way, has presented to the educators in British Columbia, Manitoba, and Alberta. We have an-
“These materials are specifically aimed at helping educators do the very best they can.” other industry veteran working with us, Danny Rocks, who is a professional presenter. We hired him to present this guide and demonstrate how important recruiting and retention are to the overall health of a school’s music program. In addition to Canada, we just presented in Wisconsin this October and we’re going to be at the Illinois MEA in January, TMEA in February. and the Iowa MEA in May. We’re just beginning this session work, and it’s in
cooperation with NASMD and the Music Achievement Council. In addition, and most importantly, the local NASMD dealers in each State are involved, as well. SBO: It’s certainly important to get the word out. And MAC publications can be ordered from the Web site? RY: That’s correct, www.musicachievementcouncil.org. Another publication that can be found on our site is Tips for Success, which is a series of focused articles written to address the many challenges found by young educators, especially, but also which may also apply to teachers of all levels of experience. Many different topics are covered, like building support among the administration, how to obtain community support, how to maintain discipline in the classroom — all the things that teachers may not have the opportunity to learn in college. These are situations which,
if not properly implemented at the beginning of a career, can really be a detriment; we’ve seen that some teachers come into a first or second job and start off on the wrong foot and, after a year or two, they’re gone because of a problem with the community or the administration. These materials are specifically aimed at helping educators do the very best they can. Rick Young is the chairman of the MAC and has been with the organization for three years, though he has over 30 years of experience in the music industry. Rick has worked at Yamaha for the last 20 of those years, currently serving as corporate VP and GM. Rick is a product of Wisconsin school music programs.
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SEE US AT TMEA BOOTH 1241 School Band and Orchestra, January 2008 23