A quick history
In 1973, planning started for the first national Music in Our Schools Day. The idea has always been to foster support of the arts in education and celebrate all the music teachers who could take the message into their schools and communities. They started to gather ideas and resources of how best to celebrate music throughout the country. New York celebrated the first proclamation in March 1973 and it has since gone nationwide.
In the 1980s, efforts were increased to support advocacy with Music in our Schools Month (MIOSM), which was designated to be the month of March, and encouraged visits to state legislators to foster communication. NAfME now has this annual celebration during March and is engages music educators, students, and communities from around the country to promote the benefits of high quality music education programs in school. It was in 1985 that the tradition of having a special song designated for each year started. It was also in 1985 that the idea for a new event was launched and The World’s Largest Concert was born. That tradition continues today online. It is now called the “Biggest School Chorus in the World!” This year’s overall theme is “Music Connects Us”.
What Can I Do?
There are many ways to get involved with Music in Our Schools Month. There is an extensive list which can be found on the NAfME website but here are some highlights for those of you who want something fairly easy to get started with and also some new ideas for those of you who have been taking part all these many years. Some ideas can be used all year long to champion your music program, while others are specific to celebrating MIOSM in March.
Ideas for Celebrating:
- See how other schools have celebrated Music in our Schools at the NAfME website
- Take it on the road. Share your honor choir or a grade level with retirement centers, the local mall or grocery store
- Don’t be afraid to “Toot Your Own Horn”! Take the Governor’s Proclamation (it can be found on the state KMEA web site) to a board of education meeting and then have one of your choirs sing. There are some great songs about “Forever Learning” or “Learning to Love Reading” etc. Other ideas might be to write an article to share with the school district or community newspaper
- Invite administration, school board members and others in the community to visit your class. If you are doing something fun, make sure the classroom teachers and your principal know about it
- Share stories of YOUR personal relationship to music and what inspired you! Ask for other teachers’ stories in your building and along with their picture, make a bulletin board. Students love hearing personal stories about their teachers
- Do something with a calendar of March. Make each day/week a certain composer, style of music or musicians
- Do something creative for morning announcements. Play a “mystery tune” or have a music trivia question. Have a MIOSM prize like a sticker for the winner
- Collaborate with the art teacher or classroom teachers and have students design and create banners or posters for the hallways
- Make a big poster of all the different ways music is in society…from church to movies, and from parades to sports
- Have students create a banner and list what music means to them
- See if high school or college students or professional musicians in the area tour around and invite them for an assembly to show that music can be a life-long endeavor
- Use social media to promote programs and other events. Most schools have a Facebook or Instagram account.
- Browse around the NAfME store for MIOSM products. They have everything from stickers and pencils to posters T-shirts, all at a very affordable price.
The main focus of the Music in Our Schools Month is to build support for music education by bringing it to the spotlight and to show children that a life-long love of music and the arts can make for a better quality of life.
