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July 23, 2012
Doodle Bugs! Standard of the Week: 07/23/12
This week’s SOTW reminds teachers to choose age-appropriate music for their classrooms, avoiding any potentially scary, explicit, or controversial lyrics.
Specific Dos and DON’Ts include:
- DO listen to music before you play it. Just like a teacher should read a book before she uses it in the classroom, music should be previewed.
- DO choose children’s music, rather than children’s versions of adult music. Songs adapted for children’s use (for example, the Cars theme or KidzBop CDs) often contain questionable content. Choose children’s artists instead (Dan Zanes, Laurie Berkner, Greg & Steve, etc.)
- DO play music with a purpose (soft music for rest, upbeat music for active play, classical music for math activities, etc.) Best practice means that music is not just background noise, it’s used with intention.
- DO use at least three types of music regularly. To score well on the ECERS, the observer looks for “Music representing diverse cultures and different languages * at least three different types of music used regularly; involving a variety of instruments; and including a variety of musical styles, rhythms, and volumes.”
- DO NOT play KidzBop. Moving forward, no KidzBop music is permitted in classrooms, due to questionable content.
- DO NOT play radio stations. Commercial radio also includes questionable content.
The SOTW will be posted for parents to see, in the faculty lounge, and placed in each classroom’s mailslot.
View the current SOTW as a .pdf here: Appropriate Music