Web Site Critique: MENC

www. menc.org

The is the site for the National Association for Music Education. In Texas, TMEA is the main organization for music education, everywhere else- it’s MENC. The amount of resources and links on this page is incredible, so I’m only going to highlight a few specific areas.

To the left side of the homepage you will find a huge list of links. Through these, you can navigate directly to your specific content area. Most of the sections on this site are for MENC members only. Although this may seem inconvenient for a non- member, it would be wise for any music educator to become a member anyway.

Music Educator’s Journal

This is published by MENC and is one of the most comprehensive publications available for music educators across the country. WTAMU holds a subscription, and it has proven to be a valuable resource to me in the past.

The featured article online in this month’s issue explores the value of teacher modeling in the music classroom and its benefits. This article and all the others found in this publication are continually up to date and relevant in today’s music classroom.

National Anthem Project

This is a really fabulous event aimed at promoting music education in the US through the simultaneous performance of the national anthem on June 15^th of every year. The main performance is in Washington DC, satellite performances will also be taking place across the country.

National Standards

While also a specific section on this site, the entire site deals with music education on a broader, national level. While regional sharing of information and issues is important, the national standards for music educators can provide a different angle from which to view things. For example, west Texas is most a band oriented area, while in the eastern side of the United States orchestral and choral music take on a higher importance.

Overall, I found this site useful and informative only if you are a member of MENC. Though, if you are a music educator you most likely would be. This site was organized and relatively east to navigate. Some of the nation-wide projects and music education advocacy materials are good things to be aware of, even though much of this was covered on the TMEA site. MENC is also a great resource for music educators who do not teach in the schools, but rather privately or out of their home. This is a good way for those individuals to network and increase their pedagogical knowledge even if they are located in a remote area.