We are pleased to introduce Jeremy Coleman as the GuitarCurriculum.com Inclusion Specialist. Mr. Coleman has a MM in Music Education and is a licensed Music Therapist. For five years he has run a thriving program with students at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
Mr. Coleman is available to help current GuitarCurriculum.com subscribers develop inclusion plans and strategies for their students with special needs.
Email us to schedule your free email or phone consultation.
We asked Mr. Coleman to share some thoughts about inclusion in the guitar classroom:
The National Association for Music Education’s mission is “to advance music education by encouraging the study and making of music by all.”
The use of the word “all” is important. There are very few occasions in education where we can use this word, but our national organization chooses to use it here. Why?
We as a profession are seeking to transcend obstacles that may arise in the educational process in order to promote the music development of children. To achieve this objective some children may require additional accommodations to access the same level of education offered their peers.
Decisions regarding their education often involve a high degree of planning by a team of people, including parents, administrators, classroom teachers, special education teachers and other related service professionals. This educational team often looks to the music classroom as a chance for students with disabilities to be educated along side their typically developing peers. This is a process known as “inclusion.”
But once the student with a disability is included in the music classroom, what do we want them to do? How can we maximize their music engagement without creating unmanageable curricular modifications?
Teaching students with disabilities comes down to a combination of two simple concepts: collaboration and good teaching.
Including all students requires a high level of collaboration on the part of the music educator. Often however, other professionals working at our schools know very little about our mission as music educators, limiting the kinds of insights they can offer.
It has been my experience over the last decade that belonging to a group of music professionals where ideas can be shared is essential to successful inclusion. Conferences are great—but what we really need is on-going correspondence between music professionals throughout the year.
My role as the Inclusion Specialist for GuitarCurriculum.com is to draw upon the best practices in both music education and special education to help you maximize your students’ involvement in guitar class. The concept of “all children” is the very foundation upon which GuitarCurriulum.com was built. I look forward to working directly with you to identify challenges and create meaningful solutions so that all your students have an opportunity to be successful.