Time to change

In another blog, I am writing a more-or-less detailed accounting of some of the lessons and practices that have proven effective in teaching music to the  thousands of kindergarten through high school students that I have had in my career.  

High Tech and High Touch

In the art of teaching, the challenge is to communicate information to the student in such a way that they receive, process, interiorize, apply and retain new knowledge.  To do that the teacher has available to them the seven senses of learning

Reading Improvement through Music, Movement and Play 'RITMMAP'

Up to this point, I've shared some principles and insights of educators, psychologists, and even neuro-biologists that have proven to be particularly instructive in my own understanding as I've taught thousands of students over the last two decades.  These insights are not new.  What is new however, is the convergence of the various sciences of cognition, neuroscience, learning theory, and psychology - especially as it relates to emotional development.

Notes and Neurons, Mozart & Einstein

I get puzzled by why so many people (often politicians and all too often, school officials) claim that we need more of an emphasis on math and science in our schools because we as a nation are falling so far behind other countries in the world in  grade-level tests 

Play is the work of children.

In this discussion, I want to talk about one of the most effective instructional strategies for student learning that I am aware of.  This model  has received enormous attention and research over the last few decades, and has been utilized by knowledgeable  educators for years.  

Direct Instruction + Art = Engaged Students

In the last blog, I talked about how one of the arts, drama,  can enliven any classroom and significantly contribute to student interest, engagement and learning.

Drama In The Classroom

One of the statements that I made in my last blog is a little difficult to understand without some background.  The statement suggested that an infusion of the arts into teaching is how we all learn, all the time.

The 'System' isn't working

Long before the educational morass that we are now experiencing  began,

Current state; Identity

Hello - Let me introduce myself.  My name is Ron Zell.  I am a former California k-8, public school music teacher.  Believe it or not, once upon a time,