MTNA and learning for life.

"Fortune favors the prepared mind." The primary mission of Music Teachers National Association has always been to support the professionalism of music teachers through the continuing education of its members. This mission is especially relevant in the current professional environment, which maintains a frenetic pace of change.

According to Thomas Friedman, an American auto parts manufacturer in China, posted the following African proverb on the factory floor:</p>

<pre> Every morning in Africa, a gazelle  wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle, or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle, When the sun comes up, you better start running. </pre> <p>Figuratively speaking, when it comes to continuing education, success and growth come to our MTNA members who continue to be good runners. Programs sponsored by our local associations, state associations and the national association are planned to fulfill the myriad needs of our members. These needs include opportunities to develop social relationships, achieve personal advancement and stimulate cognitive interest. Ideally, MTNA's offerings are learner-centered with encouragement for collaborative learning, as well as independent learning and critical thinking. Opportunities to network with other teachers and establish supportive professional friendships are found at all the association's continuing education events.

Attending the 2006 MTNA National Conference in Austin, Texas, March 25-29, is one of the best ways to stay up to date. This annual conference is MTNA's major continuing education initiative--one every member should take advantage of. MTNA members will select their division's director who will serve on the MTNA Board of Directors, as well as a director-elect for each division. These directors and directors-elect will replace the division presidents and presidents-elect.

The conference has a movie subtheme with William Westney's "Wax On, Wax Off: Hollywood's Perception of the Teacher-Student Relationship," Paul Bordeleau's "Improvisation to Silent films" and Salome Arkatov's documentary film about John Browning. Another conference highlight will be Lawyer Ted Piechonski discussing "Ethics in Music." Master classes will be given by The Amadeus Trio, John Weems, Ingrid Clarfield and Nelita True. Texas is one of many states that have excellent piano ensemble programs that feature a stage full of pianos and students. The piano ensemble performances at the Texas State conventions are impressive for their size, organization, and musicianship. The Texas MTA will present two conference piano ensemble concerts that will showcase the quality and procedures of their successful program. Related to these concerts will be teacher reading sessions of duet literature, an event we hope will become a conference tradition. The truly memorable highlight of the 2006 Texas Conference will be the appearance by Van Cliburn to speak in tribute to his mother Rildia Bee Cliburn. There will also be a tribute to Irl Allison. It is appropriate to honor these two important piano teachers in Texas' musical history. We will also be celebrating the Cliburn Foundation and Competition with Stanislav Ioudenitch (2001 Cliburn competition gold Winner) and Michael Hawley (2002 Cliburn amateur competition winner) performing at the conference. The work of the Cliburn Foundation and Competition is a model for Arts Advocacy. The community's involvement with hosting the competitors and endowing the competition is a prototype for community pride and ownership of a significant cultural event.

The Texas conference has the potential of being a significant milestone in the history of MTNA. History is full of periods of radical changes in knowledge and development. An excellent example is the life of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). Copernicus was born on a flat, unmoving planet at the center of the universe, around which the sun endlessly circled. A century after his death, based on his development of a different cosmology, that same planet was a rotating sphere orbiting around its sun, somewhere in a universe too vast to have a center. The planet had not changed, but the paradigm for understanding it had turned inside out. Is there a paradigm shift happening in music teaching? Will we someday view our current methods as antiquated and outmoded?

Certification testing will be conducted at the conference. Teachers who are not nationally certified teachers of music should consider acquiring MTNA certification as an important continuing education goal. Attending the conference also will earn currently certified teachers one point toward certification renewal.

It has been said that "youth is wasted on the young," but Albert Einstein countered this thought with, "The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives." May you see yourself as a work in progress, thrill to the drama of everyday life and take time to give your imagination free rein.

Carpe diem!

National Conferences

March 25-29, 2006       Austin, Texas
March 23-27, 2007       Toronto, Canada
March 29-April 2, 2008  Denver, Colorado

--Paul Stewart President