Keith Ayling MMus
Keith Ayling is the editor of award-nominated Ensemble Magazine and media manager for the Music Teachers’ Association. He is also an award winning songwriter and Senior Lecturer in Songwriting at Leeds College of Music.
@keithayling
This editorial appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of Ensemble – Music Teachers’ Association Magazine
I believe we are at the beginning of a fundamental shift in education and this time we should engage all the more.
This issue of Ensemble has a feature on exams – a subject that is filling the conversational landscape at the present time. Some schools are experiencing real challenges in maintaining academic numbers in GCSE and A level, and indeed real challenges in justifying their department in and out of the classroom.
Others are finding that the current landscape of academic changes has not (yet) affected numbers and in some cases departments are flourishing.
For those who have seen this all before, it can be frustrating when the powers that be try to reinvent the wheel again.
But we are going through a revolution in learning, in technology and in attitude to the perception of our careers, and this time there is a feeling that a shift will happen. These things take time, but I believe we are at the beginning of a fundamental shift in education and this time we should engage all the more.
I recently had the privilege of speaking for TEDx on the subject of songwriting and creativity. The success of TED talks has re-engaged a generation with learning in 18-minute sessions, generating a community of millions. Maybe it is no coincidence that the most-viewed talk on TED.com is by leading educational consultant and author Sir Ken Robinson.
His talk has made waves with its suggestion that we could be teaching our students in a very different way. I urge you to consider his ideas and see how they may or may not connect with your own.
These are the type of conversations that we have at our annual conference. Next year (May 2019) we are gathering in Bromsgrove and I would also urge you to join in the conversation. Together we represent the music teachers of the UK and these are conversations that we need to have.
On Twitter @keithayling
