This historical study chronicles the creation, development, and termination of the Midwestern Conference on School Vocal and Instrumental Music, hosted by the University of Michigan between 1946 and 2005. Beginning as a band music reading session led by William Revelli in 1936, the conference developed into a premier professional workshop by the…

An annual German Day event can be a powerful tool to motivate students, increase visibility of state and local German programs, and, ultimately, boost enrollments. However, it can also be a daunting undertaking that is often orchestrated by a single person. This article offers a user guide that can help others plan their own German Day, be it a…

This chapter recounts the development of faculty and student groups whose purposes are to promote mindfulness and contemplative pedagogy on the California State University-Chico campus through work both on the campus and in the greater Chico community. The "Mindful Campus" a student organization formed in 2011, merged with the…

National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) is a nationally celebrated event that promotes sport and physical activity opportunities for girls and women. Over 1,500 events and activities are held annually in all 50 states to celebrate and promote female participation in sport. This article introduces the sport/activity-clinic model of the NGWSD…

Our aim was to present in this paper the one of the most important methods of environmental education, the project method. We present here the steps and phases of project method and we give an example of how to use these elements in planning an activity for celebrating the World Day for Water.

This article provides specific recommendations to help faculty members organize, plan, and conduct a short-term overseas study tour. Specifically, strategies are presented to help with managing student anxiety in the pretrip sessions, acclimating the students to their new environment in the early part of the trip, balancing academic content with…

Youth Art Month (YAM) is an annual observance each March to emphasize the value of art education for all students and to encourage support for quality school art programs. Youth Art Month (YAM) is in virtually every state, in many communities, in schools, libraries, stores, and other places. Anyone can start an observance--an art educator, a…

Highlights the benefits of a cultural arts program for elementary schools, using as resources artists, performers, and artists from every discipline. Focuses on program administration, keys to success (e.g., variety and matching artist ability to school interest), financial requirements, and benefits. (DMM)

To bring more young adults into the Thurmont Branch of the Frederick County (Maryland) Public Library, a children's librarian and the Young Adult Advisory Committee created Teen Poetry Night, at which teens were invited to read their own poetry or the work of a favorite poet. Program planning and implementation are described. (PEN)

Literary festivals offer a unique proposition to libraries: host one, bring the reading public up-close and personal with writers of all kinds, and they will bask in the glory of that connection. Indeed, festivals can be the pathway for libraries to "own" the literary niche in their community. Bob Cannon, executive director of the Broward County…

A successful community festival will be unique, will fit the character and interests of the community, and should be headed by a versatile coordinator who can administer fund raising, publicity, and recordkeeping. (RJG)

Outlines a series of creative ideas designed to increase the membership and effectiveness of a campus music organization. Ideas are collected under the broad categories of recruitment, retention, programs, special events, and fundraising. Suggestions include partnerships with other organizations, mentoring programs, and others. (MJP)

To address some of the social, health, economic and cultural issues of growing older in America, Greenfield Community College (GCC) in Massachusetts sponsored a Celebration of Growing Older program. The 2-month long series of events was designed to educate the public, both young and old, about the myths of aging and to challenge some assumptions…

A demonstration project, called the Cultural Voucher Program, was implemented through support from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education of The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The project enabled cultural institutions to reach a new public, develop new educational programs specifically suited to the needs of new…

Since 1990, growing numbers of migrant students have prompted Cobden School District (Illinois) to develop a bilingual education program incorporating native-language instruction for students who speak Spanish, content courses in Spanish, and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes. The Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery is used to determine…