“Music educators at all levels can take advantage of myriad collaborations” (see Partnerships in Music Education, January 22, 2009), says Rhoda Bernard, chair of The Boston Conservatory’s Music Education Department.

In Bernard’s opinion, “partnerships between colleges and public school districts for prepracticum experiences and student teaching practicum placements are the most important partnerships in music teacher education.”

“These collaborations, when effective, provide a critical bridge between the theoretical and academic world of the college or university music teacher education program and the practical and reflective world of K-12 music education,” she says.

Bernard explains that “in the public school music classroom, preservice music teachers create new meaning from their studies, and this is where they develop their identities as professional music educators. Public school music educators and their students who host prepracticum students and student teachers also gain a great deal from these partnerships when they are effective.”

Through this type of experience, says Bernard, “the music educators gain a fresh perspective on their work and often learn about various aspects of music from their student teachers, and the young students benefit from the opportunity to work with and get to know another music teacher.”

MENC member Rhoda Bernard, Ed.D., is chair of the Music Education Department at The Boston Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts.

--Ella Wilcox, January 28, 2009, © MENC: The National Association for Music Education (www.menc.org)