Call it "State Music Assessment"

Hint: Call it "State Music Assessment"

Editor's note: I picked up a brilliant idea from one of our Missouri directors this week. I wish I would have thought of this during my teaching career! Below is the suggestion and the submitting director wished to remain anonymous.

I used to hear grumblings from teachers in my building for pulling kids out of class to attend state music assessment. The reason had a great deal to do with the fact that I called it "concert band contest". Once I started referring to it as state music assessment, it took on a completely different feel. Calling it the SMA's holds a ton of weight with my school who doesn't take festivals and contests as seriously as "assessments". Since I began calling it our State Assessment, we are allowed to pull kids from other classes for sectionals and individual help. The school now holds our date sacred, because, you know, it is not a contest or festival, but THE state music ASSESSMENT. I'm encouraging everyone to refer to it accordingly.