About OMEA
The Ontario Music Educators’ Association (OMEA), a non-profit organization that represents music educators in Ontario. One of our objectives is to ‘provide leadership in establishing and maintaining high standards of school music throughout Ontario & Canada’. We participate in meetings with the Ministry of Education, the Ontario Teachers’ Federation Curriculum Forum, and the Ontario College of Teachers.
The history of the OMEA dates back to 1919 with the creation of the Music Section of the Ontario Music Education Association. In 1949, it was reorganized as the OMEA and continues as a volunteer organization, comprised of teachers who are dedicated to working on its members’ behalf by offering ongoing professional development, networking, resources, and advocacy to improve teaching practise and quality music education in Ontario.
Throughout our sixty year history we have continued to provide our members with curriculum resources, and organize regional and annual conferences. The association has a 21-member board of directors representing a variety of school districts throughout Ontario. Our goal as an organization is to be an effective, reliable resource for Music Educators working in a wide variety of environments, and with a range of backgrounds. We want the OMEA to be equally useful to the program leader of a dynamic, multi-teacher music program, and to the classroom teacher bringing music to his/her students in a rural school.
President's Message
Helen Coker
2010-2012
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a chance over the holidays to rest and relax after the busy holiday concert season and had the chance to spend time with friends and family. It is hard to believe that my term has Vice President has finished and I step into the role of President. Laura Lee did an incredible job as President and took on many large tasks including the writing project for the Ministry. She was a true leader for all music educators and represented the OMEA extremely well provincially and nationally. Congratulations Laura Lee and thank you!
As I start my term as President I thought I would introduce myself. I am currently teaching instrumental, guitar and developmental music at College Ave Secondary School in Woodstock (part of the Thames Valley District School Board) where I’ve been for the past two years. Prior to that I taught vocal, guitar and strings at two other TVDSB high schools along with Grades 4–8 music at an elementary school that fed into each high school. I consider myself fortunate to have taught such a wide range of ages and strands of music, it has given me great insight and knowledge.
I have been on the OMEA board for nine years now, prior to my Vice Presidency I held the position of Treasurer. I have also co-chaired the OMEA/CMIEC conferences in London in 2010 and in 2006. Working on a conference committee is extremely rewarding and I encourage all of you to consider helping out with a conference or regional workshop in the future. The OMEA and CMIEC have confirmed the locations of our conferences for the next six years and planning has begun for many of them. Please contact me if you are interested in helping out.
The OMEA has developed many new and exciting resources over the past year. As mentioned in previous Recorders we have written over two hundred lessons for Grades 1 to 12. The elementary units and lessons have all been edited and are posted on our website. There have been many questions about the secondary lessons. As you know, the new secondary curriculum document was not released until days before the school year started. Our lead writer and editor have been working their way through the lessons and units while still trying to teach in their own classrooms, run rehearsals and do all of the things that busy music teachers do. We know that you are all waiting for these units and we hope to have them all posted on the website by the spring. As units are completed they are being posted so check the website regularly.
Speaking of the website, have you seen it lately? The OMEA website has been COMPLETELY redesigned over the past few months. It is bright, fresh and easy to navigate. If you haven’t already done so, please sign up as a member. This will give you access to the entire website including the new discussion board and extra resources that are being created just for OMEA members. Take a few minutes and wander through the website to see what is available. Check out the corporate members page and see the additional offers that some have offered to OMEA members. Join in on the discussion board: ask a question, post a suggestion, share a resource, this page is there for you!
Have a good end of semester and term and good luck preparing for the upcoming music festivals. See you in the spring,
Helen Coker
OMEA President
History
OMEA Background:
It’s hard to believe that the Ontario Music Educators Association also known as the Music Section until 1949 has turned 90 & 60 years young respectively. With our roots beginning in 1919 with a mere 18 public-school music supervisors and instructors from provincial schools its hard to believe that today the OMEA has over 1500 hundred members ranging from Elementary, secondary, public independent, college, university professors. And 51 years after its first publication date we continue to publish The Recorder. Not only do we continue to provide our members with tried & tested lessons, useful tips, but have also jumped on the technology band-wagon and reflect this by having developed an electronic newsletter – E-Notes and communicate regularly with our members through our website and also through email whenever necessary. Its amazing how some things can change while still remaining constant.
At the very first Music section at the Education Convention in 1919 the members adopted 7 recommendations – many of the recommendations are ones that are shared regularly by the OMEA and the Alliance for music education Ontario.
The regulations are:
- That the regulation relating to the compulsory teaching of music be made active throughout the Province, and that a minimum of 1 hour per week be required by the Department to be devoted to the study of vocal music.
- That a supervisor of music for the province of Ontario be appointed to stimulate an interest in music, particularly throughout the rural districts and towns where the subject is not now taught in public and highs schools.
- That the duties and relationship of supervisors of music to the school be clearly defined by the department of education in the departmental regulations.
- It has been found that 88% of all students entering Normal schools have had no previous training in singing – we would strongly urge the appointment of supervisors of music for rural districts, and that this recommendation be carried into effect as promptly as practicable.
- That phonographs, and band and orchestral instruments for school use only, be put on the approved school apparatus in order that they may be subject to the same exemption from customs duties as other school apparatus.
- That we recommend the granting of credits for outside music study in the High school course, as soon as the department deems it expedient.
- In order to give teachers-in-training an opportunity to hear the best music, and in order that they may receive training in music appreciation, we would recommend that gramophones be placed in normal schools, in English-French training schools and English Model schools of the province.
While there are similarities between recommendations made in 1919 and recommendations recently made by the OMEA & the Alliance for Music Education Ontario – we have been witness to some positive changes over the years.
Since 1998 we have had an Arts – Music curriculum which has assisted us in lobbying for regular and continuous music instruction to be provided to all students as part of their elementary education. Students graduating from secondary schools are also required to have at least ONE arts credit with provision for a 2nd arts credit to satisfy another diploma requirement.
As of September 2009 a revised Elementary Arts/Music Curriculum has begun to be implemented – with the secondary to follow in 2010. While we have not achieved everything we have set out to accomplish – we continue to move forward and are pleased to have a strong curriculum to work with.
As an organization we are often invited to work with the Ministry of Education as one of their stakeholders. We have provided input on a number of occasions but most recently including the revisions of Arts curriculum and also with the new growing success assessment, evaluation & report policy.
Over the years we have received 2 grants from the Ministry of Education – the first occurring approximately 3 years ago. With that money and some other funds we were able to secure through other grants and savings we developed the Think Literacy grades 1-6 music companion, published the Best of the Recorder and held another successful Leadership retreat for newer teachers.
This past spring (2009) we were awarded another more sizeable grant and with this money we have created a series of elementary units consisting of 5 lessons – one per grade, and will be developing course profiles for the secondary focus courses – all of these resources will be completed by the end of this school year and will available on our website by September 2010. We have also created the Creative Process Anchor chart – as found in both the elementary & secondary revised Music Curriculums for teachers to post in their classrooms and use on a continual basis.
In looking ahead to what the future has in store it’s difficult to predict. At our visioning retreat last March our directors spent a full day reflecting on what we do and how we do things – many things were discussed but a few key areas were hi-lighted:
- Improving our website & making it more interactive for example having an area where members could pose questions and receive answers or could post lesson ideas etc.
- Ensuring that we provide resources and classroom supports for the elementary classroom teacher who is not a music specialist
- Providing further supports on our website – for example music suggestions for holiday/special occasions etc.
I know that the OMEA will continue to strive to provide fabulous conference and workshop experiences for the teachers of Ontario and that we do hope to expand and further develop our website.
We will continue to provide a useful Journal to our members that is reflective of the classrooms that we teach in. As the classroom needs change we will continue to support our teachers in their teaching. We continue to encourage our members to provide us feedback so that we can improve on what and how we do things. So do send us your thoughts/suggestions.
We will continue to lobby for the establishment of a minimum instruction time to deliver all components of the elementary curriculum.
And as always we will continue to lobby on behalf of music education in Ontario & continue to strive for providing quality music education programs for all students in Ontario.
- Brault, Diana. 'A history of the Ontario Music Educators Association (1919-1974),' unpublished PH D thesis (ESM Rochester 1977)
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0002631
A powerpoint presentation of the last 60 years of OMEA History is now available.
Download now (22MB)
