Preparing music teachers for open education

As Keith Thompson notes in his article earlier in this issue, making the transition to open education takes time—because it involves changing people. It is not just a matter of altering the arrangement of a room, removing the bells and buzzers, and stockpiling materials in interest centers. It requires a different way of seeing the child and understanding the child, as well as a change in the teacher's attitude and self-image. Adopting theories and principles that may he foreign to one's own background and education is difficult enough, but even more challenging perhaps is putting those principles into practice as a teacher. In addition to new programs in preservice teacher education, assistance in making the transition can come through inservice programs, including teachers' centers and advisory services. These are described in the following article by Bernard Spodek, who has prepared teachers for open education through his work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he is professor of early childhood education. An active supporter of the movement and editor of the forthcoming Studies in Open Education, he has also been involved in inservice programs, including one at the Olive School (the subject of another article in this issue).—Ed.