<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>This sounds like a really promising approach. Logistically, coming up with ratings on all the music programs all at once is probably impractical. But maybe an additive approach would work, and I think it should be purely on a positive basis: we come up with some sort of standard (or, better, multi-tiered standard as in Acceptable/Good/Excellent), and find schools which meet the standard(s). And publicize that list. Then it becomes a matter of schools asking to be evaluated and considered for inclusion, a prestige thing (in direct competition with "All-Steinway" <G>. Sometimes overlapping, perhaps). <div><div apple-content-edited="true"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>Regards,</div><div>Fred Sturm</div><div>University of New Mexico</div><div><a href="mailto:fssturm@unm.edu">fssturm@unm.edu</a></div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"> </div><br><div><div>On Aug 24, 2008, at 9:04 AM, <a href="mailto:DCyr141833@aol.com">DCyr141833@aol.com</a> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"> <div id="role_body" style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" bottommargin="7" leftmargin="7" topmargin="7" rightmargin="7"><font id="role_document" face="Arial" color="#000000" size="3"> <div>Well, here's my 2 cents......</div> <div>When Larry Fine came out with The Piano Book, he, in effect, was looking to educate the consumer, who then would know what to look for, and what questions to ask, which then put the manufacturers on notice, and in the end made the manufacturers more responsible for their end product.  Why can't something similar be done with schools of music?  I put this to Larry, asking if this was something he'd be interested in adding to his book.  He thought it was an excellent idea, but probably should be undertaken as a separate project, by CAUT.  His thoughts... <div><font face="Courier New" size="2">My suggestion would be that CAUT should come up with -- to the extent reasonably possible -- precise, objective criteria for piano condition, maintenance, budget, etc. that music schools should ideally have, and then give each school a numerical rating based on those criteria.  These ratings, along with comments, could then be published and offered to music educators and others who influence student and parental decisions concerning choice of school to attend.  It could be updated every few years.  I would be interested in publishing such a book, or perhaps PTG would like to.</font></div> <div>I truly believe that the educated consumer - the music degree seeking  student and their parents - knowing what questions to ask, knowing what to look for, guided by some sort of "Handbook on Music Schools" in which could be "ratings" of schools according to CAUT guidelines - they will demand and cause more change among music schools, more quickly, than all of our foot-stomping, rants, and emails could ever do.</div> <div>All we need is someone willing to do the leg-work. </div> <div><font face="Courier New" size="2"></font> </div></div> <div> </div> <div><font lang="0" face="Arial" size="2" family="SANSSERIF" ptsize="10">Debbie Cyr<br>Registered Piano Technician<br>508-202-2862 cell</font></div></font><br><br><br><div><font style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><hr style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">It's only a deal if it's where <i>you</i> want to go. Find your travel deal <a title="http://information.travel.aol.com/deals?ncid=aoltrv00050000000047" href="http://information.travel.aol.com/deals?ncid=aoltrv00050000000047" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>.</font></div></div></blockquote></div><br></div></body></html>