<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16711" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" bottomMargin=7 bgColor=#ffffff leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7> <DIV><FONT size=2>This is an excellent idea.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>My opinion, though, is that it would have more credibility coming from Larry than from the PTG CAUT.  Coming from him, it would have a better chance of appearing to be independent and unbiased.  Ratings from the CAUT group alone could project a self-serving appearance.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>If you wanted to go a step deeper, you could have students and faculty take part in a survey every x years.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Ed Sutton's idea of the schools taking it and running with it is a good one.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Now where can we find a school that would earn a top ranking to start the ball running?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>On the other hand, if schools know they are deficient, how would we get them to agree to participate?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Tanner</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=DCyr141833@aol.com href="mailto:DCyr141833@aol.com">DCyr141833@aol.com</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=caut@ptg.org href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">caut@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, August 24, 2008 11:04 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [CAUT] position announcements, etc</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><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 PTSIZE="10" FAMILY="SANSSERIF">Debbie Cyr<BR>Registered Piano Technician<BR>508-202-2862 cell</FONT></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR> <DIV><FONT style="FONT: 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF; COLOR: black"> <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></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>