That said, I do recommend that they use it as a jumping off point. It’s not a good research destination, but it can make a fine jumping off point and often lists some legitimate sources.

As far as needing hours to go through your resources– well, that’s how the teaching gig works, particularly in your early years. Look at it this way– if one of your students came to you and said, “Dang, I could probably learn how to play that piece, but I would have to go home and practice every night for a week. There has to be an easier way,” what would your response to that be?

Wikipedia is just fine. You’re not using it as a source for your own articles, you’re using it to teach kids something that they will relearn 7 more times before they leave high school. It’s fast, it give you a lot of information, and most every music related think I’ve read there (which is a lot- I use it in music classes) has been written by people with a strong use of English and accurate. I haven’t read any stupid or random postings. Personally, because anybody can adjust it, I like it better than a webpage that is only one person’s opinion, because there’s no checks or balances for that.

http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Main_Page

I’m sure that there are also other good sources, but I’m not a music teacher, so I dunno what you’ll want. Good luck with your new job, K-8, now that’s a variety. whew! 🙂

Most of the stuff is pretty reliable unless it’s controversial information. I would just make sure you check the facts before you present them to your class.