Teaching Philosophy
A good education begins with equipping each student with the skills she will need to live the life of her choosing. A great education also opens the student’s eyes to her role in the community and the world and inspires compassion and lasting, positive change. Music is crucial to achieving both of these ends. Not only does music education inspire a love of learning and encourage creative thinking, it exposes students to the world’s cultures and fosters both individuality and interpersonal understanding.
My music classroom will teach music in all its aspects. In making music, my students will discover the joy of playing with others and working towards personal mastery. In listening to music, students will become versed in great works of musical literature from across cultures. In responding to music, students will gain the sensibility to translate music into words, movements, or visual representations. As part of the musical community, students will share their music with the school and beyond, giving them pride in their work and in their school. As part of a musical world, students will use music to understand the world’s history and cultures and find their place in their own.
My music class, in addition to developing students into proficient musicians, will also provide my students with the environment they need to grow and mature as people through music. All students in my classroom will be treated as individuals, each of whom has unique talents and experiences that they can contribute to a class or to an ensemble and who all have unique goals for their own music class experience. Students’ individual needs, suggestions, and ideas will be taken seriously, and effective communication between students and with the teacher will be valued. My music classroom will be a collaborative environment where the students and the teacher will all strive for musical excellence.
The curriculum of my music class will reflect the fact that music is both a creative personal endeavor and a group effort. To foster creativity, my music classes will provide ample opportunities for improvisation and composition, regardless of the students’ skill levels on their instruments. I will also use the time spent in class to help my students develop the critical listening skills they need to critique their own performances, improvisations, and compositions. My goal as a teacher will be to help my students teach themselves, so that they can continue to improve their musical abilities outside of the limited class time. Finally, I intend to use music as a common thread to tie together many aspects of human society. History, cultural studies, literature, and art all come to life when contextualized through music, and music played with a historical and cultural perspective likewise becomes more meaningful. The students who pass through my classroom will become excellent musicians who will demonstrate teamwork, focus, determination, creativity, and above all, compassion and the lifelong skill of spreading joy through music.
A good education begins with equipping each student with the skills she will need to live the life of her choosing. A great education also opens the student’s eyes to her role in the community and the world and inspires compassion and lasting, positive change. Music is crucial to achieving both of these ends. Not only does music education inspire a love of learning and encourage creative thinking, it exposes students to the world’s cultures and fosters both individuality and interpersonal understanding.
My music classroom will teach music in all its aspects. In making music, my students will discover the joy of playing with others and working towards personal mastery. In listening to music, students will become versed in great works of musical literature from across cultures. In responding to music, students will gain the sensibility to translate music into words, movements, or visual representations. As part of the musical community, students will share their music with the school and beyond, giving them pride in their work and in their school. As part of a musical world, students will use music to understand the world’s history and cultures and find their place in their own.
My music class, in addition to developing students into proficient musicians, will also provide my students with the environment they need to grow and mature as people through music. All students in my classroom will be treated as individuals, each of whom has unique talents and experiences that they can contribute to a class or to an ensemble and who all have unique goals for their own music class experience. Students’ individual needs, suggestions, and ideas will be taken seriously, and effective communication between students and with the teacher will be valued. My music classroom will be a collaborative environment where the students and the teacher will all strive for musical excellence.
The curriculum of my music class will reflect the fact that music is both a creative personal endeavor and a group effort. To foster creativity, my music classes will provide ample opportunities for improvisation and composition, regardless of the students’ skill levels on their instruments. I will also use the time spent in class to help my students develop the critical listening skills they need to critique their own performances, improvisations, and compositions. My goal as a teacher will be to help my students teach themselves, so that they can continue to improve their musical abilities outside of the limited class time. Finally, I intend to use music as a common thread to tie together many aspects of human society. History, cultural studies, literature, and art all come to life when contextualized through music, and music played with a historical and cultural perspective likewise becomes more meaningful. The students who pass through my classroom will become excellent musicians who will demonstrate teamwork, focus, determination, creativity, and above all, compassion and the lifelong skill of spreading joy through music.