Throughout this course, many
different ideas, concepts, and philosophies have been covered in relation to
teaching music. Each of these ideas
effect my teaching on a daily basis, some being new to me since beginning this class. This knowledge has helped me to gain a better
understanding of teaching music and how I should approach teaching every day.
While I do have a specific
way I like to organize my classroom and teaching, I have realized that the four
teaching philosophies have influenced what I do. I have taken strategies from teachers I have
learned from, just realizing during this course that I fit into the empiricist
philosophy. Now that I can see exactly
what types of things that empirical thought provides I can better structure my
teaching based on the principals of the philosophy. I believe that my teaching style is that of
the realistic empiricist. I believe in
an orderly classroom and tend to be the deciding factor on what is being taught
or informing students on where to find the information. I am interested in evaluating the results of
the instruction but I am more interested in how the students are acquiring a
particular skill. With that being said,
the way I go about aesthetic experiences in my classroom are very
structured. While I do not hope to have
the same result for every student, I do provide the material for the aesthetic
experience. This class has given me the
reasoning behind incorporating the aesthetic experience into the
classroom. I believe it is important to
provide students the opportunity to have aesthetic experiences, as this is a
facet of life that cannot be replicated in another class.
Understanding how students
learn and how society affects learning is an important part of teaching. While all students learn, all students do not
learn in the same manner. Socio-economic
status can affect the educational process, and many times, resources are
limited in areas of low-SES. This can
provide challenges for teachers in this environment. As I currently teach in this situation, I can
understand the daily struggles that many students have. Resources are limited and families may or may
not be supportive of the educational process.
Understanding the struggles and being able to overcome them as a teacher
is the key to helping students. In
addition, the process by which a teacher goes about teaching is essential for
the success of students. Many different
approaches may need to be had in order for all students to succeed. What works for one student may not work for
another. The psychological approach for
teachers is an important balance to the education system for the students
learning of material and social and life skills.
The history of music
education is an important facet of my own teaching. Having only previously heard of Lowell Mason
and other early music educators, reading about the beginnings of the
educational process has helped me to better understand today’s approach to
music education. Just like in any other
area of life, understanding the past is the key to be successful in the
future. While the beginnings of music
education were based strictly on performance, today’s music education is
organized into concepts with performance being a means to learn the
concepts. Also, in the beginnings it was
only available to people who could afford it, today’s music education is
provided for all students and not based on socio-economic status. It is important to understand the history of
educational reforms. While things change
over the years, history does tend to repeat itself. As an advocate for music education, it is
imperative that I understand the historical significance of music education to
better serve my students and society.
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