ANDREW'S TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
Role of the Teacher/Student
A single music course changed the entirety of my life. I truly believe that our priority as educators is to improve the quality of life to each of our students. If we are to achieve this, then we must understand that music is the medium in which we help students learn to better themselves. My middle school mariachi ensemble created the inspiration for me to try in school and for me to stay involved in my academics. It provided me an outlet to express myself and it gave me a safe zone where I felt I had a sense of belonging. Our role as educators is to facilitate positive encouragement and help students discover the potential to their intellectual capacities. The role of the students is to come into the classroom with an open-mind and a will to be intellectually challenged. Students may not always be willing to learn or to put in their best efforts, but this is where we as educators have to step in and carefully facilitate the learning process. I aspire to help students output their best efforts and, in that process, they discover the importance of cultivating their hard work and creative thought.
Content
I intend to teach students that their intellectual capacities have no boundaries. Music is for everyone and it takes the guidance of an effective teacher to help initiate the learning process. Additionally, I want students to be able to express themselves through musical performance. This is the common ground I want all my students to bond over. I want to emphasize this specific body of knowledge that entails music and learning. However, it is not with the desire that I want all my students to become experts in music, but more so, I want students to incorporate the qualities of fine musicianship into all aspects of their lives. Music requires discipline, creativity, and patience, which are all values that are needed to prosper in our modern world.
Methodology
It is the teacher’s responsibility to present music in a fun and interactive way. This is the ultimate challenge to music education; how do we facilitate learning in a way that engages all of our students? Of course, there is no direct, one-size-fits-all, solution to this problem. Every school site, student population, and demographic will be different. Different communities and schools will appeal to different teaching approaches. I want to present music in a way that makes learning essentially effortless. I do not want students to think too much about the learning process as it is happening. Instead, I want to challenge students in a way that cultivates their own interests and needs. This means that the teacher must be aware of the different styles of learning and intelligence. Ultimately, this entails that music educators must provide an opportunity for students of different learning styles (spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, musical, mathematical, etc.) a chance to actively participate in their learning and to express themselves musically. Therefore, I believe that a lesson plan should not focus solely on one particular approach. Instead, a music lesson should be tailored to the needs of the class where the activities of the lesson allow students to engage and understand a single concept through various points of view.
Mentorship
Mentors play a significant part in guiding an individual to become the best they can possibly be. I am not sure of who exactly inspired me to be a music educator, but what convinced me to go into this field was the lack of representation of ethno music in the public education system. I found that I had to adapt to the Eurocentric curriculum of music education and it was this challenge that inspired me to not only learn the pedagogy to teaching traditional ensembles, but to also incorporate a broader range of music into what we call “music” education. I look up to those educators who have challenged my ways of thought both musically and philosophically. I also admire those educators who have authentically and unselfishly dedicated themselves to their profession for the sole purpose of improving the life of each student. A lot of my SDSU professors have helped motivate me into the right direction. These educators are Dr. Nan McDonald, Jack Erb, Dr. Karen Koner, Sean Bassett, Dr. Jeff Nevin, and Dr. Todd Rewoldt.
Purpose of Music/Education Globally
I find it particularly important to ask, “Why do we need music education?” Why do we need music in our classrooms when students have all the resources online to learn music themselves? The accessibility of resources available online and sold in the market allows for students to learn whatever they desire. Therefore, one could argue that the need for a music program is theoretically unnecessary. Music itself is available at the palm of every student’s handheld device, where they have the liberty to listen to almost anything that exists. The ultimate argument that threatens our profession is that students don’t need us.
However, the reality is that they do need us more than ever before. We live a chaotic modern day where a constant array of sounds is present everywhere we go. American society is so driven on profit, quantitative values and scientific facts, to which, there has been a declining appreciation for the arts. As much as we need scientific innovation to drive us forward, little is it realized in our modern day the arts are just as valuable. Music is not an optional academic privilege that is a “nice to have”; it is necessary!
Musical performance requires a combination of mental, physical, and cognitive skills, that challenge the student to learn something new. There is no shortcut to the musical learning process. By learning a musical skill, students learn to tap into this process of building new skills where they experience artistic development through musical performance.
Where do I fit in?
I connect well with Dr. Howard Gardner who founded the theory of the seven intelligences. Gardner proposed that intelligence is not a fixed set of skills, but instead a broader range of human potential that has the capacity to grow and develop. Perhaps the biggest misconception is that music is reserved for the “talented”. Talent in theory is defined as, “a special natural ability or aptitude”. I believe the idea of talent is derived from the notion that intelligence is some innate quality. Our idea of being “smart” or “not smart”, is a result of the outdated schoolhouse form of assessment. Standardized testing, for example, only allows for a specific type of student to succeed. This system ultimately puts those other students, often labeled as “not smart”, to a disadvantage. Using Dr. Gardner’s theory, I can incorporate lessons that are inclusive to all learners. It is our duty as music advocates to welcome everyone that is a member of our society to our musical world. It is our mission as educators to spread the joy of music to every individual that steps foot into our classrooms.