My Teaching Philosophy

This I believe: music is an academic discipline. In an age when everything that happens in a classroom must be justified, one must assume that any class that takes up valuable learning hours in a school day must in some way justify its existence or face extrication from the schedule. Unlike many extra-curricular activities, music is an academic discipline (i.e. one may be able to study basketball at the collegiate level but will not receive a BA or BS in Dribbling). There are two sides to the definition of the word discipline: on the one hand, discipline is a field of study, and involves training oneself in a particular set of ideas or through focused behavior. On the other hand, discipline implies perseverance through temptation or obstaclea mastering of oneself despite pain, discomfort, displeasure, or fatigue. The study of music encompasses all of these things: it is a field of study which involves training in concepts of theory, technique, and history, and involves focus of ones behavior to accomplish excellent performance. Furthermore, music has long been considered an essential academic discipline. The seven liberal arts include music, for example. While music may or may not be the most important class a student may take during the school day, it has a place in the school schedule as an academic discipline. This I believe: too often schools relegate music and the other arts to just an elective that does not provide valuable learning to students. In other words, music and the other arts are expendable when, inevitably, a student or a school is failing. However, despite this popular opinion, the research shows that music is valuable to helping students learn concepts in math (Courey, et al., 2009) and reading (Piro, Ortiz, 2012). Much emphasis has been placed on these two disciplines, especially with the advent of Common Core, so it would seem counterintuitive to relegate music to an expendable extra-curricular activity. On the other hand, this I also believe about schools: they are intended for the purpose of fostering the learning of successful skills and concepts needed both during school and after school has ended (whether the student begins college or begins career following school). I believe that, while there are many schools that see music as an expendable activity, there are still more that value music for the many academic and life skills that it cultivates. These are the schools that actively read the research about how music readies students brains for achievement (Helmrich, 2010); that music fosters better working memory (Berti, et al., 2006; Pallesen, et al., 2010); and that music nurtures better thinking skills (Rauscher, 2000) and decides that, not only is music an important element of their schools, but is essential to the success of their students. If the purpose of schools is to help student achieve success during school and after graduation, music is an essential class in the school schedule. Incidentally, these are also the schools that see significant improvement on their students SAT scores (Vaughn, et al., 2000). This I believe: students need music and the other arts not only as a release from the stress of long school days but also as a chance to prove to themselves and others that they are capable of success no matter how good or poor they are at math, reading, writing, science, or history. School days can be long, especially for high school students who no longer have recess time. Elective classes are the only time these students have to (perhaps) enjoy what they are learning (that is not to say that student do not enjoy any other classes, just that students tend to enjoy elective classes better because they have some choice in what they would like to take and because electives tend to be activities that students would engage in regardless of school). But more than giving students time to release stress, music is an opportunity for many students, regardless of academic inclination, to be successful at something. Too often, I believe students

who do not perform well academically perceive themselves as failures and as worthless. While music helps to foster other academic disciplines, it does not require someone be good at reading, writing, or math to be successful. To a great extent, the amount of success students enjoy in music is due to how much time they spend developing musicianship, which requires immense discipline (as mentioned above). While not every student will become an accomplished musician, participation in music allows students the opportunity to have fun during a stressful school day and to prove to themselves and others that they can be successful at something. This I believe: music teachers have the difficult job of providing meaningful learning in music that reflects the academic nature of the study of music while still maintaining the fun element. The purpose of music teachers is to inspire their students to have an appreciation of, if not a passion for music. Because music is an academic discipline, it requires work on the part of students and teachers alike. It is not a class that should promote an easy A attitude; it should require discipline and focus on the part of students to achieve improvement. On the other hand, participation in music should have elements of enjoyment and fun. While it is difficult to balance these two, I believe it is essential to the success of the students to maintain both elements within the classroom. For many reasons I have become a music teacher: my love for students, my passion for my subject, my desire to see music continue to be taught in American schools. My beliefs as outlined above have helped to shape me into the teacher that I am, and to mold my classroom management style, curriculum focus, and teaching strategies to reflect what I believe about music education: it is important to our schools, our learners, and our lives.

References Berti, S., et al. Different interference effects in musicians and a control group. Experimental Psychology. 2006; Vol. 53, Issue 2. Pp. 111-116. Courey, Susan Joan, et al. Academic music: music instruction to engage third-grade students in learning basic fraction concepts. Educational Studies in Mathematics. October 2012; Vol. 81, Issue 2. Pp. 251-278 Helmrich, B. H. Window of Opportunity? Adolescence, Music, and Algebra. Journal of Adolescent Research. 2010; Vol. 25, Issue 4. Pp. 557-577. Pallesen, K.J., et al. Cognitive Control in Auditory Working Memory Is Enhanced in Musicians. PLoS ONE. 2010; Vol. 5, Issue 6. e11120. Piro, Joseph M.; Ortiz, Camilo. Music tuition can help children improve reading skills. SAGE publications; March 16, 2009. Rauscher, F. H., & Zupan M. A. Classroom Keyboard Instruction Improves Kindergarten Childrens Spatial-Temporal Performance: A Field Experiment. Early Childhood Research Quarterly. 2000; Vol. 15, Issue 2. Pp. 215-228. Vaugh, K., & Winner, E. SAT Scores of Students Who Study the Arts: What We Can and Cannot Conclude about the Association. Journal of Aesthetic Education. 2000; Vol. 34, Issue 3. Pp. 77-98.