Gabrielle Yancey

MUS 475
Music Education Philosophy
Every child deserves to receive music education. Music not only prepares students for
growth in performance ensembles, and private lessons it improves their grades in other
classes. It also has been proven that students who are musically literate are more likely to
be successful in their adult life:
Research confirms that music education at an early age greatly increases the likelihood that a child will
grow up to seek higher education and ultimately earn a higher salary. The sad irony is that No Child Left
Behind is intended to better prepare our students for the real world, yet its leaving music behind despite
its proven benefits, While music clearly corresponds to higher performing students and adults, student
access to music education had dropped about 20 percent in recent years, thanks in large part to the
constraints of the No Child Left Behind Act. Dr. John Mahlmann, Executive Director of MENC: The
National Association for Music Education.

My musical background is diverse so my teaching style is no different. I enjoy teaching

many different types of music, to many different types of students. Music can be
adaptive and allow students to use multiple subjects in one classroom, this crosscurricular approach is something that I rely on heavily when lesson planning. Integrating
English, History, Mathematics, Physical Education, Geography, and many other subjects
is a common occurance in my lesson plans.
Music is a sequential learning process. Each lesson a student receives from the time they
are in an elementary general music classroom until they are in a high school performing
ensemble, or music theory class, they are building on prior knowledge and adding to their
understanding of music. Music is also a tool for building social skills for students.
Whenever a student is playing an instrument or singing I make sure that they are listening
to other students to produce a more homogenous sound, however each student is given
enough solo performance experience to have enough confidence to perform alone. This
musical interaction allows students to mimic social interactions with one another. Some
students struggle with the ability to communicate to others through speech, and music
allows them to communicate without having to speak.
I believe students learn most effectively in music classrooms by doing. In my classroom
students will constantly have a task to complete, I believe when students are not given
instruction they loose focus and concentration necessary for being successful in a music
classroom. This is where a detailed lesson plan is necessary; each activity I do in class is
predetermined, laid out in a clear and precise manner within arms reach while I am
teaching.
My classroom is one of structure, sequential based learning, organization, social
interactions, and cross-curricular learning. All of these aspects create a unique
environment that ensures a productive learning environment for all students. All students
have an equal opportunity of learning in my classroom, and I can cater to students who
need a different approach to understand a subject.