MY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

Your child has a unique and moldable mind with the great potential to not only understand the details of music but to create his or her own. My responsibility as your child’s teacher is to nurture his or her innate ability to explore and improvise through singing, movement, and playing various instruments. For the students in my class to be able to do these things, it is my priority to establish a safe and accepting environment in my classroom. I will do this by developing individual relationships with each student to the best of my ability. Since I have the pleasure of teaching most of the students I see for five to six years, I am blessed to have many opportunities to develop these relationships by supporting them in the other activities they are involved in. By earning my students’ trust and holding firm in my anti-bullying policy, my classroom will allow the students to grow as musicians. 

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Through the many years my students will spend in my music classroom, they will develop their skills in three major branches of musicianship: 1) identifying, notating, and reading rhythms in context; 2) sight-reading music using pitched percussion, recorders, and solfege; and 3) improvising using the knowledge they have built over time. For each new concept I introduce to the students in my class, I will present many ways for everyone to grasp it through vocalization, movement, and playing various instruments. I realize that every individual who walks through my door may gravitate toward a specific musical outlet in the room, and it is my duty to nurture that connection no matter what instrument that may be so that they will continue to be engaged and excited to learn in every class. Only then will I be able to accurately assess their musical ability, of which I will observe during each class along with the additional activities provided on the choice board I have created. Parents can also encourage their child's growth in his or her music abilities by being involved in the assignments given and playing or singing along with their child in the home. 

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I chose to become a music educator because music is an international language that speaks to the soul. It is a beautiful way for a person to express their emotions poetically and allows for many opportunities to have an aesthetic experience unlike any other. Music unifies crowds of people and tells the story of cultures around the world. My number one priority is not to turn your child into the next Beethoven or Paul McCartney. It is to cultivate his or her existing appreciation for music and expand it into a lifelong outlet for them to turn to in times of joy and sorrow. If this is all I have accomplished in their time as my student, I will be happy.