Music Education Philosophy

Jeanna Jerde

I want to teach because I feel a desire to help people and I feel teaching is the best way I can fulfill this desire. I want to teach music specifically because I love it and I truly believe it is important to teach. I want to share music with as many people as I can and, perhaps, help form a love for music in my students. However, my reasons for teaching music go deeper than that. I believe that education itself is the cornerstone of a well-functioning society and I thin music has a significant role in shaping our societies and cultures. Education forms the foundation of a wor ing, civili!ed society. "hrough education, people learn the basic s ills needed to endure in today#s society. Education also provides people with nowledge of the past. $e must be nowledgeable of and learn from our past in order to progress as a society. In addition, education supplies people with e%periences that are important for social development. &inally, education encourages and builds upon people#s creative abilities. It is this creativity and nowledge of the past that creates the innovators that will shape the future. Every culture that e%ists or has e%isted has had some form of music. "he music reflects and, at times, creates culture. "hese two facts alone illustrate the belief that music is incredibly important to teach. "hese facts also suggest that music is innate. Music 'earning "heory (M'") (*ordon +,,-) teaches that if language is innate, music is also innate. "herefore, musical development should be as strongly stressed as language development. .bove all, I believe music needs to be taught because it will increase a student#s humanity and creativity. Music is powerful in the way that it can help people to understand themselves and gain a grasp of their connection to the universe. It can help students gain spirituality without even touching the sub/ect of religion. 0ue to the way music can affect the emotions, it helps people become more sensitive, gentle, compassionate, and ind. Music opens up people#s senses so that they can recogni!e and appreciate the beauty that surrounds them in everyday life. Music has also been proven to be emotionally and even physically therapeutic. "his is especially helpful for students struggling with issues associated with adolescence, which I could safely say is the ma/ority of students in any middle school or high school. Music class or private lessons can be a therapeutic safe haven where these students are able to freely e%press themselves through song. In addition to teaching musical content, music teaches a variety of s ills needed for other disciplines and for life. &or e%ample, music provides students with many opportunities to build upon their social s ills. Music re1uires a great amount of teamwor . "he 1uality of a performance depends on all of the people of a music group2 not /ust one student. "herefore, music students must learn good citi!enship by learning to help others and wor as a team in order to gain a 1uality performance. In addition, every team needs a leader and a music group is not an e%ception. . music group needs multiple leaders such as the conductor, section leaders, e1uipment managers, and attendance managers. Music naturally develops leadership ability.

Music also develops a good wor ethic and personal pride. $hen a student is involved in a music group, the rest of the group is e%pecting that student to perform to the best of his or her ability2 they are held accountable by their peers and, usually, by themselves as well. In order to meet these e%pectations, students need and want to practice. 3tudents are persuaded to schedule their time and, thus, develop good wor ethic. 3tudents that gain a good wor ethic and 1uality of performance will also gain personal pride. Personal pride builds the confidence necessary to succeed in modern society. .s mentioned before, while teaching music, a great amount of nowledge or s ills from other disciplines can be learned. &or e%ample, science can be taught through the study and demonstration of acoustics. Math can be taught through the use of subdivided beats. &oreign language may be taught through the musical terms in Italian, &rench, *erman, etc. or the numerous songs in a foreign language. "he list goes on2 there isn#t a sub/ect that can#t be successfully supplemented by music. In conclusion, if music is truly innate, it is not optional but necessary that it be taught. "he study of music is a fundamental part of education. Music develops multiple 1ualities that are important to daily life s ills and disciplines outside of the music realm. "he s ills learned in music may be used very often in the real world. In my music classroom, I will teach my students music that is culturally diverse, developmentally correct, and challenging. I will also create an atmosphere of trust, acceptance, and respect in my classroom in which each student feels comfortable to e%press themselves creatively. $ith this philosophy in mind, I believe I can successfully teach my students a love and appreciation of music and many essential life lessons and s ills. 4eferences *ordon, E. (+,,-). Introduction to research and the psychology of music. 5hicago6 *I..