Kathleen Dunn

Philosophy of Teaching

In my experiences thus far as a music educator, I have come to realize that no two

students learn the same way, no class is identical to another, and everyday you must be prepared

for something different than the day before. There is no one size fits all approach to education;

even something as simple as a rainy day can affect how students act and learn. I believe a

teacher should be constantly assessing and reassessing their educational environment so that they

may tailor their activities, strategies, and goals to what is accessible, worthwhile, and desirable to

their students. My mission as a teacher is to create meaningful, tailored opportunities for

musical and non-musical growth for my students, all while experiencing the many joys of music

making.

Music is a fundamental part of the human experience, and while there may be varying

degrees of natural ability, I believe all people have the potential to be musicians on some level.

The idea that music is only for the lucky and talented few, in my opinion, is the biggest threat to

music education as a whole. How can we argue for musics importance when a large percentage

of a schools student population might not be eligible for auditioned programs? While most of

our students will likely not become professional musicians, if they are given musical

opportunities, they will almost certainly grow in ways they would not in other classes. They will

become more empathetic citizens, more creative workers, and learn the value of teamwork. It is

of the upmost importance that we, as music educators, make musical opportunities for those who

want them.
 As mentioned earlier, I firmly believe there is no one size fits all approach to teaching

and learning. My goals as a teacher can be boiled down to the following: students should be

challenged enough to grow, challenges should be suitable so that success is within reach of the

students, and the students should feel accountable and in control of their learning. These ideas

must be presented in a way that is appropriate to the skill level of your students, honors their

individual interests, and reflects the communitys values. Repertoire should as rewarding as it is

challenging. Teachers should use varying modalities to allow their students to think critically in

multiple ways, as well as to honor different learning styles.

I also believe there is no superior classroom management technique. I personally cater

my management techniques to individual students. I expect my students to not talk while we

work, but I also allow a little bit of chatter when they arent actively working on something.

There is an expectation of mutual respect. If there is chatter, I tend to hold up my hand and

provide wait time until the room is silent. I mainly do this because if there is a lot of chatter,

students cannot hear me asking them to be quiet, so I give them a visual cue by raising my hand

and wait until I have everybodys attention before moving on. If there is a student who is an

issue regularly, I try to understand why they are acting out, and be creative in my solution. This

helps me figure out if their behavioral issues are caused by their own problems or by a lack of

fulfillment in my classroom, and I try to assist in ending the issue in both cases.

I film most of my lessons so that I may sit and evaluate my own teaching. Teacher

evaluation is just as important, if not more important than, evaluation of the students. A teacher

must be a life-long student. I hope to learn just as much from my students as they learn from me,

and to constantly be evolving and adapting my teaching to fit the needs of my students.
 As teachers, we must be empathetic to our students and understand what it is like to be

sitting in our own classroom. We must be open to changing our ways, and understand that

textbook fixes might not work with all of our students, all of the time. A personalized approach

to honoring different learning styles, using a variety of tools, and using creativity and empathy to

solve classroom management issues will create the most effective and efficient classroom. My

mission is to create transformative musical experiences for all my students by putting an

emphasis on student-centered learning.