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PersonalPhilosophy
Educationisnotpreparationforlifeeducationislifeitself.Thisquotebythefatherof
theprogressiveeducationmovement,JohnDewey,isaverycommononethatmostteachers
haveprobablyheard.ThisquoterepresentswhatIthinkofwhenIthinkofmyteaching
philosophy.Thegoalofformaleducationisnottosimplysendourstudentsoutintotheworldto
developtheirskills,butteachersshouldbecultivatingandgivingstudentstheopportunityto
growknowledgeanduniqueskillswhiletheyarestillintheclassroom.Withoutthevaluable
skillsandknowledgeacquiredwithaqualityeducation,ournation,aswellasourworld,would
crumble.Formaleducationisshapingthefuturethroughthestudentsthatcyclethroughevery
schoolacrosstheworld.Thegoalofaqualityeducationistodeveloppeoplewhowillbenefit
societybyleadingmoral,cultural,productive,andcreativelives.Allofthesegoalscanbe
developedthroughanexceptionalmusicclassroom.
Musicisanoutletthatspansthrougheverysingleage.Notonlydoesitactivelyengage
bothpartsofthebrain,itfostersbothindependenceandsenseofcommunityamongstudents,
aswellasgivestudentstheopportunitytoexperienceculturaldiversity.MusicEducationisan
importantpartofcreatingwellroundedstudents,andwhilemusicaloneissuchanintegralpart
ofeverypersonslife,italsoencompasseseveryothersubject,andgivesstudentsareallife
applicationofthesetopics.Myphilosophyisthatwhilethestudentshavetoexhibitatruewillto
learn,itistheteachersmissiontocultivatethecreativityandpassionofmusicinthestudents.
Ateachershouldstriveforastudentcenteredclassroom,andtheirmaingoalshouldbe
togivetheirstudentsopportunitiestoexpressivethemselvesbothcreativelyandacademically.
Arelatableteacherisagoodteacher,andwehavetobuildarelationshipoftrustwithour
studentswhilestillmaintainingboundaries.Perhapsthemostimportantjobofateacheristo
establishaculturallyrelevantclassroomthatincorporateseachstudentsuniquebackgrounds
andethnicities.They[teacherswhopracticeculturallyrelevantmethods]believethatalloftheir
studentscansucceedratherthanthatfailureisinevitableforsome(T
heDreamkeepers,
LadsonBillings,Pg.25).Itisextremelypertinentthateachstudentfeelsasthoughtheyareable
tosucceedinanyaspectofmusic,andthebiggestwaytoensurethisisbyusingtheirfamiliar
culturesandintegratingthemintheirclassroom.Teachersshouldcreateasafeatmospherefor
students,andbecompletelyequitablewiththem.
Eachstudentshouldleaveaclassroomfeelingthattheyhavecompletedthecourseto
thebestoftheirability.Achievingsuccessinthemusicclassroomvariesforeachstudent.
However,eachstudentshouldbeabletocreate,improvise,andanalyzemusic,aswellasuse
musicalexpression,understandbasicandcomplexmusicalterms,andknowhowtoapplythem
intheirmusic.Theywillbuildoneachskilltheyinheritthroughthecourseoftheirmusical
career,andwilleachdeveloptheirownmusicalinterestsandopinions.Butmorethananything,
studentsshouldleavetheclassroomwiththeknowledgeandskillstobeatrulygoodperson.
Myjobasateacheristofacilitategrowthandcomprehensionofdifferentaspectsof
music.However,myjobasaneducatoristocultivateagenerationofstudentswhowillleavemy
classroomwithstrongmoralwillandsolidvirtues.Ifmystudentscanusemusicandthebenefits
itoffersthemtobecomewellroundedindividuals,thenmystudents,aswellasmyself,have
succeeded.Anoutstandingmusiceducatorwillbalancebothmusicalexcellenceandmoralskill
developmentintheirteaching,andprovidetheirstudentswiththeopportunitytoexpandtheir
creativityandevolveasindividualmusicians.