One of the biggest thing I have taken away from this class is perspective. From reading the various articles, listening to the various speakers and engaging with my fellow classmates and professors, I have been exposed to so many new ways of thinking, most of which were different from my own. Being able to listen to and understand other views and opinions allows you to open your own mind to the infinite possibilities, a valuable but overlooked skill.
This was one of the first opportunities I had to read professional journal articles about music education. Reading these allowed me to open my mind to the evolving realm of education. I loved having the opportunity to engage in these readings alone, as well as during some of the authors’ presentations. It was truly a pleasure to hear them talk about their articles, areas of expertise and the things they are truly passionate about. Even just hearing their enthusiasm for the topic gave me inspiration for my own studies and educational journey.
Problematizing has also resonated with me, and it is something I hope to continue to use in my day to day life especially in future teaching situations, too. Sometimes we take things at their surface level without trying to develop a deeper understanding of what a word really means. Through problematizing we may not always come to an answer, but at least you will be able to see why the word is problematic.
I can also say I have a more thorough understanding of what the word “music education” all entails. There is far more to it than I could have ever imagined. It’s not just about being the best ‘teacher’ you can be, but thinking about what meets the demands of the students in today’s society. The two concepts of normalcy in education and how today’s generation is a participatory culture also resonated with me. The concept of “normal” has never sat well with me and after reading the Narrative of Disability and discussing this idea with my classmates, I am now able to see how selfish “normal” really is. It places the emphasis on why people are not like us, and not on who they are individually. I also liked the concept that students today want to feel a part of something bigger. They want to interact and engage in their learning and not just be told what they need to know. I am a part of this participatory culture myself, and I am interested to see what future generations will be like; will this participatory culture continue to grow?
This next point may be simple, but it can be powerful. I have learned to always listen to every student say by letting them say all the things they want. They have so many beautiful ideas that we can easily cut-off before they are finished. It’s also important to let children express things in their own words, even if they feel like the idea has already been stated, because chances are they will say it in their own words and come up with something completely unique to themselves. I never thought about it in that way, and I want to live by this in my own teaching experiences.
From all of this I feel even a little more comfortable in my teaching abilities. I gained many valuable resources for future teaching settings. From songs, activities, partner games, to ways to warm up choirs and bands. All of these resources will definitely be useful down the road! I’m also not as afraid of the word improvisation either. Now I have a new understanding of how it can be positively integrated into the music education, in a way that is much different than the “standard” way of “teaching” it. This also allows for the participation factor to come in. Students can play around with their own interpretations, giving way to self-expression and even creativity, something that is lacking in the education system today. I want to help improve this by implementing creativity into my own educational and/or teaching experiences. I am now fully aware of how we are teaching children how to not be creative, and I don’t like how undervalued it has become.
I admire Mohandas Ghandi’s quote “be the change you wish to see in the world”. If you want things to change in the education system, you have to live by those values yourself. Yet, I don’t think it stops there. Education is a powerful tool. If we took a little more time to educate our students on the importance of creativity, difference, free improvisation and celebrated thinking, for example, then music education would become that much more engaging and meaningful to our students. It would begin to resonate with them as well! They would see the value in it, and not just regard music class as a required credit. This is really what I have taken away from this class. I have become that much more passionate about music education, I have heard various insightful perspectives, met so many beautiful individuals and truly established my philosophy as a future educator.