This video clip from School of Rock (2003) is a very good demonstration of positive and thoughtful teaching. Although the main character of the film, Dewy Finn (Jack Black) isn't always competent when it comes to teaching, his positive attitude towards students learning is what really knocks it out of the park. As a teacher it is always important to remember positive feed back. Reassuring or praising a student for good work really can help to progress their learning further because students tend to chase the feeling of being praised by their teachers. It is important to remember students (especially music students) are striving to be better at what they're learning. Creating a positive atmosphere where they can strive to be better is one of the aspects of teaching I most enjoy.
This is a scene from the movie Dead Poets Society (1989). This particular scene takes place in a English class with Mr. Keating an English teacher. Prior to the class the students were presented with an assignment, to write a poem. Later in the clip he approaches one of his students Mr. Anderson and asks him tom recite his poem for the class Anderson replies that he did not finish the assignment. Anderson is nervous and shy, he clearly fears being humiliated by his peers. Mr. Keating then forces Anderson to sound a "Barbaric Yawp" this forces Anderson to become a little more comfortable with himself. Keating then continues to push Anderson to come out of his shell ushering him into a comfortable environment in which he spoke a beautiful piece of poetry for the class. In my opinion I believe this is Very thoughtful teaching because instead of disciplining the student for not doing his work Keating changed the circumstances Anderson was in to set him up for success. This is an excellent example of the teaching I wish to do someday.
My Thoughts on The Rose & Countryman Article
As a student this article really meant a lot to me. I care deeply about music and the future generations it will inspire. Revaluating what we are teaching everyday is a critical aspect of teaching, it is necessary to develop the musical community especially within schools. Schools inspire the future generations, which means as teachers/educators, it is our job to give our students the best education they can have. Especially within music.
One way we can work to reevaluate what we are teaching is by changing the repertoire we learn. It is very important to me and a lot of my fellow musicians that we continue to play classical repertoire, although it is important to play music that students can relate to, we need to continue the legacy of classical music, so it does not go extinct with future generations. The classical music community gets smaller and smaller every day, and I’d like to do something to change that. One of the ways I think we can grow the community is buy combining classical music with modern music, such as hip-hop. A fantastic example of this is Stronger by Kanye West, performed by the Viatamin String Quartet. |
|
Another example of how we can combine popular music with classical music, is the very famous 2Cellos. 2Cellos is a duet group with two cellists Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser. They play covers of popular music on their instruments. They quickly became an internet sensation back in 2011. Many of my friends’ weather they are in music or not know this famous duet. They greatly influenced many of my friends causing them to go into music. Many of my friends would not be where they are today if they had not listed to 2Cellos. This is a fantastic example of how music can influence your life.
This is an excellent example of how we can take elements of classical music and combine it with music teens are interested in. This type of music opens up new opportunities for students to really explore what they love. Unlike other classes, music when taught the right way can really cause students to work hard because they care about what they are working on. For example, last year in my high school chamber orchestra we did a string orchestra version of Take on me by Ah-ha. Everyone in the orchestra worked very hard to learn and play the piece. We loved playing it. However, when the Kiwanis Music Festival came around, we soon learned that we couldn’t play it as the judges would frown upon the piece. This was incredibly unfair to me and my chamber ensemble as some of the passages were incredibly difficult and, in my opinion, exceeded some of the difficulties presented in pieces that other high schools played. However just because of the genre of the music we were turned down. Someday as a teacher I hope to change the social norms so my students can work hard and play what they love.
Works Cited
Rose, L. S., & Countryman, J. (2013). Repositioning 'The Elements': How Students Talk about Music. Action, Criticism & Theory for Music Education, 12(3), 45-64.
This is an excellent example of how we can take elements of classical music and combine it with music teens are interested in. This type of music opens up new opportunities for students to really explore what they love. Unlike other classes, music when taught the right way can really cause students to work hard because they care about what they are working on. For example, last year in my high school chamber orchestra we did a string orchestra version of Take on me by Ah-ha. Everyone in the orchestra worked very hard to learn and play the piece. We loved playing it. However, when the Kiwanis Music Festival came around, we soon learned that we couldn’t play it as the judges would frown upon the piece. This was incredibly unfair to me and my chamber ensemble as some of the passages were incredibly difficult and, in my opinion, exceeded some of the difficulties presented in pieces that other high schools played. However just because of the genre of the music we were turned down. Someday as a teacher I hope to change the social norms so my students can work hard and play what they love.
Works Cited
Rose, L. S., & Countryman, J. (2013). Repositioning 'The Elements': How Students Talk about Music. Action, Criticism & Theory for Music Education, 12(3), 45-64.
Ukulele Music Education Workshop
The Ukulele workshop was a super, exciting, and enjoyable experience for me. I learned a lot about teaming building and collaboration with others. One way I learned a lot about this was through the "write your own song" exercise we did. We were given Ukulele's and told to separate into groups of 4-5 and write our songs, with original chord progressions and lyrics. The only guidelines provided were that we were to try and write a chorus two verses and a bridge if we could. This exercise was fantastic because everyone in my group was throwing out ideas and being creative for the sake of the assignment. We had to learn to compromise if we had two different approaches. We had to learn to shape everyone's collective vision instead of just our own. I will use this exercise on my own with almost the same criteria except that I would add a few suggestions. The first thing I would add is that everybody's song should have a central theme (something the song is based on). The second thing I would add is that if students new another instrument, they could choose to use it in their song. Noticed this happening with many of the other groups. People were adding piano and shakers to their songs, and it sounded awesome. I loved this workshop; it was a fantastic idea, and I can't wait to be teaching my ukulele class one day.
Adult Music Learning Article
The article this week was fascinating. It spent time talking about the definition of formal, informal, and non-formal learning. The article asked us to come up with our definitions of what with though about those types of learning. I do not know why we even need definitions for the different types of learning. Whether your learning to play the violin in a music classroom at a university, or at someone’s house taking guitar lessons. They should both be thought of as equally and not be defined by where or what is being taught. As soon as we start to categorize the different types of learning, we create an opportunity for bias. For example, let us say a student is applying for a university to do a performance major on the guitar but has only had “informal education” on the guitar. Let us say the student learned purely from watching YouTube videos on how to play the guitar. Will that student is judged for not having “formal education”? will other students make fun of him/her/other? I am not saying that was necessarily the point of the article. That is just what it made me think about.
Another part of the article that I liked was when they were talking about using “informal” forms of music notation. I think it is important to teach other types of notation in class for a few reasons. The first one is that it is an important life skill as a musician. Say you’re in a band filling in for someone and they need you to sight-read all the music at the concert. Using other forms of notation can help the musician to sight-read the music quicker and have a better concert due to the simplicity of other types of notations. My second reason I think it is essential to learn other types of notation is, not all music is even written down using proper notation. For example, most of the songs Bob Dylan ever wrote were written down just as chords with lyrics. If students only learn one type of musical notation, they will miss out on tons of music that could be potentially life-altering. I enjoyed this article, and I am looking forward to meeting with the author on Wednesday and discussing some of these concepts with them.
Another part of the article that I liked was when they were talking about using “informal” forms of music notation. I think it is important to teach other types of notation in class for a few reasons. The first one is that it is an important life skill as a musician. Say you’re in a band filling in for someone and they need you to sight-read all the music at the concert. Using other forms of notation can help the musician to sight-read the music quicker and have a better concert due to the simplicity of other types of notations. My second reason I think it is essential to learn other types of notation is, not all music is even written down using proper notation. For example, most of the songs Bob Dylan ever wrote were written down just as chords with lyrics. If students only learn one type of musical notation, they will miss out on tons of music that could be potentially life-altering. I enjoyed this article, and I am looking forward to meeting with the author on Wednesday and discussing some of these concepts with them.
Prof. Chilies Reflection
Prof Chilies had one of the most interesting and useful presentations about music education I have ever seen. It was extremely practical and helpful when he laid out exactly what you should be doing in your studio lessons. Suggestions like making casual conversation with your student for five minutes at the beginning of a lesson. According to Prof Chilies this helps to establish a personal connection with your student without overstepping boundaries of your lesson. As soon as I heard this I instantly applied this to my lessons and my students attentiveness during lessons instantly improved because they felt that I cared for their well beings. This was only one of the strategies for Prof Chilies that I’ve tried and my studio lessons have improved significantly. I’m really looking forward to trying out more of his suggestions.
Towards Convergence Reflection
How are our students, their peers, and the general public engaging with music outside of school contexts?
I would say that the majority of music consumed by youth and the general public is consumed through streaming services, such as Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal. This is because of the easy access compared to 20 years ago when you would have to go out and physically buy a copy of the music. Now, we can hear about a song we like and download it instantly. We hear about songs through many different methods, such as social media or from friends. Today most people consume music faster than ever before.
What does it mean to be musically educated in the twenty-first century?
To be musically educated in the twenty first century I think its important to be aware of all genres and aspects of music, especially Hip-hop and R&B. It’s important to have general idea of what all the different genres sound like, weather you like that genre or not. I think its important to listen to new music everyday because the musical community is changing quicker than we could ever imagine, and music is evolving in more and more interesting ways. In my opinion if you don’t experience all the new music of the twenty-first century your missing out.
I would say that the majority of music consumed by youth and the general public is consumed through streaming services, such as Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal. This is because of the easy access compared to 20 years ago when you would have to go out and physically buy a copy of the music. Now, we can hear about a song we like and download it instantly. We hear about songs through many different methods, such as social media or from friends. Today most people consume music faster than ever before.
What does it mean to be musically educated in the twenty-first century?
To be musically educated in the twenty first century I think its important to be aware of all genres and aspects of music, especially Hip-hop and R&B. It’s important to have general idea of what all the different genres sound like, weather you like that genre or not. I think its important to listen to new music everyday because the musical community is changing quicker than we could ever imagine, and music is evolving in more and more interesting ways. In my opinion if you don’t experience all the new music of the twenty-first century your missing out.