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Philosophy of Music Education
Music has always been an important part of my life, and I can almost guarantee
that music has played an important role in your life as well. Whether it is singing
hymns in church every Sunday, or listening to the radio in your car. Whether it was
High School band or turning your passion for it into a career, music has always been an
integral part of your life. Music has the power to make a person cry. It has the power to
intrigue, it has the power change your mood, it even has the power to seduce. Music is
important for many reasons. It is important because it is entertainment, and because it
is art. Music is important because of the many different things that it can teach you.
Music is important. You listen to it everyday, on purpose, or otherwise. It is playing in
the elevator; it is playing in the grocery store. It is keeping you company while you are
on hold; it is in playing in the waiting room of your local doctor’s office. It is everywhere
that you look.
We all know that music is an important part of life, so it should be assumed that
learning about music is also very important. However; music education is seldom
regarded as a valid area of course study in the public school districts. Music Educators
find themselves defending the importance of their subject on a daily basis. Some people
don’t think that music is as important as the “core” subjects: such as English, math,
science, and history. It is essential for all current (and future) music educators to have
the ability to defend their profession with statistics/facts, as well as musical/non-musical
reasons.
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In order to be successful at anything, it is important to have a plan. I don’t know
of anyone who became a success by spontaneity. Very rarely will a plan succeed if you
are flying by the seat of your pants. This concept is also true in business, finances,
teaching, performing and many other professions as well. If you are going to teach a
lesson, it is important to have a lesson plan, and if you are going to make a career out
of teaching, it is important to know why and how you are going to do it. This paper is
an exploration of my reasoning. It will challenge my desire, and investigate my plan for
the future. The first question that I have to ask myself is “why?” Why should we have
music in the schools?
Music is a positive addition to any school program. It provides the students with
an artistic outlet. Being part of a performing ensemble teaches students about team
work and about responsibility. It teaches them about the aesthetic qualities of music
and it improves their quality of life. Music is valuable in an aesthetic sense because it
shows students that some things are worth doing “just because.” Music is worth
creating because you like to do it, not because you should get a solid result, but
because you want to create something beautiful. “An aesthetic experience is an end in
itself; it is done only for the value of doing it,” (Hoffer, 1993, p. 7). Aesthetic
experiences cannot be explained. They can only be experienced. If you hear a piece of
music that actually alters the way that you feel for that moment, if your emotions
become involved, then you are having an aesthetic experience. Some people can go
through their whole life with a limited number of these experiences, but by having
music available in the schools, you can open up the possibility for more children to have
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these experiences more often. Sadly, these reasons are not enough for some
administrations and they expect more than just music appreciation to be taught in the
schools. These people require a different set of reasons. Music has been an important
part of society even before the middle ages. Music can be looked at as a break in the
monotony of typical schooling. “Some benefits have also been observed in improved
attitudes on the part of students toward school as indicated by a decline in absenteeism
(Rodosky, 1994). Students who are involved in music have been proven to have higher
SAT scores. Students can learn a feeling of team work as well as a sharing of
responsibility. It builds a sense of character and in certain cases (marching band, show
choir) it can help with physical fitness. However, these non-musical reasons also apply
to other activities, like sports, and therefore the results from music don’t seem as
impressive. There are typically faster results in these areas when comparing sports vs.
music. This is why it is important for non-musical reasons to be considered only second
to the musical and aesthetic ones. We can all recognize that music is an important part
of our lives. Now we just need to recognize that it is an important part of our education.
This is why it is important to teach music. This is why music is an important addition to
our schools. This is why I will teach music.
The next question is “what should be taught in music class?” I know that I will
be teaching choral music. I would like to teach high school choral music, but I recognize
that it is unlikely that I will be able to start my career in a dream job. The question of
what to teach is really impossible to answer without more information. There are a lot
of factors that need to be taken into consideration. Such as the students’ level of ability,
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their past instruction, and the school district’s curriculum guide. I cannot predict what
sort of situation I might find myself in, but I do know that I will make use of the
National Academic Content Standards as well as the Ohio Academic Content Standards
in order to set up my lesson plans for each day and for long term goals as well. Even
though I’m not sure what I will be teaching, I am sure that my students will learn a lot
under my instruction.
This brings us to the question of “How will it be taught?” Again, this is a hard
thing to plan without knowledge of the atmosphere in which I will be teaching. I do
know that I will teach in an interesting way. I will make sure that the students are
learning through assessment and evaluation, and I will constantly be trying to improve
myself and my instruction through personal assessment. I don’t know what kind of
classes I’ll be teaching, but I know that my students will be learning something new
everyday. I will be an exciting, motivating, positive, and dynamic teacher. I hope that
when my students think of the best teacher they had in high school that they will be
thinking of me. My primary goal is not just to be interesting, but to be the best. When
my students reveal the teacher who taught them the most, I want them to be revealing
me.
The next question is “to whom is music being taught?” Music needs to be taught
with the student’s needs in mind. I will teach music to anyone who is willing to learn.
It’s important to remember who you are teaching so that you can plan your lesson’s
accordingly. It is also important to keep in mind the previous knowledge of the
students. Don’t for get to take the students’ desire to learn into consideration while
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planning the lesson. There is so much to think about in the process, but it is all worth it
in the end.
Or final topic is “with what results?” This question is asking us to analyze what
the students have learned. The most important part of teaching is helping the students
actually learn something. To know that you put the effort into teaching something to
young people and that they actually understood what you were trying to convey is a
very uplifting experience. I can’t imagine how it will feel to teach my students
something and to have them actually remember it. I think that the most rewarding
experience in teaching will be seeing my students apply the knowledge which I have
tried to give them.
We have explored why music is important in schools, what I will teach, how I will
teach it, to whom will I teach, and with what results will my teaching have. I am
confident that I will be a great teacher someday. I know that the process will be a hard
one, and I know that it will be a struggle every step of the way. I know that this is only
the beginning, and that if I think this class is hard, I should just wait to see what it’s
like in the real world. However; I also know that I’ll be able to handle it. I know that I
will be a great teacher someday. I’ve got my goals set and I’ve got my plan drawn up.
Now all I need to do is keep working at it until I’ve completed my goals. I can’t wait to
stand in front of my very first choir on the very first day and introduce myself as their
new teacher. I can’t wait for all of my hard work to pay off, and I know that it will. Now
that I have a plan to follow, I have something to start perfecting and something to
really look forward. Someday, I will finally reach my goal of becoming a music educator.
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Hoffer, C. R. (1993). Introduction to Music Education. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.
Rodosky, R. (1974). Arts IMPACT final evaluation report. Columbus, OH: Columbus
Public Schools.