My teaching philosophy is founded upon the words of George N. Parks (as Professor of Music/Marching Band Director at UMASS), “Take this time and opportunity to have the best impact on other people’s lives.” As an educator, I believe that I can make the best impact on my students' lives by striving for meaningful engagement through culturally responsive teaching, promoting inclusion/active participants in music-making, encouraging student ownership and discourse, and facilitating a positive learning environment built around community.
My goals as a music educator include:
1) Foster lifelong relationship with, appreciation for, and consumption of music;
2) Equip students to use music as both a lens to view their world and an agent to change it;
More broadly, 3) I aim for my students to become independent thinkers, high achievers, and productive contributors to society, that are fueled by self-efficacy and compassion for others. In short, use music as a medium to make "good citizens" (Shinichi Suzuki).
My goals are reflected in my teaching through the following best practices:
- I've found that meaningful engagement is best fostered through a culturally responsive teaching style. Simply put, it means catering to the needs of students. Each individual enters the classroom with a diverse range of experiences, identities, skill levels, knowledge foundation, learning styles, etc. Culturally responsive teaching is using this awareness to guide how we frame and differentiate instruction. Meeting students where they're at is crucial for achievement, which breeds motivation and investment.
- I believe that music is a source of healing and empowerment, and therefore, essential to humanity. Furthermore, it is inherently a social activity. Everyone can and should be an active participant/consumer, regardless of current skill level. Music programs should seek opportunities to capitalize on students' strengths and interests. For example, a nontraditional ensemble, such as a rock band, may be a beneficial addition to a school's music program if there is significant interest in this method of informal music-making. Or, potentially the addition of a class focusing on music production or music business would promote inclusion for those who enjoy participating in this way. Students achieve at different capacities and in various forms. It is crucial to provide space for these forms of achievement. Hence, according to students' needs, music education mustn't always be performance-driven, nor product-focused.
- I draw from the writings of Paulo Freire (1968) as I advocate for the importance of student discourse. In contrast to the "banking" concept, or depositing knowledge into students, I believe that students learn more comprehensively when they are given opportunity to construct meaning through dialogue with others. Rather than teachers merely depositing information, it's important for students to analyze, interpret, discuss, think critically, and apply new meaning in practical ways. I also advocate for Freire's concept of "student-teachers," encouraging student ownership, and "teacher-students," modeling the teacher's commitment to lifelong learning as well.
- Facilitating a positive learning environment is the foundation upon which all of the previous sentiments lie. I hope that my music classroom will be a space that encourages a sense of community and trust, in turn, fostering within students a compassion for others, appreciation for diverse perspectives, creative spirit, vulnerability to take artistic risks, investment in their learning, and joy in music-making.