My entire purpose for educating
young individuals is to first, make them fall in love with music, and second,
keep that passion going even when they are no longer in my classroom. To be
able to incite passion in a student, I believe you have to create a positive and
encouraging environment so they feel like they have a safe environment in order
to express themselves. I recognize that there are multiple ways that student
learn: visual, verbal, kinesthetic, aural… etc. so I heavily take this into
account when planning my lessons. When I rehearse a piece of music, I make sure
to not only play parts on the piano, but I will sometimes display a visual on
the board showing a specific rhythm or melody. I believe learning in multiple
ways makes a better musician.
To be able to get a student
passionate about music, it is important to expose them to a variety of genres;
not every student wants to sing pieces from the Classical period. Some are
going to leave my class loving jazz, or contemporary music, some will love
classical, and some will love 20th century; I want my students to
know that it is okay to prefer a certain genre over another. With that being
said, I have strict expectations that every student put 100% into every piece
we perform in my class. Maybe a student can’t stand the Gospel piece we are
rehearsing, but I want them to be able to connect the piece to something in
their lives that will inspire them to perform in a way that will move and
transport our audience.
Efficient use of class time is
important to me, so I start my classes exactly on time. According to Wong and Wong, “Your first
priority is not to take role; it is to get the students to work immediately,”
(2009, pg. 123). For me, this means that if choir starts at 1:10, we start warm
ups at 1:10, and if the bell rings at 2:30, we are rehearsing until 2:30, and
then I will allow students to gather their belongings and exit the classroom.
In a choral setting, it is east to get distracted and talk with neighbors, but
in my class this will not be the case. My solution is to keep the class busy
and rehearsing at all times so their energy is always up and time is not
wasted. I believe the key to preventing misbehavior is keeping them attentive
and interested, so they do not have a chance to talk to their neighbors during
rehearsal hours. Of course there is the issue of having to sit quietly while I
am rehearsing a separate section, but during the first day of class I will be
sure to explain that this is a positive respectful environment and that sitting
quietly during rehearsal time is high expected and their grade will suffer if
they do not adhere to this expectation.
Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (1991). The first
days of school. Sunnyvale, Calif.: Harry K. Wong Publications.