Teaching Philosophy
Throughout my life, music has played many roles. From lullabies to degrees, it has been an ever-present force impacting my musical identity. Around me and through me, music has also played many roles for others, and it is these roles that have created my educator identity. This combination of forces has led me to two primary philosophical beliefs guiding my journey. First, I believe music should be made academically accessible for all. Second, I believe in process over product.
To understand my position, I believe it would be helpful to understand more of my experience. My mother began college as a music major. Although she was unable to complete her degree, music remained a constant presence in my life because of her. I loved to hear my mother sing, especially in church. In those moments, music was joy and pride. It was worship and peace, and it was a gift of love. Music was a talent with which my mother was blessed, and how she shared this with others caused my first philosophical thought to form. My mother did not just sing in our home or at church; she helped others access music. Much of this was in the form of piano, voice, or guitar students, but it was the nontraditional musicians who shaped who I am. My mother taught at a school for students with severe and profound intellectual and physical disabilities, and she found creative ways to help these children access music. She created a bell choir, taught non-verbal students to sing with their hands, and allowed those who could use their voices to sing in whatever way was music to them. My mother did not just teach these students notes or rhythms. She taught them the same joy, pride, and love she showed when she performed herself.
I believe that music should be academically accessible to all students, and I believe it is every educator’s responsibility to ensure this. I think, as Plato did, that “students should be educated according to their capacities – they should not all have the same education” (Noddings, 2012, p. 7). For some students, music education can follow a fairly traditional approach, but for others, this education might look very different. As educators, we must do our due diligence to find meaningful ways for all students to access music and classroom activities. However, as McPhail (2018) stated, “we need to ensure it is not just noise and that there are sufficient moments of teaching, dialogue, and conceptualizing to enable deep thinking” (p. 179).
I believe that students in our classrooms, whenever possible, deserve more than being reduced to the role of listener or being asked to accept work that does not challenge their learning. In my choral classrooms, this involved creating differentiated materials to help students develop musical literacy, facilitate composition, and demonstrate understanding. In general music classrooms it was providing space for students to explore individual interests or crafting activities that provide multiple points of access and growth. I will share these strategies as I continue my career working with future educators. I also hope to design a curriculum that allows student choice and self-guided exploration.
My second philosophical belief is that educators should emphasize process over product. This belief has numerous implications for what I consider the educator’s responsibilities. First, I think the learning process should be emphasized over perceived performance quality. Abramo (2017) stated that “a performance is not synonymous with learning” (p. 155) and that “the performance represents but is not the same thing as this unobservable something else that is learning” (p. 155). Educators may, for many reasons, focus too much attention on an end product, ignoring valuable teaching moments that may happen along the way. Should educators concentrate instead on the processes surrounding a performance, students will be able to identify learned skills and replicate the processes for future endeavors.
Focusing on processes creates not only lifelong musicians but also provides musicians with the tools they can use in the manner they wish. When we do this, learning becomes “centered on procedural knowing in music rather than learning about music” (McPhail, 2018, p. 181). I believe that educators should teach learning processes. If this is done, students can apply these procedures to independent inquiries. A process might be anything from how to sight-read a section of music to how to listen to a song selection critically. If we tell students that Verdi’s operas are great, this means little to them. However, if we teach them to listen to the music and identify outstanding elements, they can apply this process when experiencing new music. With this in mind, music educators should strive to provide as many processes to students as possible. This should be done, as Reimer (2003) advocated, with musical experiences “including but going beyond those readily available in the culture” (p. 160). If this is accomplished, students can use these musical tools however they wish. If students can read music, they can sing in church. If they can create harmonies, they can form a band. If they can create loops, they can compose a song. Moreover, if they can appreciate music, they can enjoy it in any capacity.
Within society, individuals should be given the right to select what role music should play in their lives. To name one specific role of music would be limiting or minimizing what it means to some in priority of what it means to others. This is a broad statement, but I believe everyone should be free to connect with music in the moment and in a meaningful way. People need the proper tools to develop their personal musical philosophies. As educators, we should open musical doors for our students. Our job is to enhance preexisting musical connections while expanding possibilities for new points of access. The more exposure, the more possibilities. Educators can teach students to be activists (Hess, 2019) or performers. They can help students tap into deeper emotions (Reimer, 2003) and engage in music in various capacities (Small, 1998). If music is not a part of our educational systems, then, for most children, their musical abilities and experiences may be extremely limited. Moreover, within just a few generations, I shudder to think what musical knowledge may be lost.
So, to me, music education is entirely about helping everyone access music in a way that is meaningful and reproducible. It is about giving them opportunities to show outward pride and joy and to experience deep interpersonal connections. Furthermore, it is about helping every student discover, for themselves, what music means to them. My mother helped a group of cultural outsiders become local musical heroes. Even the president of the United States witnessed these musicians perform. I tried hard to replicate this in my teaching by giving every student the tools they need to succeed. Now, as I mentor the next generation of music educators, I hope to inspire them to do the same. This is how our profession, our passion, and our music thrive. Because, as it is said, “you can count the number of seeds in a sunflower, but not the number of sunflowers in a seed.”
References
Abramo, J. M. (2017). The phantasmagoria of competition in school ensembles. Philosophy of Music Education Review, 25(2), 150-170.
https://doi.org/10.2979/philmusieducrevi.25.2.04
Hess, J. (2019). Music education for social change: Constructing an activist music education.
Routledge.
McPhail, G. (2018). Too much noise in the classroom? Towards a praxis of conceptualization.
Philosophy of Music Education Review, 26(2), 176.
https://doi.org/10.2979/philmusieducrevi.26.2.05
Noddings, N. (2012). Philosophy of education (3rd ed). Westview Press.
Reimer, B. (2003). A philosophy of music education: Advancing the vision (3rd ed). Prentice
Hall.
Small, C. (1998). Musicking: The meanings of performing and listening. University Press of
New England.