Philosophy of Music Education

As a music educator, I believe that it is my duty to share the power of music with all of my students, no matter who they are. Music is universal, and is so central to the essence of being human. Without music education, students are missing something. Music education provides students with creative thinking skills, higher level thinking skills, analyzation skills, and a stronger sense of empathy and love of life, self, and others. All students are capable of being musicians, and being their own unique musicians. However, it takes a truly skilled teacher to bring out all student’s musical potential. Students must be led to learn about the strength of music, the universality of music, other culture’s music, and the musical potential they all innately have.
All student’s worlds must be honored, and the teacher must make sure that this occurs in the classroom. This honor of the student must extend to treating the students as mature young adults who are capable of high levels of musical achievement and appropriate behavior. If the students are respected, and have an equal respect of the teacher, their behavior and engagement will be very high.
In my classroom, students will not only learn the fundamentals of music; singing technique, theory, and listening, but also the deeper meaning of music, and the potential impact it has on them if they truly listen and invest themselves in the music. Fundamentals of technique; however, will be the cornerstone of this higher level thinking. I believe that all students should be more emotionally connected and invested to the music they sing, and the music they listen to every day.
I’m passionate about teaching music because I love seeing my students be invested in the music that they are making or learning about. I also love to hear students tell me how interested they are in pursuing music beyond the class that I’m teaching. If a student wants to pursue music in any form after high school, be it music education, vocal performance, or music production, I know that music has made an impact on that student, and that they could truly not live without it, which brings immense joy to me. Also empowering students who may be afraid of pursuing music after school to do so is a fantastic feeling. Even if they are singing in a church choir, I know that music has made a difference in that student’s life.
I believe it’s very important for teachers to be genuine and themselves with their students whenever they teach. It’s also important for music teachers to use a wide variety of teaching styles to reach and teach all of their students effectively. Even though I’m teaching music, I use a variety of different learning and teaching techniques to ensure my students success. Even though music is heavily auditory, students who learn in other ways should be encouraged to use their learning style as a strength.
I believe that students should be exposed to many different styles and genres of music. This encourages the students to broaden their knowledge of music and listening palate. This shows them the different experiences of different cultures and peoples. It also shows them the enormity and vulnerability of the human condition. Through music, students realize that they are not so different from each other since we are all human. Other cultures and peoples may experience things differently from what the students are familiar with, but share the same emotions of being human, and our own humanness is truly what is shown through music and music education.