Importance of Classical Music in the Classroom
After reading the article "Learning the Score" by Alex Ross, I was inspired by the stories of the music teachers that were having such a positive impact on students' lives. While examining their methods that proved to be working, I started to wonder about the importance that classical music had in their teaching. Both teachers spoke of the importance of teaching classical music to the students, but I feel that the main impact the teachers had on the students had nothing to do with classical music, but rather that they were acting as mentors. It is said that most of the problems kids in urban areas face are a result of not having enough positive parental involvement. By acting as mentors and role models for the students, the teachers were able to communicate and teach, and what would have otherwise been "meaningless material" gained new importance and goals were set and achieved. I think that this is why it is so important to not just teach, but rather get to know our students and use the relationship we establish with them as a way to communicate the knowledge we are trying to get across.
posted by Anonymous @ 1:03 AM
1 Comments:
I agree that having passion about classical music is important when teaching classical music, but being passionate is not enough. I completely agree with Carrie that forming a relationship with your students is a huge part of successfully teaching not only classical music, but any subject-matter. For instance, in my classroom, I have my students write a "log" to me once a week. They can write anything they want; it can be about music or not. Some students write about their dogs at home, some write about what they are passionate about (sports, music, etc.). Some students ask sophisticated questions about music that we are studying or that they have heard, which can lead to new lessons. I respond to their logs so that we have a small dialogue together. In this way, we can get to know each other better, and I feel it has changed my classroom environment in that the students feel more comfortable with me, and are more open to different types of music I present in class.
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