mondays will never be the same

Thank you all for a wonderful class this semester...I really enjoyed hearing indivduals speak their minds about issues that concern us all, and even when we disagreed with someone else, it was done in a respectful and professional manner. I felt this semester that I did not have much to contribute myself, but I have also learned that it's not about ME. One of the problems we faced in this class was getting the personal out of our statements, which I think will develop with time. By reading and commenting on the blogs and doing a lot of active listening, I feel that my world and the worlds of those around me really came into light and focus.
Have a wonderful winter break, and keep sharing your love of teaching others with the world, for we knopw the world needs it.

Sort of sad

I'm kind of sad that this semester will be coming to a close. I really enjoyed our dialogues in this class, both during class time and in the blog.

I would also like to extend my most sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone in the class. This semester, I feel like I've learned a lot about myself through discussions that we've had, or points that were made in blogs. This class has encouraged me to constantly engage with new ideas and people.

I would also like to say that, through the duration of this course, if I have offended anyone in any of my blogs or my views in class discussion, I apologize. This course was a place for me to explore and shape my own views and opinions, both as a person and a teacher.

Thank you all for this experience. I believe that if we all follow our hearts, we will be the wave of change that the education field needs.

Thank you!

I would also like to thank everyone for helping me think through so many issues. Every Monday night, I drive home feeling really great about teaching music. I will miss our dialogues. But especially, thank you for listening to me complain about my teaching situation and for offering advice and cheering me on.

Breakthrough

At the end of every 30-day cycle of 7th grade music class, the students must complete a group project on one of the genres of 20th century music we have studied: jazz, classical, rock, rhythm and blues, rap/hip hop, or reggae. I split the class into 6 groups and randomly assign a genre to each group. The group members choose an artist/group/composer from the genre and plan a persuasive presentation to get their artist/group/composer voted into the "Music Hall of Fame." I created a system to make the assignments completely random. In two instances so far, the group who got assigned "classical" got very upset. This time, I think because I am growing in my thought process as a teacher, I think I did a better job dealing with the resistance.

I have a student who is constantly talking out in class and drawing attention to himself. This particular student, I'll call him "J," hated everything we did in music class because it wasn't rap. And then when we got to the rap unit, he also didn't like the music I chose. So when his group got assigned "classical," I really panicked. I heard him say, "I don't care if I fail. I'm not doing a project on classical." I wondered if I made a mistake by not rigging my system to guarantee that his group got rap. Luckily, I had the weekend to think it over. On Monday, I had a talk with him about how I really wanted him to challenge himself on the project. As we talked, he said (in what I swear could have been out of a critical pedagogy book) "Why do I have to learn about classical? Nobody cares about classical. I don't care about classical. It means nothing to me." After an initial internal angry and frustrated feeling, I answered, "Well, let's start from there." So, realizing that he ONLY likes rap music, I suggested that part of their presentation be a rap about Philip Glass. I suggested that he state at the beginning of the rap that he doesn't like classical music, but Philip Glass is not like all those other boring composers. We began composing the lyrics together, and the beginning went something like this:

I don't like classical music, I think it's whack, yo
But Glass is cool--he wrote the music to "The Truman Show."

(I think part of the reason J is so engaged is to laugh at me when I come up with lyrics like "whack, yo.")

The best part came at the end of the period when one of the group members asked J to see the rap, and J showed him and said "I'm not done with it yet." The other student read it and said, "hey, that's really good!" And I could see the proud look on J's face.

That's what it's all about.

Experience Before Student Teaching

As I’ve discussed before, I had a really bad experience with my original student teaching co-op. I’ve realized, since my last visit with him, that one of his main problems with me was my lack of experience in choral conducting. I have always been interested in choral conducting; however, my only experience is in my two semesters of conducting I took at school. I do not believe that this lack of experience is necessarily my fault. Both my elementary and secondary practicum experiences were heavily general music based. Many of my classmates had heavily choir based experiences. I wanted a heavy choral student teaching placement because I haven’t had that experience. However, my original co-op felt that my lack of experience was a detriment to his program. I believe that the purpose of student teaching is to learn. I do not understand why I was denied a placement because of my lack of experience. Isn’t student teaching is where I should gain the experience?

Performing as a Skill

I have been thinking a lot about the David Elliot article and his critique of the aesthetic concept of music education. I believe that it is extremely important for students to be able to listen to music and understand what they are listening to. However, a student will gain a greater understanding of a piece if they perform it themselves. I recently performed my senior recital, and in the process of doing so, I learned a great deal about the composers I sang, their compositional techniques, and the time periods they composed. Without a performing aspect of music education, students will never truly understand music. It is our job as teachers to create musicians, not patrons of music.

Confused

I feel confused about assessment. I'm in the middle of writing my philosophy of assessment. I know what is supposed to be in it, and I realize that the author of our book made a few good points.

I guess I feel confused because even though I know that assessment can be positive and shows that students are learning and all that jazz, I hate the idea of using assessment data as a way of advocating for music education, which is something the author mentions in his first Chapter. I also don't understand why the only forms of assessment some other subject teachers give are tests and graded homeworks and that is ok, but when a music teacher wants to use teacher observation and maybe some quizzes or journal, it might not be enough.

I want to say that I honestly feel that we try to overcompensate to show that music is a "real" subject and that assessment should not be the only indicators that children are learning, but I feel like I can't write that in my paper because it's against a lot of what the author of our book was saying.

I don't know. I guess wish me luck on finishing the paper.

You're gonna love this...

So, this is a classic. Jess forwarded this to me. She got this e mail from her Visual/Performing Arts Supervisor of her district (below). WHAT THE HELL ARE WE TEACHING KIDS? That mediocrity is sufficient? God, help us!

ML

Concert Critique To be used as an Artifact for grading and/or for inclusion in Student NotebookChoose one grade level Potential Critique Questions to ask students

1. What family of instruments is in an orchestra but not a band? Did you see a band or an orchestra in your school concert?

2. What is the name of this person directing a band, orchestra or chorus? Did some students lead the band/orchestra or chorus? Were students reading music in the chorus or were the songs memorized? How could you tell if the lyrics of the song were memorized?

3. Were some of the songs in the concert repertoire in another language? What language were they sung in?

4. What is the name of the person who writes the musical score? Were some of these people listed on the concert program? If so, who were they?

5. What is harmony? Did you hear harmonious singing? Which song had particularly good harmony?

6. Did you recognize the lyrics to some of the songs in the concert? Which songs' lyrics did you recognize?

7. Which song had the greatest amount of dynamics in the concert? Why do you think so?

8. Did the instrumental and/or vocal music teacher explain to the audience what they were going to hear in the concert? Describe what a teacher said about one of the songs in the concert.

9. Did the chorus sing in unison and what does that mean? Did any of the songs in the band/ orchestra or chorus have a soloist?

10. Did the chorus sing and add body movements to match the rhythm of the song? How did the body movements assist you in understanding the lyrics of the songs?

11. Did the band/orchestra or chorus begin and end together? How did you know when a song was over?

Problematic View of the goal of Education

On the very first page of the December 2006 "Better Teaching" publication, there is an article titled "Use Project-Based Learning model." The article is pretty good; it encourages teachers to assign long-term group hands-on projects as the focal point of a unit. However, the first sentence of the article reads, "Give your students the opportunity to master the content and skills they will need in the global marketplace with a lesson inspired by the Project-Based Learning (PBL) model." The source of the article is from the publication "Edutopia," in an article by Bob Pearlman titled "New Skills for a New Century, Project-Based learning teaches kids the collaborative and critical thinking abilities they'll need to compete."

To me, this language is very problematic, and I probably would not have recognized it in September. Why is the notion that the goal of education is to train students to "compete" in the "global marketplace"? This saddens me, and I wonder if this mindset can or will ever change.

Calling on Students in Random Order

Once a month, our principal gives us a copy of the publication called "Better Teaching." I often skim through quickly, but in the December issue, there is an article under "Teaching Tips" called "Call on students in random order." See the article below:

You ask a question. A few hands--the same hands--go up. Research shows you're letting other students off the hook. If students don't think they'll be called on , they can let a class (or two) slide by. Pretty soon, they're falling behind.

The solution? Call on students in random order. Here's how:
-Put all names in a basket (or write them on wooden sticks).
-Pull names out randomly.
-Return the names so no one is ever "off the hook."
-Consider giving students one "free pass" for a question they simply can't answer.

One teacher created a computer program to randomly generate names. Later, she conducted research on student behavior. She learned that students:
-Showed up for classes more prepared.
-Paid more attention to what the teacher was saying.
-Did their homework.

In other words, they did all the things that led to success in class.
________
Source: "Bias-Busting Tech Keeps Students Focused," eSchool News, www.eschoolnews.com.

_______
What do you all think about this? I tend not to call on students who do not raise their hands because I worry about my students' fearing me or my class (think Parker Palmer).
I also find it problematic that this article does not address any pedagogical tools the teacher may use when presenting information or engaging with the students and material in class. I would be interested to see the research that "shows [I'm] letting other students off the hook."

Othering

My previous blog was a reaction to Mandy regarding an authentic performance of Non-Western music. But, in her argument (Mandy… I’m totally not picking on you… you’re just making me think a lot, so THANK YOU!!!), there is a great amount of “othering.” In my previous blog, there is a great amount of “othering.” Why do we have “us’s” and “them’s” and “we’s” and “they’s?”

I believe there is a human need to categorize. I do not know where this comes from, but I’d love to research and find out. It may be the way the brain functions (which I think it is), or it may be a societal issue that we can deal with. I have a feeling that it is a combination of both. If it is a neurobiological phenomena, then is this something that we can help? And, if we stop “othering” (even if it is apple vs. orange or fruit vs. vegetable), how can we learn? Is this something that learning theory should take into account?

Please… your thoughts on an underdeveloped idea!!!

Authenticity

I was reading old posts (partly due to my negligence in keeping up with the blogs, and partly because I think some of them deserve to be read again). I came across a blog by Mandy from 11/13 titled “So, this has been flipping through my mind all week…” It dealt with the authenticity of a performance of a Nigerian carol that symphonic choir and chapel choir are performing at Readings and Carols (read her blog). I started to reply to this as a comment, but I really want to share this with everyone, and I will assume (hopefully erroneously) that most of us do not read past blogs and see if there are any new comments.

Here’s my point: Authenticity should always be up for question when performing music not of the "Western Canon." However, shouldn't we be making the same comments in reference to the authenticity of performances of music in the "Western Canon?"

How can there be a performance of a Bach Passion or Cantata outside of a Lutheran ceremony? Can Josquin des Prez be performed at a recital (as I did)? Can we sing a Schubert song cycle at a recital in Carnegie Hall? All of these are also non-authentic experiences. A Bach Passion or Cantata was written to be performed around the sermon, Josquin was writing strictly for Catholic Masses and services, and Schubert was writing for performance in small gatherings of friends (in fact, this is what makes his music quintessentially Romantic). Why aren’t we “up in arms” about this?

When it comes to “Non-Western” music, or any other music, are we ever going to have an authentic performance? We would need to travel to that country or region and find a performance in order for it to be authentic. And, even then it would not be authentic because there is some “westerner” watching. So, is it ever possible to give an authentic performance of music other than music that is composed for you and your purpose?

This whole thing brings up another issue, so read my next blog.

Women Teaching High School

I had my student teaching interview this morning. My possible co-operating teacher is a middle aged, white, male choral director at a very rich school district. I also met with the vice-principle of the school, who is a middle aged white female. I felt that the interview went well. They did not ask me any questions that I felt were too difficult or that I did not have an answer for. However, throughout the interview, I felt that my every movement was being monitored or judged. My possible co-op then asked me to come back another time and observe a few classes.

About an hour after I got home, I received a call from Prof. Schmidt saying that my possible co-op called and was concerned that I did not want to teach high school. I have no idea where my possible co-op got this impression. Through my practicum experience, I’ve found that I was more comfortable teaching high school students than elementary students. I enjoy making music with high school students more than elementary students. I have never wanted to be a full time elementary school teacher. (Not that there is anything wrong with wanting to teach elementary, I simply don’t feel it’s for me). I was baffled on how he got this impression.

Then I started thinking, I am a young woman being interviewed by an older man. When I am dressing for an interview, I often dress more “off-beat” than professional. It’s my style. I don’t feel I look like me in suits. I realized that my appearance is one of an elementary school teacher. I do not think any parent would have any qualms with leaving their small child with me. However, I am not interested in student teaching in an elementary placement. I have always considered myself a high school teacher. The possibility that I was stereotyped due to my gender, age, and dress makes me furious. If I was a man, I doubt my possible co-op would be concerned with my desire to teach high school.