Essential Question 16. How do you plan on putting your teaching philosophy into practice?

I think that having a philosophy and being able to put it into practice are two different things. Because we aren't teaching in a classroom full-time in college, I think it is really easy to get an idealized view of the world. The first step to putting my philosophy into practice is to have a realistic philosophy. I want to have something that I stand for and believe in, but also that is able to be accomplished. My philosophy is all about the students. I want them to be involved in their education. I plan on accomplishing this by asking the students what music they think we should play, what trips and activities we should do, and how they want to learn.

Another part of my philosophy is that students should have a comprehensive music education. When I went to school, it was pretty much all about learning to play the music for the next concert. I want my students to be able to have a much more integrated experience than that. There are skills learned in music that students can use in other parts of their lives, but only if we as teachers help them learn how to do that.

The most important thing in my philosophy is that students feel safe to express themselves in my classroom. Music is an area that the students have to feel free to experiment, and to make themselves vulnerable. I will put this part of my philosophy into practice by making sure all students feel comfortable in my classroom.

Even though I started off by saying it's easy to have an idealized view, I feel like some of my ideas area bit lofty. I think my point is that we can have ideas about how we are going to do things, or how we will put our philosophies into practice, but once we get out in the "real world" we will still have to think on our feet.

Question #4: What things would you change about schools and why?

One of the things I would like to change would be that in some schools things are the way they are because they've always been that way. Change is good, and as we learn all these new things about our field and our students, teachers should be eager to apply them instead ignoring them because they would be more work. I know that there are teachers out there who are innovative and willing to use new things, but I also know that there are teachers out there stuck in their old ways. Not only is it more fun and engaging for the students if the teacher is excited and teaching a new way, but if we have new strategies, techniques, ideas, etc, that are better, the education we are giving to our students is better. It isn't just individual teachers, either. Sometimes a school might have a curriculum that is old and outdated, but it isn't changed because no one will put in the time and effort. The students could benefit so much from an updated curriculum.

Another thing I wold like to change is the way children are learning. Again, I am sure there teachers out there who allow children freedom to learn in their own style, but there are also teachers who teach one way and insist the students learn it that way or not at all. I hope to allow my classroom to be a place where students can explore and discover things in many different ways instead of me just telling them how it needs to be done.

I realize there are probably much bigger and more pressing issues in schools today, but these are two things that I would like to see changed.

Essential Question #2: Why do you want to become a teacher?

I have wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember. It used to be my favorite game to play as a child. As a child, I think I thought it was fun to be in charge. Now that I am older, I have different reasons, but I still know that becoming a teacher is what I want to do. I love working with kids. I think they have the greatest perspective on life. I enjoy being around them and I really enjoy helping them learn new things. I think teaching helps the teacher learn things too. Sometimes as I am teaching someone something new, I may explain it in such a way that I explore a new aspect of the subject. Also, I think kids can teach us things. Teachers don't always know everything! I want to be a teacher so I can continue to learn.

Especially in the music classroom, I think teachers get to have a lot of fun. This is another reason why I want to be a teacher. There are so many things we can do with music to have fun while learning. I love exposing children to music they've never experienced before. There are many, many reasons why I want to become a teacher, but these are just a few of them.