The lecture given my Dr.

Hammel on teaching music to students with

special needs was both enlightening and fascinating. My junior and
senior year in chorus, there was a special needs boy in my chorus
class. As a high school student, I often found myself becoming
impatient and irritated in class. At the time, I thought this was because
of the student himself. But looking back now after Dr. Hammels
lecture, I realize that it was not the student who was the root of the
problem, but the way in which my choral director, whom I love to
death, handled the student. She was often dismissive and impatient
with him, which is clearly not what he needed to fully grow as a
student and a musician.
Looking back after Dr. Hammels lecture, I realize there are a few
things that could have been done differently in order to help the class
run more smoothly. I wont go into intimate details simply for privacys
taste, but those two things have allowed me to see just how important
it is that special needs children get just the same out of their music
education experience as those students who are able to learn more
normally. This is vital not only to the special needs child, but also to
the teacher, to the rest of the class, and to the teaching environment
as a whole. In many music classes, the concept of ensemble is one of
the major emphasis points in the education program.
Making sure that a special needs child feels included in the ensemble,
while still catering to their learning needs, is one of the toughest
challenges I feel one can face as a band, chorus, or orchestra director.
However, that is why the development of modern music technologies is
going to be so important to music classrooms in the coming years.
These technological developments are going to allow students who
have some sort of learning impairment or disability to feel included,
which simultaneously feeling as though they are not getting any
special attention or making a scene. Often times, embarrassment will
hold such a student back. And with various technologies, such as the
BigMack we looked at in class, allow these students to participate with
much less of an embarrassment factor.