Teaching Philosophy

The topic of philosophy is and should be extremely important to educators. Philosophy

will be the driving force behind the decisions you make in your classroom and for your students.

Without the why, we cannot decide on the what, which is why it is crucial to ponder and be

100% set with your philosophy. I am always debating between what philosophies I

agree/disagree with, which ones I would implement in my own teaching, and what I would seek

to accomplish with them.

Education is a vital part of our lives. My belief is that everyone should have access to

education, so that everyone can learn and discover who they are, who they want to be, and gain

the skills and knowledge necessary to be positive contributors to society. Further, I believe that

everyone should experience music education as well. Many studies show that students who

partake in music classes actually do better in school than their counterparts who do not. Through

music, students learn responsibility, discipline, confidence, how to work in group settings, and

many other skills that are crucial for them once they go out into the real world.

To even begin the process of teaching them these skills, the environment they are

learning in needs to be a safe space where they can make mistakes without worry, and where

they can thrive and feel supported by myself and their peers. Since music is a performance-based

activity, it is important that the environment is one of trust, so they know they will be supported

regardless of how they perform. This is tied into the culture that is established from the

beginning of the year. Once a culture of respect and rapport is established, it will be less

challenging to uphold it because the students will want to maintain that safe environment that

allows them to thrive.

 A key component and arguably the most important aspect of establishing a safe

environment and culture of respect and rapport is the relationships that make those up. This

includes teacher-to-student, student-to-teacher, and student-to-student relationships. To me, it is

highly valuable to take the time to get to know each individual student. Yes, we do see many

students and it may feel like there is not enough time to get to know everyone, but we can surely

make time. The seeds that you plant from the beginning will blossom into something beautiful,

and it is worth spending the time on building those relationships. Students know when you

genuinely care, and once they acknowledge that you care about them, they will feel safer, they be

more compliant, and they will buy into your program much faster. In their rapidly changing

lives, they need consistency and they need to know that someone genuinely cares about them and

has their best interest in mind.

In music class, we are lucky in that our curriculum is the music we pick for our

ensembles, so no one is really telling us what to do, unlike our colleagues who teach core

subjects. The literature we play is what we use to instill these values (responsibility, discipline,

etc.) into our students. I put great thought into the repertoire I select for my ensembles for this

reason. They should be exposed to different styles of music, different composers, and music

from different time periods. With all those things come discussion about music history as well,

which opens the door to interdisciplinary learning. These factors are all important to me as they

are crucial in musically educating students.

I am a firm believer in life-long learning. The beauty of our profession is that we have

many resources available to us: annual conferences, professional development opportunities,

online resources, books, and, most importantly, each other. As a new teacher in the profession, I

will take any opportunity I can to seek advice and knowledge from those who are seasoned
educators already. This includes bringing them into my classroom and getting their feedback on

what they see. I think it is also important to take the time to ask the students who are in the

classroom with you everyday how they feel about what is going on. I would most likely do this

through a survey where they can tell me what is working, what is not working, what they enjoy,

what they do not enjoy, etc. I am always looking for ways to improve my instruction and better

myself to meet the needs of my students. After all, they are the reason why we do what we do.

The two things I love and have always been the most passionate about are people and music. I

am fortunate to be in a profession that combines those two things.