Marissa Adams

10/07/2020

Career Goals Statement

1. “Who and where are you now as a music educator?”

As a current student in the music education program at James Madison University, I feel
that already in my first 3 semesters here that I have learned a great deal about education and what
it takes to be an educator, specifically trained in music. However, I am beginning to understand
that what I have learned thus far in my intense studies is only the beginning, which makes me so
excited for my future. I have always loved working with kids, and being the oldest of six with all
of my siblings being at least seven years younger than me, I have frequently taken on the roll of a
second mom. As many parents and other older siblings know, taking on this role requires a lot of
hands on “teaching” experience, and I feel it has already helped me a great deal in my studies
particularly when it comes to learning to be flexible and adaptive - you never know when
something unexpected will go wrong. Already having this little bit of a “teaching” experience
with my siblings, I have always wanted to do something with music in my life, no matter what
shape it takes. I can not imagine a world without music and I feel like my life would be lost and
empty without it. Coming from all of this as my background, music education seemed like the
perfect career path for me, and while it is very challenging at times, no one said it was easy and
every hands on experience is always so rewarding for me. Furthermore, the idea that I can make
a huge impact on the lives of future generations through something so magical as music, gets me
so excited to pursue it in the future.

2. “Who do you aspire to become and what do you plan to do as a music educator?”

As a future music educator, I aspire to be a teacher that students feel comfortable around
to be themselves and freely explore their talents and expand their knowledge. I would never want
a student to enter my classroom and feel unsafe or unwelcome, or be afraid to talk to me about
concerns or worries about their education or even in their life. I know many students, myself
included, who have had at least one teacher who made them feel “on edge” or anxious and was
scared to talk to them outside of class, or even afraid to answer a question in class for fear of
getting it wrong and being reprimanded. This has always been a worry for me in my future
classroom, because one of the best ways to learn is by making mistakes. And if students are so
scared of making a mistake that they don’t step out of their comfort zone because of the way I
am running my classroom, than I am not doing my job as an educator. One of the most important
jobs of a educator, which I plan on bringing to my teaching skills and classroom, is the ability to
be flexible, adaptive, and observant. If you can not observe when your students are struggling,
and can not do what you need to adapt to help them, then you are not educating them. You are
leaving them behind to educate themselves, yet in the end they will lose motivation which can
lead to a dislike for whatever subject you may be teaching.

3. “Which of your music educators before university most impacted you in a positive way
and what personal and professional traits of theirs impacted you the most?”

Before coming to university and being immersed to a variety of different, effective

teaching styles, I was most impacted and inspired by an elementary music teacher who wasn’t
even my own. Throughout all of my schooling I had wonderful teachers, yet none of them ever
really impacted me but rather were just neutral in my life and didn’t discourage me or encourage
me in music in either way. However, my senior year of high school I was given the opportunity
through a Duel Enrollment course which partnered with a local community college to take a
class (Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow) which allowed me to get a jump start on my college
education career and student teach for a semester in a school classroom. As soon as I found out
about this opportunity I knew I wanted to apply for placement into a elementary music
classroom, and ended up being in the classroom with a phenomenal teacher named Glen Chilcote
who taught in a music classroom at an Elementary school I never attended. By this point, Mr.
Chilcote had been teaching for roughly 15 years or so and was professionally trained in The Orff
Method which was created and developed by Charles Orff. The whole theory and idea behind the
Orff method is to teach in a way where students can learn while playing, since students would
much rather play than learn. As soon as I stepped into his classroom I could feel the energy of
the room where he was given so much respect yet every child was so excited to learn, because
they would get to play. I was so inspired by Mr. Chilcote’s teaching techniques and how he was
able to keep control over the classroom while also letting the children explore on their own and
learn music. After getting to student teach in his classroom with similar techniques and a more
hands on experience with this teaching method, I knew I wanted to adapt this to my future
classroom as well.

4. “From a societal and community based perspective what role do you believe music has to
play for the betterment/enrichment of society?”

Music has so many different benefits in the learning and development of children, and
that if it is carried out in a caring, focused, and individualized way, our future educators will have
a direct impact on how our future society looks. This society will allow it’s community to be
more thoughtful, intellectual, and open minded to new ideas and theories which will ultimately
lead to more community within our society. Nicole Sarrazin focuses a lot on this idea of the
developing child and the role music has in their lives in her book Music and the Child, and in
addition to speaking on many different, effective teaching methods for teaching music to
children, she goes in depth on how music is directly related to a variety of characteristics in the
child’s developing brain. For example, when introducing music to children from birth, the child
has a much higher chance of growing up with a more creative, optimistic, and willing outlook on
life. This is extremely necessary in our society today where many times we “butt-heads” with
each other and tend to have many selfish motives. As future educators, it is our responsibility to
not only educate students with music, but also educate them with kindness and respect and ask
them to do the same to their peers. By doing this, even as little steps, we will be able to enrich
our society as a whole and open the doors to many different opportunities for our future students
as well. They then can pass this on to their future students and continue to improve and “better”
our society for good, through music.
PHILOSOPHY STATEMENTS:

Musicianship

As one of the most important parts of music education, musicianship requires you to be a
successful musician for you and your students. If you cannot be a successful musician yourself,
how will you be able to teach a student to be a successful musician? Musicianship requires you
to be an informed musician with many skill sets to enhance your knowledge and strength as an
educator. Some of these skills include consistency, responsibility, accountability, adaptability,
and perseverance. I believe musicianship is best learned through immersive experiences and a
willingness to experiment and create. There is a beautiful uniqueness that lives in each
musician's story, and providing a safe classroom space for each student to be their own musician
is crucial for the development of their own musicianship.

Engagement

Engagement is a crucial tool both in and out of the classroom, both for student-student
relationships, teacher-student relationships and teacher-teacher relationships. Engagement allows
students from different classes, musical groups, and life backgrounds to interact and grow in
their learning. This learning allows students to grow in a holistic style, merging all subjects and
skill sets, bridging the gap between the various lessons and classes they experience in school.
This engagement form also allows your students to explore and observe the talents and
techniques of their peers while also allowing them to perform using their attained skill sets and
knowledge. In addition, this opens the door for students to discuss shared struggles between them
as musicians. It’s likely they will be struggling with the same topics as their brains develop, and
this can be a great way for them to problem solve and discuss solutions. This opens up the doors
to collaboration and professionalism at a young age, and encourages students to step outside of
their comfort zones.

Leadership

The term “Leadership” encompasses many roles and hats people wear in various aspects of their
individual life. However, I believe the role of a music educator doesn’t fall into the traditional
role of a leader. Yes, as an educator you are required to pave roads for your students to ensure
their success and understanding of the content, but as a music educator you must be willing to
blur the lines. You must be open to letting your students lead sections, teach the class
individually and in groups on certain topics, and allow them to grow in their own musicianship
by giving them opportunities to perform in and out of the classroom. As music educators we are
teachers, but we are also always students - we must take moments to let our students teach us.

Scholarship

The role of scholarship in music is a fundamental skill that provides you with a background of
knowledge for the pieces you perform or teach. Without this foundation of knowledge, a
performance will be lacking in depth and understanding of the true meaning of the piece as well
as it’s composition. A piece performed without meaning is just noise. We hear noise everyday,
but the meaning and purpose behind that “noise” fundamentally changes the entire performance.
Not only does this tell a story but it creates a new cultural and historical awareness of the piece
and its own history. And what an exciting opportunity that we get to be a part of its history - we
must do the work to do it justice.