LaKyya Washington

Teaching Philosophy

As an educator, I value accessibility across learning styles, personalities, and cultures.

Students are independent individuals who have differing needs and cannot be expected to learn

the same way. I ensure understanding and inclusivity by frequently connecting my auditory

instructions to kinesthetic movements that relate to visual references around the classroom.

Meeting students where they are emotionally, academically, developmentally, and culturally

positively impacts performance and comprehension. I do this by learning my students through

observation and consistent communication with them and their families. Students should be able

to recognize that their teacher is their fiercest advocate who wants them to succeed just as much

as they do. Building positive classroom relationships must be a priority, as teachers are then able

to know their students’ strengths, weaknesses, goals, or anxieties and accommodate instruction

and assessment. An important aspect of creating positive classroom relationships is

understanding where your students come from, as culture and environment play a huge role in

behavior, motivation, and performance. I assign culturally diverse repertoire to expose students

to new customs and encourage them to navigate identity, traditions, and languages while drawing

real-world connections. Representing the cultures of my students and introducing multicultural

ideas to my classroom promotes connection and visibility. By maintaining open communication

with their families, remaining involved and educated on their cultural background, I can be an

educated advocate.
 Music is by nature a collaborative discipline. When participating in an ensemble, students

work together towards a common goal. Maintaining not only positive student-teacher

relationships, but also positive student-student relationships, encourages effective collaboration

within an ensemble. I incorporate community building into my curriculum through frequent

group discussions, weekly readings of student-to-student compliments, and daily modeling of

gratitude. The fostering of a safe risk-taking environment provides students space to make

mistakes and try things without fear. I always acknowledge my mistakes to demonstrate

accountability and vulnerability in order to encourage my students to do the same. Collaboration

can also manifest itself outside of the choral classroom through activities with other disciplines

like school musicals or providing singers opportunities to perform the national anthem at

sporting events. I prioritize offering my students several musical opportunities by preparing them

to audition for all-state choirs, encouraging them to participate in the school musical, and

communicating with local ensembles in an effort to coordinate a collaborative performance.

Being a well-rounded musician requires musical literacy. Conducting an efficient rehearsal

heavily relies on having my students understand and apply disciplinary literacy skills. To

promote disciplinary literacy, I introduce terminology and application early in the year. I display

visual tools at the front of the classroom that I regularly refer to. Daily, I have my students

identify and define key signatures, time signatures, solfege syllables, rhythmic notation, and

musical elements through self-made examples or choral repertoire. To teach intervals through

solfege syllables, I utilize Reverend John Curwen’s hand signs as a kinesthetic tool. By
connecting intervals, rhythmic passages, or compositional elements to culturally relevant music

or ideas, I am reinforcing the new concepts while giving my students a real-world example.

To be a teacher is to be a mentor, a resource, and a constant. I take pride in maintaining a

fast-paced classroom environment that allows students to be consistently engaged. I challenge

students of all learning abilities through exposure, accommodation, flexibility, cultural relevancy,

and collaboration by instilling these concepts throughout my curriculum. I strive to benefit all of

my students equally, regardless of what path they walked before crossing mine.