Simon Ison
It's definitely been an experience, discussing opinions and exploring methods of teaching that I had definitely not been the biggest proponent of. I have since been expanding not only my understanding of pedagogy, but also forming my own to be less close-minded and more oriented to setting up student for the most success possible. Before this class, I had it ingrained in my mind that teaching should be an open-ended thing; no teacher should have to overstep their bounds, and inject their ideologies into a student's learning in order for them to make the student understand what the teacher thought they should know. I still find myself thinking under this umbrella, but sometimes gentle guidance isn't going to suffice. Perhaps this approach worked in my experience in education, but not all students are going to respond to it as well as I did. There are people out there that need concise instruction in order to function properly, and there isn't anything wrong with that. I've stopped thinking about it with the perspective of 'stomping on their creativity,' but rather as a more directed path to their own ending. It's not a bad thing to need instruction; it doesn't take anything away from the creative process to have someone tell you how things should go, it just means that you may need a different path that requires more structured steps to building. I truly appreciate that an opinion that does not conform to the consensus is still respected in the environment that this class has. It feels as if actual intellectual conversation can occur, and perspectives can be had from all walks of life without being shut down as ‘wrong,’ or being belittled because it isn’t that which is popular. Being in a space where I can openly converse with someone who does not share the same ideals with me is the exact environment I aim to recreate in any of my classrooms; I want my students to be able to try things out without being afraid of judgement, to be able to converse and make their own way through life, to form their own pedagogy. However, I’ve also learned that an open classroom that fosters lots of discussion can also lose its balance quite easily. Guided conversation is a skill that I will definitely need to be able to pick up on, as well as some of the tips and tricks that have been used to get the conversation flowing before getting down to talking as a large group. All in all my experience in this class thus far as been quite enriching. I’ve learned less on what I had expected (how to be an educator), and more about what really matters in the long run: who I am, and who I want to be as an educator.
0 Comments
3/6/2017 0 Comments Reflection 1Jessie Li
Coming into this class, I had little idea of what this course will be about. I thought it will be more about lecturing us on how to teach an elementary music class, but I soon realized that this class is very similar to vocal methods, where our ideas and opinions are greatly appreciated and valued. The past month has been inspiring. My perception and view on music education have completely changed. To be honest, I was never interested in music education because I was afraid that I wouldn’t be strong enough to take on the lead but as we talked deeper into the topic of music education, I found my passion in wanting to help and guide young musicians so they can inspire more people around the world. I really like how Gabriela makes us think very deeply into a topic. I feel like every time I go into that classroom, she just pushes us to think deeper and deeper. I think as I continued to think about what is education and music education, I started to understand myself better as a person and as a musician. I think one of the many things that I have learned in this class is how to interact with people. When I’m with people now, I’m more conscious about their feelings and my words so that I can make the people around me feel comfortable. I remember our first reading was about the elements of music. We talked about how the “handbook” restricts musicians to freely express their own musical thoughts. Although we talked mainly about the aspects of music education, I thought more about this issue when it came to my own piano playing. I remember after the discussion, I reflected on myself and questioned myself whether I’m brave enough to put my own thoughts into my music, rather than following everything that’s written on the score. What I love the most about this class are the people. I think my colleagues and Gabriela are great inspirations to me. I love how we get to communicate and share our opinions on different topics. Often we wouldn’t agree on the same idea, but all the conversations really do opens up my mind and sparkles more thinking. I think my past month in this class made me value music even more. I was never this sure on something, but I am sure that music is what I want to spend my entire life on doing. 3/6/2017 0 Comments Course ReflectionsHenry Cobb
Throughout the duration of this course, I have had the opportunity to hear many different perspectives on the current state of music education. On top of this, the very concept of—and philosophy behind—music education as a whole has come up through our course discussions. Most of these perspectives have been pointing out the numerous flaws within the system of music education; the theme of the disconnect between music as an interest has come up multiple times in different readings. I enjoy discussing this, because I think it is an issue that is the plague of music programs across the country and as the potential next generation of music educators, it will be our duty to combat it. Some of the articles, namely articles #1, #3 and #4, were in my opinion written by ideologues with a political agenda—more focused on forwarding their own political beliefs through music education rather than the actual subject. I recall in the first article the authors took fault with the very concept of musical notation because it excluded people who could not read music. Inclusion is everything, right? No matter how much we have to lower our standards? Article #3 was more about social justice than it was about music, encouraging the policing of speech to avoid what the author calls “ableist” language. If the author of this article was in charge of our nation, we’d likely all be conversing in a form of newspeak from Orwell’s 1984. After all, the only safe language is language that cannot possibly offend anyone in any way possible. Throughout reading this article, I was hearing a George Carlin quote echo in the back of my mind over and over again: “These people have been bullsh—ted by the system into believing that if you change the name of the condition, somehow you’ll change the condition.” The author paints a picture of the world where if we simply change our language, disability ceases to exist. It’s a lovely idea, but it doesn’t quite translate to the real world. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading these perspectives and getting the chance to write a reflection on them. As one of my all-time favorite philosophers John Stuart Mill said, “He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may be able to refute them. But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion.” I kept this quote in mind as I read many of the articles. I have enjoyed this course thus far because I enjoy my opinion being challenged, and I especially enjoy a stage to challenge the opinions of others. However, I very much dislike the different “rules” of speech that are periodically enforced when we are having discussions. It makes discussion extremely inefficient and it only serves to disguise and suppress a student’s opinion behind useless “soft language” (to reference George Carlin again.) Speech in these discussions should be entirely free, as is entailed by Section 2(a) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is my opinion that the classes where we meet separately are vastly superior to the classes in TC-307. The discussions feel much more free and I feel as though we accomplish more. 2/12/2017 0 Comments Reflection: MUSIC 1800Nicole Ramos
As we reach the halfway point in this course, I believe I have gained valuable knowledge that will help me develop as a student, and as a future teacher. So far something I have noticed is that the class is very discussion based. Because of this we are able to share our thoughts on important questions that pertain to teaching and the way we were taught in a safe environment. I have found this to be very valuable as I have been able to shape my perspective in different ways with the help of my peers. At times we have agreed with each other, and I was able to hear shared my opinion on a subject through their own experiences. In other cases we have not seen eye to eye but I was able to see something in a different light because of our differing opinions. I believe I have been able to confront what I thought I knew about teaching. Before this point, despite knowing that I wanted to become a teacher I had never thought about how I would teach. This course has helped to me consider this, and how it may not be right for me to teach in the same way I was taught and how deciding how I will teach my students will might difficult when the time comes. This class has also taught me of the importance of how I talk to my peers during times of discussion. It is very easy to shift the focus of the conversation to oneself and insist on sharing your opinions first and foremost. I’ve been learning to open the conversation up to everyone instead of making the myself the priority. At the same time, I have learned to always try to contribute to the conversation even if I feel as though someone else has already stated my point. More and more throughout this course we are witnessing people challenging the norms of music education and its “elements.” Through articles and guest lecturers we have seen people who are not satisfied with how music is being taught and are finding different ways reach their students. Ultimately this course is teaching me that there is more to being a teacher than getting a degree and standing in front a class and spewing out information and in some cases I will have rethink what I thought I knew in order to be the best I can be for my student. 2/12/2017 0 Comments Music EducationJessie Li
Coming into this class, I had little idea of what this course will be about. I thought it will be more about lecturing us on how to teach an elementary music class, but I soon realized that this class is very similar to vocal methods, where our ideas and opinions are greatly appreciated and valued. The past month has been inspiring. My perception and view on music education have completely changed. To be honest, I was never interested in music education because I was afraid that I wouldn’t be strong enough to take on the lead but as we talked deeper into the topic of music education, I found my passion in wanting to help and guide young musicians so they can inspire more people around the world. I really like how Gabriela makes us think very deeply into a topic. I feel like every time I go into that classroom, she just pushes us to think deeper and deeper. I think as I continued to think about what is education and music education, I started to understand myself better as a person and as a musician. I think one of the many things that I have learned in this class is how to interact with people. When I’m with people now, I’m more conscious about their feelings and my words so that I can make the people around me feel comfortable. I remember our first reading was about the elements of music. We talked about how the “handbook” restricts musicians to freely express their own musical thoughts. Although we talked mainly about the aspects of music education, I thought more about this issue when it came to my own piano playing. I remember after the discussion, I reflected on myself and questioned myself whether I’m brave enough to put my own thoughts into my music, rather than following everything that’s written on the score. What I love the most about this class are the people. I think my colleagues and Gabriela are great inspirations to me. I love how we get to communicate and share our opinions on different topics. Often we wouldn’t agree on the same idea, but all the conversations really do opens up my mind and sparkles more thinking. I think my past month in this class made me value music even more. I was never this sure on something, but I am sure that music is what I want to spend my entire life on doing. 2/12/2017 0 Comments Class ReflectionSam Sloan
I had different expectations of what Intro to Music Ed was going to be like coming into this class. Obviously we were going to be studying music education but it feels like I’m experiencing it more than I’m being taught it. I was expecting the set up of the class to be in more of a ‘lecture class’ sort of way where you sit down and take notes. However it seems that the class is based around more of an active approach. We get to discuss a lot in this class, which I find interesting, mainly because most of the courses at the university seem to not incorporate discussion in the class. Getting to do it in a class setting is getting me to experience and learn more about discussion skills. Of course I get to discuss and talk with my friends all the time outside of class but it feels like I’m refining a skill when we’re doing it in class. In the class there seems to be a lot of emphasis on word selection when sharing your thoughts with the class, usually this has to do when expressing one’s opinion. I find it interesting that recently we’ve been approaching the words “I really liked” with an alternative choice of words, the replacement word often times being “I appreciated”. Using alternative words makes me think differently about what I’m expressing my opinion on. Not only does it make me think different, but I also believe that it makes me listen differently. When I’m listening for something that I appreciate about it, I believe that I’m listening more closely. This class has led me to think about the different kind of pedagogy I’ve experienced in my life and compare the different approaches teachers have in terms of education. Even within the music faculty there are very different teaching methods between the teachers in music. This class has given me the chance to work with others in the classroom. Not only work with them, but also create and share with them. It’s given me the opportunity to feel vulnerable when trying to create and work with them. It’s also made me think about listening more to their ideas as well. Throughout the whole course it seems like it’s made me reflect and question what I know and have been taught about learning and education. 2/9/2017 1 Comment Class Reflection #1Leslie Higgins
Sunday February 5th I have thoroughly enjoyed this class so far, in fact it is one of my favourite classes this semester! I really love thinking critically about things and sharing my opinions with others, and this class has provided a very safe environment to do that in. Teaching is a very personal thing, I think, and everyone would approach a classroom slightly different. That being said, there are still infinite things to think about and consider when thinking about teaching and what is right and wrong. So far in this class we have discussed a range of topics from curriculum to how students are treated, and each discussion has left me full of ideas and thoughts which I’ve found very intriguing! I find this class incredibly fascinating because our focus is on music education, but we are still approaching ideas and questions that any teacher would come to. I think music education is very different from other types of education because it can be both personal and collaborative. Music educators have to inspire students to believe in themselves and develop their personal skills, and then also work with all their students as a group to create a unison sound and vision, be it in choir or band. That being said, music educators still face a lot of the same challenges that any educator does, and I really appreciate how we tackle both music and non-music related ideas in class. I have really enjoyed the guest lectures, and I think they are excellent learning experiences because hearing the opinions and thoughts of an experienced teacher allows for even further insight and discussion on ideas. I also really appreciate how each reading we complete is then discussed further in class. It is one thing to read an article and expand on your own thoughts, but being able to discuss your ideas and hear others allows for the learning experience to come full circle. It also lets me learn new things I may have not even noticed or considered about the article, when hearing other people’s ideas. I am truly looking forward to continuing this semester and seeing what this class has in store for me! 2/9/2017 1 Comment My reflexionsJosh Dunham
This class has made me think largely on my personal experiences, and how it has affected my personal opinions on teaching, specifically in music. I have largely been questioning, what is “good” teaching, specifically while watching conductors. Many of the conductors I work with are or have been teachers and I see them as the closest representation to a high school teacher. Many high school teachers will conduct bands and I observe how they interact with the ensemble. My largest questioning of conducting has been largely on tuning and how different conductors will tune their ensembles. I am in an ensemble where tuning is stressed before, and during each piece, and I am also in an ensemble that so far I have not witnessed tune yet. I am attempting to question my own biases on tuning and find do I desire the same importance of tuning as others or the lack thereof? Onto the course what I enjoy most about it is the interactions I have with others in the class. We often get to discover our own philosophies while in conversation and learn about others as well. My biggest question for others is, is our own personal desires for music transferring to how we want to teach? Is what we wanted as students affecting how we think we should teach? The reason I think this is important is because what if these are not the common desires of music students. I am unsure of this but I believe that most students who take music in high school do not continue into music. If we as teachers who go into music at the university level design curricula for students similar to ourselves, with this impact the amount of students who take music in high school? Will it strengthen or weaken it? I personally do not think that high school music should attempt to push students towards a career in music. This may seem controversial to some, but I do not think it is our job to create musicians. I think it is our job to give the tools for that possibility, and to allow students to de-stress from the world. A safe environment where they do not have to think about science tests, and stress from home. I believe that we as teachers should notice students who may show desires to pursue music as a career and help them achieve that goal, but I do not think our main focus should be in continuing music. I am probably wording this wrong and many may disagree, but for now this is where I stand. 2/2/2017 0 Comments What is new in my thinkingThis class has definitely made me think critically about a number of things within the context of pedagogy.
What's new in my thinking? I have begun to really think about the idea that a teacher's approach to teaching is a very personal thing. No two people will teach exactly the same, and while it is great to look up to other teachers and draw inspiration from them, it's important as a teacher to find the method of teaching that works best for you and that your students respond well to. Because of that I have been taking a closer look at the teachers in my life, in order to notice the variety of teaching styles they use. It's also very important to experiment yourself with different teaching styles not only for your sake, but for your students as well. For example, my current voice teacher has a very kinesthetic approach to teaching that I have never encountered with any other teachers. She believes that putting the student in various physical positions that will provoke a certain feeling in the body is the best way for a student to learn a new concept. That way, the student can work towards achieving that same feeling in their own practice, instead of trying to grasp a concept they were only told about how to achieve but did not actually go through the process of doing in their lesson. I had always thought that I was a very linguistic learner because that was the teaching style my elementary and high schools were based on, and I did well in school. Had I not been exposed to this different style of teaching by my current voice teacher I would've never known that I am also a kinesthetic learner and respond really well to this teaching style. Another thing this class has made me re-evaluate is the idea that you have to stick to a specific teaching style. Your teaching will always be changing based on the various influences in your life and that's okay. The skype call with Lesley Dawe made me think about trying new things in your teaching. She is constantly trying out new things in her classroom in order to make class more fun for herself and her students. It's okay to try out new things in the classroom and no one is going to penalize you if it doesn't work, so I think it's important to constantly be trying new things to be able to improve our teaching and bring more enjoyment into school. Jo |
|