In my music classroom, I believe in...

Student Agency

I believe in providing students with the opportunity to drive their personal learning through their interests and strengths. In the classroom, this can look like student choice projects and ensembles; for example, in my middle school student teaching experience in a choral classroom setting, I helped organize a student-choice song project where students had the opportunity to choose a song to learn as a solo or in an ensemble. Each grade level had a specific genre, ranging from folk songs to musical theater, and students chose their piece of music from a pre-approved list of songs. This provided students with the opportunity to learn about a new genre of music, apply what they’ve learned about practicing music in choir class (warming up, learning notes and rhythms, etc.) and gave them the freedom to choose their song and groups. Students had the choice to work individually or in a duet/trio/quartet. When facilitating this project, I saw students take ownership of their music learning in a way that was much more individualized and honest to their interests and learning styles. 

Multi-Genre Instruction and Performance

As a musician with experience in multiple genres, I believe it is imperative for young musicians to explore a variety of genres. In the choral classroom, this can be implemented through concert repertoire and cross-classroom collaborations. As a music director across all grade levels, I believe it is important to thoughtfully curate a concert program that showcases multiple genres/styles, cultures, composers, topics, and time periods. It is my responsibility as a teacher to support musical learning across many styles of repertoire in order to properly prepare students for life-long music learning and loving. 

In addition to concert repertoire, I am passionate about creating opportunities for students to collaborate with other classrooms, inside and outside of music classes. For example, in my future classroom, I look forward to implementing a cover song project where choir students collaborate with band students. This would be a great opportunity for students to learn music from different genres, collaborate with students playing different instruments, and develop relationships with students from other musical classes. A final component of this project would include a live performance! I believe that students should have many opportunities to present what they're learning in the classroom, and this cover song project would provide a great performance experience for students. 

Music is for everyone 

   I believe that music learning across all grade levels should be catered towards the needs and interests of all students, rather than just the students that are successful in their music learning. Providing students with a range of material that allows students to be successful at multiple levels of engagement is how we reel students in: hook them with their success and something to hold on to that encourages them to continue. 

In music, there is something for everyone: music is a huge part of the human experience, and I believe that students should be provided with opportunities in their music classroom that prepare them for musical experiences outside of the classroom.