The first thing I found very interesting about this article is one quote in particular, and that is “knowing is different than doing” I thought this was interesting because i'm an individual that learns more by doing stuff rather than sitting in a class and taking notes and i feel like most students these days are like that, not to say that taking notes is a bad way of teaching because there is no bad way of teaching! A way a teacher could put this into practice to include every type of students is do half of the class a reading or lecture and then the second half putting what they learnt into practice kind of like we did on our first day of this class with the patterns and making our own songs.
Something that made me frustrated in a way was that they talked about how students need to learn in class and then be tested to make sure that information was retained. I agree with this in certain cases for example theory where everything is by the book and you either understand or don't, but in places like performance i don't feel as though students should be graded on if they’re playing a piece perfectly with the right articulations and dynamics because it limits their creativity and makes them afraid to think outside the box and try new things.
Something that surprised me while reading this article is how they use their personal teaching experiences while writing this and talk about their own classrooms and what they do with their students. This surprised me in a good way because i thought it was cool that they actually tested the things they are writing about in an actual classroom and shared their results because its easy to wright about teaching methods but putting them into practice and making sure the real test.
Overall this article was interested and touched the many aspects of teaching. If i could ask the author something after reading this article it would be to ask them what their favourite teaching methods are and what works the best for them as well as what are some universal teaching methods that work for any age group or class size.
Something that made me frustrated in a way was that they talked about how students need to learn in class and then be tested to make sure that information was retained. I agree with this in certain cases for example theory where everything is by the book and you either understand or don't, but in places like performance i don't feel as though students should be graded on if they’re playing a piece perfectly with the right articulations and dynamics because it limits their creativity and makes them afraid to think outside the box and try new things.
Something that surprised me while reading this article is how they use their personal teaching experiences while writing this and talk about their own classrooms and what they do with their students. This surprised me in a good way because i thought it was cool that they actually tested the things they are writing about in an actual classroom and shared their results because its easy to wright about teaching methods but putting them into practice and making sure the real test.
Overall this article was interested and touched the many aspects of teaching. If i could ask the author something after reading this article it would be to ask them what their favourite teaching methods are and what works the best for them as well as what are some universal teaching methods that work for any age group or class size.
Hourigan, R. M. (2009).The Invisible Student: Understanding social identity construction withinperforming ensembles. Music educators Journal, 34-38.
Something I found interesting about this article is how the author took an actual classroom situation and wrote and article based on it to give us more of an abstract idea of the point he is trying to get across. Its also interesting because while reading we can see what its like for those students and it gives us ideas, as future educators, on how we can help those students in our classrooms and gives us ideas of ways we can include everyone which can boost the self confidence of those students and make them more happy and willing to learn during class.
Something i disagree with about this article is that they say that 'invisible' shy students should be paired with more outgoing students. This frustrated me a little because if a shy student is put with an outgoing student, the shy student is gonna notice that their partner likes to talk and take charge and therefore will prevent the shy student from taking charge in the group and making decisions which limits their opportunity to participate and be heard in class discussions. I believe it's more beneficial for shy and quiet students to work with other shy students so that it forces them both to take charge in the group, and i believe that outgoing students should be placed with other outgoing students so they learn how to not always take charge and let someone else lead and show them new ways to do things.
Something that surprised me in this article is that they chose to base the story off of a kid with mental illness, Although i think this added more effect to the point they were trying to get across, it surprised me how they chose this particular case which is a rare to see in a classroom. This leads me to my question which I would ask the author, my question would be, why did you choose an uncommon case like this where there is a handicapped person in the class, and how do you think it changed the views of the readers.
In a way I disagree with the fact that they made the 'invisible student' a handicapped student because just because a student isn't capable of doing the same things as other students, doesn't make them any less capable of making friends, and i know this is only the case in their story, but in a way i can see how this story could make some people feel bad for handicapped people and treat them differently which is not the goal as we want everyone to be treated and feel equal in the classroom.
Something i disagree with about this article is that they say that 'invisible' shy students should be paired with more outgoing students. This frustrated me a little because if a shy student is put with an outgoing student, the shy student is gonna notice that their partner likes to talk and take charge and therefore will prevent the shy student from taking charge in the group and making decisions which limits their opportunity to participate and be heard in class discussions. I believe it's more beneficial for shy and quiet students to work with other shy students so that it forces them both to take charge in the group, and i believe that outgoing students should be placed with other outgoing students so they learn how to not always take charge and let someone else lead and show them new ways to do things.
Something that surprised me in this article is that they chose to base the story off of a kid with mental illness, Although i think this added more effect to the point they were trying to get across, it surprised me how they chose this particular case which is a rare to see in a classroom. This leads me to my question which I would ask the author, my question would be, why did you choose an uncommon case like this where there is a handicapped person in the class, and how do you think it changed the views of the readers.
In a way I disagree with the fact that they made the 'invisible student' a handicapped student because just because a student isn't capable of doing the same things as other students, doesn't make them any less capable of making friends, and i know this is only the case in their story, but in a way i can see how this story could make some people feel bad for handicapped people and treat them differently which is not the goal as we want everyone to be treated and feel equal in the classroom.
Series, D. Think everything 'normal'?
Something i found interesting about this article is how they say that there is no real definition of normal and that the normal society wants us to be is an unrealistic expectation. I found this interesting, especially as a potential future educator in a classroom because it teaches us to treat everyone equally and to accept everyones differences! Diversity in the classroom is what makes it interesting. If everyone was 'normal' to society's standard none of us music students would even be here today. In my opinion I think everyone has their own definition of normal and no one should be compared to one another.
Something that I disagree with in this article is how they focus on people with actual disabilities and make it seem like they are the only ones who aren't 'normal'. I disagree with this because, first of all, them having physical disabilities doesn't make them less normal than any other students, and there are also students who are capable of doing everything that don't feel like they can do the same things as everyone else and by avoiding them and only talking about the kids with disabilities it discourages those kids. So in the end I think that the author should have just been more diverse when he was writing the article, even though it is super important to keep a close eye on students with disabilities to make sure they're being treated the same. Something that surprised me about this article is that they focused on disabilities the whole time because Iw as expecting more of a more broad topic on how to put aside every students differences in the classroom and how to include everyone without making anyone feel 'different' but the paper was very informative and helpful if i ever have a student with a disability in my class I will surely look back on this article. Something I would like to ask the author of this article is where they got the inspiration to write this article and why they chose this topic in particular. |
September 30th Workshop with Sandy Stauffer
The workshop that we attended this weekend was very educational and entertaining as we touched on many serious diverse topics but did so in a fun and stress free environment. Several things I liked about this workshop was how everyone was included and there were many students as well as educators there to take part in it which goes to show how universal most of these tools are to us as future educators and to people who are already educators! I also enjoyed how she taught us teaching methods by mimicking kind of that we were the students. This was interesting to me because we see as students watching her what works for us and by seeing that we might get a better perspective on what we think might work best for our students in the future. I also found it fun how we weren't sitting down and listening the whole time and how she had us engage in activities which made it a lot more fun. What I learnt from that in particular is that students, especially younger ones, don't like to sit still during the entire class so its always good to do activities that touch base with what you're learning, or even just small activities for fun to wake them up and give them energy to make them want to engage in the class and participate. Another thing I took from this workshop is that I like how everyone was included and how we all got a chance do do stuff and have fun and it wasn't just certain volunteers from the group that got to do stuff. Overall I would recommend this workshop to any aspiring educator or even present educator because it really gives you perspective on what the students are feeling as you're teaching this way because when I was there, I really felt like I was a student and I found it very amusing and interesting.
Dawe, L. (2016). Fumbling Towards Vulnerability: Moving Out of the Familiar for Music Education's Sake, Canadian Music Educator, (57)2, pp, 22-24
Something I found very interesting about this article is how in the beginning the author says "and spent countless hours practicing my instruments alone; attempting to achieve the impossible standard of perfection that I felt I needed". I found this interesting because I feel as though most educators strive for perfection in their bands and classrooms when really all that they should be searching for is improvement in their students. Its important to remember that most of those students are their for their leisure and not because they want to be professional musicians and I think that what the author says here is very powerful because she seemed almost stressed or overwhelmed that she had to practice this much and that takes away the goal of music which is to relax you and have fun while doing it!
Something that I disagree with about this article is not something that the author personally said, but something that happened to her and that is that her teachers told her exactly how the music is supposed to go and ruined her sense of creativity. I disagree with this teaching method because I have had piano teachers like this in the past and it takes away all the fun from playing. I do believe there should be some structure as there is a curriculum that they have to follow but something that would help students creativity and will to play music is letting them choose and perform anything they want once in a while in front of an audience because this helps them as performers as well as opens them up to a whole new world of musical freedom and creativity.
Something that surprised me in this article is how the author touched on a subject that I've never really heard about or discussed before and it was very interesting. She talks about how the music students learn about in school is different than the music they listen to outside of school. This was super interesting to me because its true! Something that can discourage students in band is playing music that they don't necessarily like. Something that many band directors and music educators are doing theses days is playing modern music in their bands which makes it a lot more fun and engaging for the students and gives them motivation to go to class! Not to say that variety is a bad thing because I still do believe it's important to introduce students to classical music as it is an amazing genre that fewer people are listening to as time goes on.
Something I would like to ask the author of this article is if she got the inspiration to write it by teaching, or if she got the ideas from her past as a student and wrote this in attempt to educate others diverse teaching methods and issues modern day students have in music class.
Something that I disagree with about this article is not something that the author personally said, but something that happened to her and that is that her teachers told her exactly how the music is supposed to go and ruined her sense of creativity. I disagree with this teaching method because I have had piano teachers like this in the past and it takes away all the fun from playing. I do believe there should be some structure as there is a curriculum that they have to follow but something that would help students creativity and will to play music is letting them choose and perform anything they want once in a while in front of an audience because this helps them as performers as well as opens them up to a whole new world of musical freedom and creativity.
Something that surprised me in this article is how the author touched on a subject that I've never really heard about or discussed before and it was very interesting. She talks about how the music students learn about in school is different than the music they listen to outside of school. This was super interesting to me because its true! Something that can discourage students in band is playing music that they don't necessarily like. Something that many band directors and music educators are doing theses days is playing modern music in their bands which makes it a lot more fun and engaging for the students and gives them motivation to go to class! Not to say that variety is a bad thing because I still do believe it's important to introduce students to classical music as it is an amazing genre that fewer people are listening to as time goes on.
Something I would like to ask the author of this article is if she got the inspiration to write it by teaching, or if she got the ideas from her past as a student and wrote this in attempt to educate others diverse teaching methods and issues modern day students have in music class.
Bradley, D. (2006) “Music education, multiculturalism, and anti-racism: ‘Can we talk?” Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 5/2
I found it very cool and interesting how the author chose to write about this topic because music is a subject that is very multicultural, for example, jazz music is derived from african american and latin music combined which is what makes it so unique and cool. In the article the author says that folk and indigenous music is worth less and has less value to people these days which is interesting considering a lot of music we listen to today is taken from folk music. For example a composer named Percy Grainger who I did research on for a previous project wrote a piece called 'Lincolnshire Posy' in which every movement was based off of a different folk song he collected. This kind of goes with something I disagree with about the article and that is that folk music shouldn't be worthless to people these days because its a big part of history and is the reason the music we have today exists.
Something that surprised me about this article is that the author says that american culture is experiencing a cycle of aesthetic poverty due to people wanting to only hear modern and new stuff and not paying attention to the old stuff.
Something that surprised me about this article is that the author says that american culture is experiencing a cycle of aesthetic poverty due to people wanting to only hear modern and new stuff and not paying attention to the old stuff.
Leslie Dawe Response |
I found Leslie Dawes interview with the class interesting because we got to talk to her and ask her questions personally rather than write them out and send it to her. It was interesting to hear how her views on teaching changed depending on what grade she was teaching and how she moved around so much as a music teacher. I feel I would be more comfortable teaching a class of young kids after hearing her speak because she made it sound like it is up to you to spark their interest in music and I think thats super cool to be able to have that impact on someone so young.
Williams, D. A. (2014). Another Perspective The iPad Is a REAL Musical Instrument. Music Educators Journal, 101(1), 93-98.
Something I found very interesting about this article is how the author devotes his article to modern day classrooms because it gives us an idea of what music is potentially becoming. I think its important that the author talks about this topic because it is the reality for some students today who may not have the capability to play a real instrument due to physical issues etc.
Although I think this is a cool and interesting new concept being introduced into the world of music education, I feel as though it is taking away a big part of what music is about and that is being able to create authentic real live music and the iPads take away from that in a way by making it more electronic and modern. But looking on the bright side of things this could also result in a new type of music or a whole new way of performing.
Something that surprised me is how the author introduces this idea that by adding iPads in the mix of music classes will attract other students who are not already a part of the music programs. I feel as though this is a good thing because it gives the opportunity to everyone to be a part of the experience in a way thats easy enough for any student and the students will all have fun while doing it. A downside for this is that music programs these days already have trouble getting the funding they need and by adding iPads which are expensive enough will cost the schools a fortune and by adding possible double the amount of students will make it cost a lot more than they're paying already.
Something I would like to ask the author of this article is how he thinks schools would fund this and apart from the students being able to play on iPads the whole period, what other factors might drive non music students to join music classes.
Although I think this is a cool and interesting new concept being introduced into the world of music education, I feel as though it is taking away a big part of what music is about and that is being able to create authentic real live music and the iPads take away from that in a way by making it more electronic and modern. But looking on the bright side of things this could also result in a new type of music or a whole new way of performing.
Something that surprised me is how the author introduces this idea that by adding iPads in the mix of music classes will attract other students who are not already a part of the music programs. I feel as though this is a good thing because it gives the opportunity to everyone to be a part of the experience in a way thats easy enough for any student and the students will all have fun while doing it. A downside for this is that music programs these days already have trouble getting the funding they need and by adding iPads which are expensive enough will cost the schools a fortune and by adding possible double the amount of students will make it cost a lot more than they're paying already.
Something I would like to ask the author of this article is how he thinks schools would fund this and apart from the students being able to play on iPads the whole period, what other factors might drive non music students to join music classes.
Deborah Bradley Response
Something I really enjoyed about our talk with Deborah Bradley is that she didn't just talk to us for an hour but she allowed us to participate in a way that everyone was able to participate if we wanted to. I also liked how the songs she showed us were related in a way to her article because her article was about racial inclusion and anti racism in the classroom and all of the songs were songs about slavery and freedom of the people of colour that were written in times where blacks weren't equal and it gave us a sense of what inspired her to write this article.
Something I wanted to ask her that she had already answered at our visit was what inspired her to write this article and what interested her about this topic. Her answer was that she was alive during the period in the united states where segregation between blacks and whites was still a thing, and she had classmates that were greatly affected by this which really opened her eyes at how wrong the whole thing really was.
Something I wanted to ask her that she had already answered at our visit was what inspired her to write this article and what interested her about this topic. Her answer was that she was alive during the period in the united states where segregation between blacks and whites was still a thing, and she had classmates that were greatly affected by this which really opened her eyes at how wrong the whole thing really was.
St. George school visit
What I liked about our visit to St. George is that first of all the school was very welcoming and all the students were very excited and willing to learn with us and participate. At first the students seemed to be shy and even scared of us so I felt that we all learnt leadership skills by having to go up to the students and start the conversation which was easy cause we were in a very comfortable and judgment free environment. I also liked how we worked with the students and showed them how to do things and essentially taught them how to make music. For example when we were singing the halloween song and the students sang the simple melody, the male university students sang the bass notes and some of the girl university students sang the counter harmony and it all came together very well and taught the students how to listen to each other and it taught them ensemble skills as well. I also liked how we sang a song about god at the end because it allowed them to have fun but also incorporate religion because it was a catholic school and I think that was a fun way to end the session.
Tobias, E. S. (2013). Toward Convergence Adapting Music Education to Contemporary Society and Participatory Culture. Music Educators Journal, 99(4), 29-36.
I think this article is interesting because it focuses on how we can interest students more in music by incorporating new styles of music and by adding technology to the classroom. This article talks about how letting students experiment with already existing music can really interest them, for example making mashups of songs they know and like as well as remixing etc. It's important that we incorporate students interests beyond the classroom and create an environment where they feel like they want to be there.
Something I would consider to do differently rather than just make all music classes like this is to make this a separate class. I feel like its still very important to keep the core music courses for those who want to pursue careers in this field and the remixing and technology aspect is not for everyone. And maybe by taking this other course it will inspire students to take other music courses.
There was very little things I read in this article that I disagreed with, but the only thing that crossed my mind was how would they be able to do these types of things at schools that can't afford technology? I feel as though if not every student from every school gets the same opportunity to explore this side of music it takes away the goal of this whole idea and that is to include everyone and help people develop a passion for music.
In conclusion, I found this article very informative and interesting because the author incorporates a lot of the things we talk about in class, and also talks about music outside of the classroom which we haven't really read about yet so it was interesting to hear someones take on this interesting topic.
Something I would consider to do differently rather than just make all music classes like this is to make this a separate class. I feel like its still very important to keep the core music courses for those who want to pursue careers in this field and the remixing and technology aspect is not for everyone. And maybe by taking this other course it will inspire students to take other music courses.
There was very little things I read in this article that I disagreed with, but the only thing that crossed my mind was how would they be able to do these types of things at schools that can't afford technology? I feel as though if not every student from every school gets the same opportunity to explore this side of music it takes away the goal of this whole idea and that is to include everyone and help people develop a passion for music.
In conclusion, I found this article very informative and interesting because the author incorporates a lot of the things we talk about in class, and also talks about music outside of the classroom which we haven't really read about yet so it was interesting to hear someones take on this interesting topic.