Reflection of the course.

1. (46 points) This course has covered a lot of material.  You have had to learn much about the history of music education in America, philosophical positions, ideas on aesthetics, purposes of education, sociological and social psychological concepts, and several aspects of psychology in a short amount of time.  Now, let’s put that knowledge to use! 

Be sure to address all three items below with examples and support in a reflection post that connects what you've learned with how you will use it as a teacher in the future.

§  How will what you learned in this course about philosophy and aesthetics affect your teaching in the future?

§  How will what was covered in the parts on sociology, social psychology, or psychology affect your teaching in the future?

§  Choose any one of the previous seven units in the course, and explain how what you have learned will affect your teaching in the future.

§  The deadline for this post is located in your Due Dates. 

§  View the Rubric used to assess your post.

§  Submit your Reflection Post in the Assignments tool.

“Plato may be right, even in relation to a modern democracy, that changes in musical culture go hand in hand with changes in the laws, since changes in the laws so often reflect pressures from the culture” (Scruton 2010).  The culture of music education is constantly changing as we progress through time.  We have seen how the concepts taught to students have changed from the beginning of the 20^th century to the end of the 20^th century.  In the Silver Burdett textbook from the early 20^th century, the concepts taught to children included “melodies based upon the tonic chord,” “melodies progressing by intervals,” and “miscellaneous songs for sight reading.”  As time progressed, the concepts included in the Silver Burdett changed to include “melodies that move,” “texture in music,” and “rhythm – it’s clearly popular.”

There is a long history of music education in the United States.  “Just as it had done in the Middle Ages, the church in the early days of the United States became the chief dispenser of music education” (Abeles, Hoffer, and Klotman p. 8).  Later, Lowell Mason fought to include music education in the schools.  Lowell Mason, known as the father of music education, was the supervisor of elementary vocal music in the Boston public schools.  Mason was a talented musician who could play a variety of instruments.  In order to garner support for teaching music to the Boston public schools, Mason worked as a music educator without pay.  He had so much support that the school board eventually put in on the pay roll. 

After the Civil War occurred, music education within American schools expanded.  The support for this came from a number of factors including the increasing number of private teachers, the increasing number of choral activities, and the formation of symphony orchestras. 

The period after World War I influenced bands to step up into the spotlight.  There were school bands prior to the war but there were many more bands created when the war had ended.  At this time instruction in music, including both vocal and instrumental, were becoming an acceptable part of a school curriculum. 

Unfortunately, during World War II, “cultural pursuits had to be held in abeyance for the duration” (Abeles, Hoffer, and Klotman p. 19).  Most of the manpower went to the war and war efforts.  Because of the shortage of teachers, classroom teachers began take up the mantle of music teacher in addition to classroom teacher.  After the war ended, this trend continued until in 1972 when MENC published the paper titled “Teacher Education in Music: Final Report” that sought to include a music specialist in the schools once more. 

  As a teacher, I can see that the concepts of music education have changed.  If they have changed once, they may change again.  I must be prepared for whatever changes may come and to become a life-long learner in order to be able to teach the concepts.

According to our text book, there are three basic philosophical viewpoints: rationalism, empiricism, and pragmatism.  There are not the only three philosophical viewpoints but they are the most common.  Rationalism states that knowledge is a fixed body of truth.  This fixed body of truth is applied in all times and in all places.  This theory started with Socrates and Plato in ancient Greece.  Physical objects are imperfect versions of the thoughts they come from.  The roots of Empiricism reach back to Aristotle.  Aristotle was a student of Plato but he disagreed with a number of Plato’s thoughts and ideas.  He did not agree that physical objects were imperfect versions of thoughts.  Things are what they appear to be!  With Pragmatism, you can tract the roots to Heraclitus but it did not flower until the 19^th and 20^th century in America.  The logic of Pragmatism comes from the scientific method.  This helps them determine the truth. 

Every teacher has a point of view when it comes to their style of teaching.  I never thought that these points of views could be summed up into philosophical viewpoints.   Knowing your point of view, as a teacher, can help solidify your technique and your curriculum.  It will help you determine what to teacher and how to teach it.  It is very important for all teachers to know what their point of view is and where they stand.

The section of our text that spoke the most to me this course is the section on Aesthetics.  The statement that “Living is not the same as existing” (Abeles, Hoffer, and Klotman, p. 65) is very powerful.  To exist, one must go through life and do what it takes to survive.  That would include eating and sleeping.  However, to live is an entirely different thing.  To live means to listen to music, play sports, and experience art.  We do not simply want to exist as humans.  We want to live.  It is important to remember that because it is easy to forget.  This is important for teachers because they are teaching aesthetics to their students.  You don’t necessarily need music to survive, but our students want and crave music all the same.  

In terms of sociological foundations in music education, there is a debate between nature vs. nurture.  Philosophers who stress nature believe that you are born with your abilities.   Philosophers who stress nurture believe that your environment shape who you are.  Again, teachers who know what they believe and take a stand.  If you believe that your abilities come from nature or nurture this will help shape your lesson plans and the methods you use to teacher the material to your students.  I believe that for me, my standpoint on nature vs. nurture as well as which philosophy I adhere to, will help me to solidify my existing lessons.  I can take my stance, go back through my lesson plans, and change things to fit my point of view.

Students are learning who they are as they go through school.  Teachers can have a heavy influence on shaping the self-image of their students.  Music educators can associate music with a positive and healthy self-image.  This will potentially motivate students to become more involved in music and to want to learn more about music.  In addition to self-image, students are battling conformity.  Adolescents have a tendency to want to conform to others.  They want verification that they are doing the right things and taking the right sides.   Teachers can use the want to conform to their advantage.  Music educators can motivate their students to enjoy music and those students will, in turn, motivate their friends to join music because they want to conform.   When students come out to musical performances to support their friends they might see that their friends are enjoying performing in the group and might join as well.  Conformity is powerful in a music program and friendship is incredibly important to adolescents.  As a music teacher, I can use this to my advantage when recruiting for my groups. 

Music teachers must be very careful to not let competition be the shining star of a music program.  Healthy competition can be good for developing musicians.  But if a program is all about “winning,” the students are more focused on that than learning.  When your program becomes about winning, there is no education.   With healthy competition we can build competence.  Competent musicians are more likely to continue in music as they grow older because they become independent musicians.  This builds self-confidence in the musicians. 

There are two theoretical positions in psychology of music education: behaviorism and cognitivism.  Behaviorists focus on simple learning situations and tend to believe that there is an association between a stimulus and a response.  An example of a behaviorist musical tendency is that listening to any brass instrument elicits the same response as just listening to a trumpet.  Cognitivists focus on more complex learning areas and include topics of information processing, concept formation, and problem solving.  They believe the mind is comprised of many sets of processes, not just one.  They are interested in ways that new knowledge is acquired and how it can be integrated with previously existing knowledge.

Once again, teachers need to be aware of what position they take.  Teachers need to determine if they are behaviorists or cognitivists.  This will help to shape their lesson plans, their curriculum, and their style of teaching.  As a music teacher, I need to evaluate my own philosophy of music education and determine what needs to change in my style in order to make it uniform.  As a new music teacher, I’m still discovering what my style is.  But as I have gone through this class I have discovered that having a set belief and style will aid not only me as a teacher but my students as well.  If my lessons are consistent, my students will know what to expect and they will learn easily.

In terms of sociological foundations in music education, there is a debate between nature vs. nurture.  Philosophers who stress nature believe that you are born with your abilities.   Philosophers who stress nurture believe that your environment shape who you are.  Again, teachers who know what they believe and take a stand.  If you believe that your abilities come from nature or nurture this will help shape your lesson plans and the methods you use to teacher the material to your students.  I believe that for me, my standpoint on nature vs. nurture as well as which philosophy I adhere to, will help me to solidify my existing lessons.  I can take my stance, go back through my lesson plans, and change things to fit my point of view.

Students are learning who they are as they go through school.  Teachers can have a heavy influence on shaping the self-image of their students.  Music educators can associate music with a positive and healthy self-image.  This will potentially motivate students to become more involved in music and to want to learn more about music.  In addition to self-image, students are battling conformity.  Adolescents have a tendency to want to conform to others.  They want verification that they are doing the right things and taking the right sides.   Teachers can use the want to conform to their advantage.  Music educators can motivate their students to enjoy music and those students will, in turn, motivate their friends to join music because they want to conform.   When students come out to musical performances to support their friends they might see that their friends are enjoying performing in the group and might join as well.  Conformity is powerful in a music program and friendship is incredibly important to adolescents.  As a music teacher, I can use this to my advantage when recruiting for my groups. 

Music teachers must be very careful to not let competition be the shining star of a music program.  Healthy competition can be good for developing musicians.  But if a program is all about “winning,” the students are more focused on that than learning.  When your program becomes about winning, there is no education.   With healthy competition we can build competence.  Competent musicians are more likely to continue in music as they grow older because they become independent musicians.  This builds self-confidence in the musicians. 

There are two theoretical positions in psychology of music education: behaviorism and cognitivism.  Behaviorists focus on simple learning situations and tend to believe that there is an association between a stimulus and a response.  An example of a behaviorist musical tendency is that listening to any brass instrument elicits the same response as just listening to a trumpet.  Cognitivists focus on more complex learning areas and include topics of information processing, concept formation, and problem solving.  They believe the mind is comprised of many sets of processes, not just one.  They are interested in ways that new knowledge is acquired and how it can be integrated with previously existing knowledge.

Once again, teachers need to be aware of what position they take.  Teachers need to determine if they are behaviorists or cognitivists.  This will help to shape their lesson plans, their curriculum, and their style of teaching.  As a music teacher, I need to evaluate my own philosophy of music education and determine what needs to change in my style in order to make it uniform.  As a new music teacher, I’m still discovering what my style is.  But as I have gone through this class I have discovered that having a set belief and style will aid not only me as a teacher but my students as well.  If my lessons are consistent, my students will know what to expect and they will learn easily