But Wait, That Wasn’t In My Job Description!
That is the title of the article that I read. Having two teachers for parents I understand that educators always go beyond the call of duty. And from my work with bands (both high school and college) music educators are expected to go that extra mile.
This article deals with a hardship that many music teachers face; students that have no interest and desire to be in a musical group but are. The article gives a few examples of what an educator must do with this situation. The main thing that I got from the article was that you have to be flexible, and find ways to get kids interested.
This either means taking things very slow, picking music that your students enjoy, and dealing with a few hardships like a bad sound.
The article says that it would be easier to quit, but if you hang in there, you will be rewarded greatly. I feel that no matter what, a music teacher's job is to instill a love of music in every person that they can touch. Once students start to have a love of music they will start to sound better because they want to become better. Once a student starts to love music they will be more motivated to try new things and get their friends involved. That is why is it is so important not to quit. Give your students a chance to discover a passion that they never knew they had.
2 comments:
Well said, Ian. It is an amazing thing when you can find activities that boost the intrinsic motivation of students. I have always wondered about the student who remains in an ensemble despite a lack of interest. It's my hope that there's always a hook to get that student excited about music education.
I also read this article - I thought it was really encouraging, as is his blog in general. I hope to keep following it even after 320 is over. I agree, though, that motivation is half the battle in getting and keeping students involved.
Post a Comment