Why Teach Music?
Music is a unique field that has value incomparable to anything else. The opportunities it provides to create, express, and communicate makes music a safe and effective learning environment for all students. Music reaches past the surface and not only helps the mind grow, but also the body and soul of every individual that comes in contact with it.
Music provides an opportunity for students of all levels of cognitive and behavioral development to learn meaningfully. In the music classroom students are not limited to the harsh, unrelenting structure other core classes require. Music has the freedom and flexibility to meet the needs of every individual through activities that involve, singing, chanting, moving, reading, creating, and playing of instruments. Music classes should provide a wide variety of channels in which to learn to address the needs of the individuals.
From the words of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Music is the universal language of mankind." I believe music is a communicative tool that transcends cultural boundaries and provides an opportunity for self-expression and creativity for all. Students of different cultures can sit in a classroom together and achieve meaningful learning at the individual level through its variety of repertoire. The repertoire available to teach the content and curriculum of the music classroom is not limited to one culture but can address every culture within the classroom, thus continually meeting the needs of the students in the classroom.
Music reaches out and brings together a community. From a single classroom perspective, students come together and create music as a class. It is a class that they will have throughout their time at the elementary level, providing a familiar place of learning as well as an opportunity to extend a curriculum over multiple years more homogeneously. I truly believe a music classroom should provide a safe and communal environment that students may not receive in other classes, or may not receive from home. From a district-wide perspective, the music program can reach out to parents and the community through concerts and performing at community events. The music program of a school becomes a large and valuable representation of the school and of the entire district. It is important that the music education students receive should not be limited to the music classroom, but should assist students in reaching out to the community and encourage them to becoming an active member in society.
Music provides the opportunity to teach values including responsibility and leadership. Through performing in small and large groups, individuals feel a sense of responsibility to lead, participate, and contribute. Students learn to have others depend on them, and to uphold their assignment to help the class achieve the overall goal. Through peer leadership positions, students are given the opportunity to lead their class, a value that transcends beyond the classroom and into the real world.
Lastly, music can send a message. Whether the message is an emotion, or that it tells a meaningful story, powerful lessons can be found behind every piece of music. These messages can be written down by a composer, and it is up to the students to both understand the message being told and to be able to communicate that message to others. Even more importantly, students can create their own messages and communicate them to others. Creativity and self-expression are crucial values that music provides an amazing opportunity for and are valuable for every human being.
Music is a unique field that has value incomparable to anything else. The opportunities it provides to create, express, and communicate makes music a safe and effective learning environment for all students. Music reaches past the surface and not only helps the mind grow, but also the body and soul of every individual that comes in contact with it.
Music provides an opportunity for students of all levels of cognitive and behavioral development to learn meaningfully. In the music classroom students are not limited to the harsh, unrelenting structure other core classes require. Music has the freedom and flexibility to meet the needs of every individual through activities that involve, singing, chanting, moving, reading, creating, and playing of instruments. Music classes should provide a wide variety of channels in which to learn to address the needs of the individuals.
From the words of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Music is the universal language of mankind." I believe music is a communicative tool that transcends cultural boundaries and provides an opportunity for self-expression and creativity for all. Students of different cultures can sit in a classroom together and achieve meaningful learning at the individual level through its variety of repertoire. The repertoire available to teach the content and curriculum of the music classroom is not limited to one culture but can address every culture within the classroom, thus continually meeting the needs of the students in the classroom.
Music reaches out and brings together a community. From a single classroom perspective, students come together and create music as a class. It is a class that they will have throughout their time at the elementary level, providing a familiar place of learning as well as an opportunity to extend a curriculum over multiple years more homogeneously. I truly believe a music classroom should provide a safe and communal environment that students may not receive in other classes, or may not receive from home. From a district-wide perspective, the music program can reach out to parents and the community through concerts and performing at community events. The music program of a school becomes a large and valuable representation of the school and of the entire district. It is important that the music education students receive should not be limited to the music classroom, but should assist students in reaching out to the community and encourage them to becoming an active member in society.
Music provides the opportunity to teach values including responsibility and leadership. Through performing in small and large groups, individuals feel a sense of responsibility to lead, participate, and contribute. Students learn to have others depend on them, and to uphold their assignment to help the class achieve the overall goal. Through peer leadership positions, students are given the opportunity to lead their class, a value that transcends beyond the classroom and into the real world.
Lastly, music can send a message. Whether the message is an emotion, or that it tells a meaningful story, powerful lessons can be found behind every piece of music. These messages can be written down by a composer, and it is up to the students to both understand the message being told and to be able to communicate that message to others. Even more importantly, students can create their own messages and communicate them to others. Creativity and self-expression are crucial values that music provides an amazing opportunity for and are valuable for every human being.
Contact me:
ouellete@salineschools.org
(734)-429-8000 ext. 4838
ouellete@salineschools.org
(734)-429-8000 ext. 4838
