FASCINATING CLASS with you today!
There is a theme that came to me today that I want all of you to recognize. Here's what I know:
-I have some very strong opinions about music and music education. I also have a tendency to think about these opinions a lot (and consequently ramble on about them in class). It is also clear to me that you have very strong beliefs and ideas as well. And I thoroughly enjoy hearing the stories you tell, the opinions you have, and things you are thinking through. Through these discussions, I am observing my own thinking as it is being re-shaped. And I can see that yours is as well. But it is the interaction with your stories and thoughts that causes me to reconsider my perspectives. By the end of this course, you will have written your first “Philosophy of Music Education”. You will have taken all of this thinking that is going on and you will structure it into a philosophy that reflects who you are and what you are about. But know that this philosophy will be a “living idea” and will continue to transform as you experience more of the world. As you go through your education here at Westminster Choir College, reflect on every experience you have to see how it may be having an impact on the way you think and the way you see the world. Herein lies, as the Zanders would say, “a universe of possibility.”
So onto your blog question...
If you were Lindsay, what would you do?
We seemed to be in consensus today that Lindsay needs to connect with her class, or as we say in Critical Pedagogy, “Honoring their world”. By 'their world', we are referring to “their reality”...both the world they have invented for themselves, as well as the world that was shaped by parents, teachers, music, television, the Internet, among many other things. Like the Zanders say, “The world comes into our consciousness in the form of a map already drawn, a story already told, a hypothesis, a construction of our own making,” and, “...it is through the evolved structures of the brain that we perceive the world.” Lindsay's students have their world, and she has hers. Is it possible that understanding the way her students see their world might change Lindsay's perception of her world? If Lindsay is not willing to rethink her view of the world, how can she ask her students to rethink theirs? Take another look at the Krishnamurti quote that you read on p. 25 of the Case Studies book:
To transform the world,
we must begin with ourselves.
However small the world we live in,
if we can transform ourselves,
bring about a radically different point of view in our daily existence,
then perhaps we shall [affect] the world at large,
the extended relationship with others.
Does this quote mean something more to you now?
So back to my original question: If you were Lindsay, what would you do? Be specific as to your teaching ideas. Think “outside the box”. Be deeply thoughtful, and post to the blog.
P.S. I don't think Bach was “only in it for the money”. I just know, that like all of us, he had to eat too. I'm more curious as to how “the rules” evolved...and whether or not these “rules” are fixed and static things that we have to deal with, or whether we can be 'ok' with rethinking them. (And I think he wrote some pretty groovy music too.)
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24 comments:
Wow. There's so much to think about... this world of teaching is HUGE. I'll try to focus on the Lindsay part, but first I want to say what I was thinking in class about the Bach thing. I think his "rules", as I learn them, will help me appreciate the music I listen to more. Yes I know, that word "appreciate" again :) but no, I was listening to one of my favorite rock bands, Muse, on the way up from Illinois with my Mom, who is also a music educator working on her graduate degree. She said that it was amazing how Muse broke all of the rules, and did it sooo well! It's going to be fun I think to look at music in a new light after learning this "theory" of making music. I think that Bach's methods are genius and have their place, but maybe I would suggest that they shouldn't have quite as prominent a placement of importance in education. New methods need to be developed and employed as well.
Anyway, I think Lindsay just needs to use that all important virtue in teaching; patience. We want everything to happen now. I don't want to have to practice a few hours a day for years to become a good pianist, I just want to HAVE it! There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with those dreams, the songs she one day wants to teach. But she has to wait. She needs to build up the program. And then when the day comes that her students are mastering music at a similar level, won't it be all the more special for her to be able to teach them the piece that she's always wanted to teach?
Initially, the “if you Lindsay, what would you do” question struck me as Lindsay Lohan, and I thought, “I’d check into rehab,” however that turned out to be completely off topic. I’ll deal with the last question first since it’s my favorite. I love the development of music, and subsequently music theory over time. In my opinion, tonal music is gradually moving toward atonality. Since the rejection of medieval parallel fifths and the advent of the common practice period tonal music has steadily accepted the addition of more atonality, i.e. the tritone and augmented intervals—heck, fourths were scandalous at one point. “Western” styles of music have also begun to expand their borders to include melodies and rhythmic themes from other musical traditions. And in this marvelous 20th and 21st century we see it all. From the bizarre pieces for flute and voice that barely resemble tonality as we know it to the math-by-numbers approach of Arnold Schoenberg (Serialism) –and then there’s the good stuff (…fine, the stuff that I like) like Vaughan Williams and Whitacre. Schoenberg tried to leap into the inevitable future of music by just going atonal –while that served him well enough, it didn’t real catch on. However we see (and love) Whitacre, but dissect a piece of his. If one plays the piano reduction it is mush. The beauty comes from well arranged intervals between voices. His chords aren’t just touched with color tones, they’re chord clusters. I personally eat it up.
(Ps, the Whitacre notes don’t really apply so much to Chapel Choir’s Go Lovely Rose, but go take a gander at his epic When David Heard and when you’re done crying because its so beautiful, check the chords).
More on the other questions later.
First of all, it’s very difficult to “honor the world” of a people whose language you don’t speak, and it seems pretty clear that Lindsay has less than adequate skills with many of her students’ languages if they’re returning her every endeavor with blank stares. Also, it’s reasonable to assume that she hasn’t tried any pieces rooted in the cultures of her students. In order for Lindsay to honor the world in which her students live, she must be able to understand it.
If I were her, I’d begin by dabbling in a variety of different pieces that I thought might appeal to the kids by having them try to sing them or playing them in class. Depending on their reactions, I’d be able to find a relative starting point for how to decide what pieces we’d work on in class. In the meantime, I’d take Spanish lessons outside of school and possibly even work with the Spanish teacher from the school to develop a working relationship with some of the more permanent members of the school community. Without knowing the key elements: her students’ musical tastes and their language, she’d be lost and miserable. She’d either have to move to a different school district or succumb to the advice of her principal and let half the class be lost all the time.
For some teaching ideas, I’d start off class by clapping out some beats for the students to clap back. No “quiet down, class” or anything, just start clapping after the bell rings. After clapping out the first beat, I’d make it clear that they were supposed to repeat it and go from there. I’d probably listen to some latino music to get a feel for some rhythms that they might enjoy tapping out. I think that that’d be a great way to get the kids’ musical juices flowing right when class starts, and it wouldn’t require knowing new languages. From there, I’d go right into vocal warm-ups, still without speaking. My goal would be to envelope the students in music the entire time that they were in the room so that they understand that when you’re in choir, you’re not there to take a break from school, you’re there to make and understand music. As far as her general music classes went, she’d have to be even more creative. Perhaps she could ask a student capable of speaking Spanish and English to translate the lessons, or she could start off by playing some of the musical content involved with the course materials to get their ears familiar with it and saying instruments’ names while pointing to pictures of them as each individual line in the music comes out. The instrument identification could also be used with recordings of each individual instrument. The goal here is to get as much course material across as possible while trying to learn Spanish outside of school. Hopefully, she would be able to learn enough to be able to teach some lessons by the second marking period or at least the second semester.
SO:
To transform her class,
Lindsay must begin with herself.
However difficult it is to detach herself from the music she loves,
If she can learn what she needs to connect to her class through music
And use it on a daily basis—no matter how tedious it may be—
Then perhaps she’ll be able to affect the school at large
And create a music program that her kids can be proud of.
Well first of all, in a music class there should be no language barrier for music is a universal language. Second of all, most communication is non-verbal. In fact, some believe only twenty percent is verbal. This gives Lindsay so much freedom to express herself through other ways. She can use her hands play the piano, have them sing back a melody. I think after Lindsay is done crying about it, she should investigate on the class's take on 'good music.' Should start off with a spanish pop song they all enjoy and create harmonies. Students would love to hear a great song on the radio and make it their own. After they do that, teach them about a Spanish composer and explain the importance of him in history. There are plenty to choose from: Luecona, Albeniz, Granados, Turina etc. Next, teach them a little about their culture, maybe explain what kind of dances were performed in those countries, make it a little history lesson they'd love to enjoy.
Now as far as the 20 percent of verbal communication goes, she should trust in a student to help her in class and buy a spanish dictionary immediately. If the class sees her trying they may offer a helping hand. Students are not willing to help a teacher as they are willing to help a friend: you need to get inside their world.
Bach is amazing, case closed!
I think that before all the hardcore music appreciation and training starts, I would ask all the students what kind of music they listen to currently and research it all myself to see what connection it has to other music. I would take advantage of how much sampling has been overused and break down each piece and try to relate it historically through it's sampling and influencing.
I don't think that the class is ready for heavy training or straight into serious things. If some students can not speak english, I would try to include pieces in their native languages, including folk songs of their cultures.
I'm not fond of sampling, but I think it can come to use when trying to show students of this generation how their music ended up what it is.
I think the quote is very vital to Lindsay's situation. I don't believe it is fair for her to possibly expect her students to change the way they view music and their culture on the flip of a dime just because she's the new teacher and this is what she wants... I think there has to be some flexibility on her side before they will ever be willing to open up to something on their end. I think she should do some research and find some repetoire that they might enjoy and appreciate possibly in different styles and languages to begin with.
Now having said this, I don't believe that she should use songs they enjoy as a "Gateway" into her type of music necesarily. I think that once the students feel like they can trust her, and realize that music class can, in fact, be a lot of fun, she can begin introducing new types of music. I believe that if students really enjoy music they will open up and begin looking for new and different styles and types of music, so instead of imposing it on them, it would be more of a welcome thing - if that makes sense? I don't believe she would ever want to completely erase the cultural music, or the pop music, or whatever she had used initially from their repetoire no matter how comfortable they got with her and with the different genres of music. I do think it is very important for music students to be exposed to all different sorts of music.
I realize that she had always had this dream to be just like her middle school music teacher, and that by trying other types of music might vere away from this dream, but I think she might find that creating success and reaching kids in ways she created could be more satisfying in the end then imitating her middle school teacher...
I cant say what i'd do if i WAS Lindsay because that would entitle have the same mine set. BUT!! If Josh was there he would have talked to the musical director and ask wat goals he had for the choir and if he wanted the class to be a studyhall i wouldnt waste my energy and then i move on to a newer better place where i could grow as a teacher and help people who wanted to help themselves. If i had a concert to prepare for id put the iron fist down and start using my power as a school official and hand out detentions and send kids to the office. (I always wanted to send a child to the office). As for the students who wanted to work i'd to my best to help them become better musicians. Me being biligual in spanish is definalty an advantage to working with students who speak spanish. So back to the topic i would weed out the "bad kids" and use whatever is left.
Marie's comment sort of hit on something that had been bugging me about this scenario: the fact that Lindsay's goal was to be just like her middle school teacher. When I first read through this chapter, that line jumped out at me as a major faux-pas. Because no matter how much you may love that one teacher you had in the past, you need to develop your own style of teaching. What may have worked in Lindsay's middle school class that she loved so much is clearly not going to work in a classroom where nobody understands her.
That being said, I think that Lindsay should start off teaching her chorus class as a sort of introduction to general music. Play some pop music that the students already listen to, but at the same time introduce them to some of the more "standard" choral repertoire. It's not an either-or situation. We don't get to choose what kind of music is more valid than any other. Music can be defined in so many ways by so many different cultures that you need to be able to enjoy, appreciate, and perform all different kinds of music, from Mozart to Whitacre to Celia Cruz.
I agree with what lots of other people have said about starting out the class with activities that don't require translation. That way, the language barrier will be nonexistent.
But honestly, I don't think that Lindsay should have to take Spanish classes in addition to the work that she's already doing to prepare her class. I'm assuming that she wasn't hired to be a bilingual teacher and that seems unnecessary to me. Maybe that just makes me closed-minded, but my public school education was very multicultural, and the students who didn't understand English went to ESL and learned through immersion in an English-speaking classroom. I don't know. I guess every situation is different. It's hard to really have a firm opinion without seeing the class for yourself, y'know?
I agree with most of what's already been said, and think that the most important thing for Lindsay to keep in mind is that she has to have patience. She may want to be just like her middle school teacher, but she's not. She's her own person in a completely different situation than the one her ideals were set in. Teaching a lost and confused group of children who don't even speak the same language as you a completely foreign piece of music is an extremely daunting (bordering on impossible) task, at least at first. “Baby steps” is the way to go.
Music is a universal language, to some extent, but she should also make an effort to connect with her students on a verbal level as well. Whether this involves Lindsay learning some Spanish or the students learning English is uncertain - is it Lindsay's responsibility as a music teacher to teach these kids English? My first step in Lindsay's position would be to talk to the principal, someone on the school board - anyone with some authority. It's not right that these kids are just sitting in a school all day literally learning nothing. If I had my way it would be back to basics for everyone, and as a team the teachers should create a foundation for the kids to learn on.
Of course, in order to be able to help the students learn and grow, she's going to have a fair amount of learning and growing to do herself. This would be a huge undertaking, but she should at least make the effort.
In an absolute worst case scenario - the principal isn't willing to help Lindsay out, after a valiant effort she is unable to connect/communicate with the kids on any level, then I think Lindsay should find a different place to teach where she can have the opportunity to make a difference.
A.S.(i'm writing this first because the answer's fresh in my mind) It sounds like Bach might have done the same thing R.L. Stine did, same book, different characters. I thought I could go more in depth with this... I was wrong.
So, On to Lindsay!
If I were her I would have tried to understand what I was getting into before I said an obvious proverb about going all in too early. I would have realized (hopefully) that the students needed to be gently coaxed into the world of choral music before expecting them to sing for an MENC. As for the quote, it makes sense to do something that changes who you are in order to change others. Of course this is very difficult to do and people are stubborn to change their ways.
Abrupt ending
lindsay needs to stick it out. Often times teachers have a difficult time the first few years, but like every new situation in life, one must take time to adapt
“Transform ourselves … relationship with others” – Krishnamurti
At Westminster, professors come in contact with a large minority of international students; namely Asian. The way in which the professors on this campus interact and build a relationship with these international students is worthy of learning from. Professors strive to understand the different culture, and then transform their own approach in teaching and the result; they build a relationship with these international students. I am an Asian international student, therefore I have first-hand experience with these professors that strive to minimize the differences and maximize the interaction; without compromising basic concepts.
If I was placed in Lindsay’s situation, I would strive to understand the Hispanic culture. By taking what I understand, I can transform my way of teaching this group of children without compromising basic concepts. By compromising, I mean I wouldn’t learn Spanish as it would hinder improving their English.
Music is a language of its own. It doesn’t necessarily need English to be taught. Start with simple Hispanic tunes like lullabies to warm up the classroom environment. Then go on to call and response pieces that are catchy and easy to follow. Pieces based solely on rhythm can go a long way (for example, taking out rhythm sticks). Keep in mind that the children are only in middle school. Context needs to be taken into consideration. What Lindsay wants is but secondary to the needs of the students.
Lindsay obviously means well and only wants to give her students the same musical experience that she was given during her time in school. However, she is going to be unable to do that without first connecting with her students.
It is possible that Linsday may be able to influence her students' view on music and on the musical world. However, she must do so without expectations that their experiences will be the same as hers.
If I was in Lindsay's situation, I think that patience would be the key factor. I would also try to make the class as engaging as possible. A fun and compatible environment is a big part of good teaching.
I agree completely with Krishnamurti's quote now that we've talked about Lindsay's situation. If she only changes her point of view about what her class should be, then she'll see the potential that her class could have.
What can I say first? First Lindsay should always not give up. It's a human mind set that we learned when we were kids, not to give up. Not to give up on walking, talking, tying our shoes (I guess if we didn't do this, we would be in a world of hurt).
Teaching to me is teamwork, teamwork between the student and the teacher. The teacher is the "captain" of the team and makes sure the work gets done. It's important for a teacher to know where their students come from. Is it important to know family background?
Lindsay is also dealing with the head of the music department, which means she's dealing with a high reputation. Can you teach kids easy things and make it sound good? The answer to this is not an easy one fr me to answer. I think that it's important to teach kids difficult pieces, but I think that you can have recognizable tunes so that kids get the hang of music. Can you make these more difficult to learn? Of course.
Lindsy is an OK first year music teacher, but I think confidence comes to mind when I first talk about Lindsay. Confidence defines a leader of the team. (Rambling, rambling, rambling etc.)
I adore a lot of what Ketti said about Lindsay's potential initial response to her position. It's definitely freak-out time when all you've planned since middle school isn't a reality. She may want to escape, which I would completely understand if being there would drive her insane.
Personally, I would make a project out of it. I truly think a teacher should always be as much a of a student as they are a teacher. I don't think this career is the case to be a brat. It's not going to go her way, so why not play and learn? Give in a little. Maybe the hard work will bring you to where you actually want to be.
Instead of leaving, I would play the game their way. Have them walk in to class with some popular latin/hiphop/whatever on. observe the reactions and say "hey guys doesn't this song have a great beat?" and move on from there. Get them talking and interested, then show how and why the music is the way it is and what makes it so awesome.
This applies to that poem-quote-thingy so well. Lindsay needs to learn more about herself and grow by taking on this endeavor. If she's learning as well, she can connect more with the students who seem impossible and actually touch their lives.
I'm reading James Jordan's The Musician's Soul and it's all about finding your center to be able to connect as a conductor. We have to understand ourselves first.
Lindsay is going to have a lot of obstacles in her situation, but if i was her, I would take advantage of the project. It's really a chance to "transform the world" like she was inspired to do.
I think a lot of people already said a lot of great things.
I think that the quote means a lot, and that Lindsey should start by changing her outlook. I still think that perhaps this is not the best job for her, but she will have to finish out the year either way both to stay employed and to be responsible towards her students.
I think that attempting to learn Spanish is a great idea, however: I think we do need to consider the possibility that the students speak more fluent English than they let on. If they want to make the teacher feel left out/use profanity/discourage the learning process in general.
I know that sounds extraordinarily pessimistic but I assume that the school does indeed function so :
a) the school is in much worse shape than the supervisor or the book lets on
b) the students do indeed know enough English to communicate but are being difficult with Lindsey
if a), this is truly a shame, and perhaps Lindsey could use music written in English to help improve the language skills of her students.
if b) it might be better for everyone if Lindsey doesn't waste time better spent on music related lesson plans trying to learn Spanish. She should consult other teachers or administration to get a more realistic idea of the students' language skills.
In terms of music, I think Lindsey should take a survey of what the kids listen to and what they would like to learn in class. The two categories may be different. I think that sometimes kids don't appreciate adults or others trying to "condescend" to understand their music. Sometimes kids like their music to be rebellious and personal and misunderstood. Example: when we decided to leave the song in our production of "The Magical Land of Oz" in which the munchkins rap (against my better judgement), the kids thought it was really stupid. Who knew? Rapping munchkins aren't cool.
I think Lindsey should compromise with her students to learn some music they pick out, and some that she chooses. Relating to her students is going to be hard, and maybe she will never be able to do it well, but she should try.
Who knows? Maybe she'll decide she loves making a difference and building a program from the bottom up. And if not...I think it might be better for everyone if she looks for a new job at the end of the year. Being optimistic and trying hard is wonderful, but I think the reality of life (not just music education) is that not all your attempts will work, and sometimes the right choice is a fresh attempt.
Sorry this was so long, folks.
As a new teacher going into a new situation I know, 100% I would most absolutely not start a repetiore with Bach or Mozart to middle schoolers.
I believe for most of them it's way past thier heads and they can't grasp and focus or even connect with the must. For that age I don't think they think it's "good music", and to them they wouldn't want to sit down and focus on a task like that.
Linsday should have looked over simplier pieces for her middle schoolers and see how they focused on that first, and then slowly but surely, snuck in some harder and more advanced and classical music, and prior to having fun with the easier stuff, the kids would probably want to learn the harder stuff to.
I believe her approach to the situation was uterly just WRONG! I don't know any nine year old in middle school that wants to sing Mozart and those pieces. More on the lines of a nice probably three part pieces but can still be beautiful.
It's also good to look at the schools history a bit with tapes and documents of other teachers and what the past classes have sung, and get a feel for how talented the group of kids are, and where to begin.
For Lindsay, and for all music educators, I think it is important to walk into the classroom with an open mind and not a set agenda because you never know what the dinamic of the kids is going to be like. Once we leave school and finish our college edjucation, wherever that may be at, we don't stop learning. If I were Linsday I would absolutely take into account that are most important lessons are going to be taught to ua once we got out there and that you cannot go into a classroom expecting kids to love everything you do. There should be an important balance between the teacher and the students. Linsday, and almost all music educators, have the plan to spread their knowledge and inform others of what they know. However, if the students are not even slightly interested in what we are teaching, it won't stick with them and they won't learn anything. One of the pros to a music class is that there is more flexability in what we can teach, unlike in a math class where if you don't learn to FOIL, you will fail the final. So with that flexabilty, if I were in Linsday's position, I would try to change my point of view to try to reach the students better and try to, "bring about a radically different point of view," in my world, however small it may be.
If i were Lindsay i would first see about getting the students who don't understand English that well, classes. Then I would proceed to take a survey to see what types of music interested the kids. Then i would try to play music they liked and incorporate it with the music i want them to learn.
Or even just play classical music that is in Latin. I would do research on famous classical singers that are of multiple ethnic backgrounds, so that my students have an idea of current singers that they might want to look up to. I would take the music artists they like and do research on them to see if they had classical training. (Mariah Carey's mother was an opera singer!) No matter what i would not give up on my students.
Personally I find the "What if you were Lindsay" question slightly hard for me because I feel like I wouldn't let myself get into that situation to begin with. Lindsay was a girl with a good music education backround and a love for high quality classical music, yet she applied for a job at a school with a program she knew nothing about.
It would be a whole different story if Lindsay went into that school knowing it had an abysmal music program, and knowing that it was non-english speaking and trying to turn things around for the better. But that wasn't the case.
Honestly I believe the best route for Lindsay would be to either put up with the program she applied for or get out there as soon as possible and search out a program that better suites her ambitions.
i agree with what carlito...i think that's karl, i don't know. anyway patience is the only way to go. I mean you can't just go in a new school, knowing no one, and just expect to be their savior of the music program. It's not how it works. You have to set yourself up as, not so much as a puppet, but just play THEIR game for a while. I mean, has anyone ever seen the movie BASEketball? If someone just came up with the baseketball game first, without having baseball or basketball, it wouldn't have been that good. I know that was a weird way of saying it, but that was the first thing that came to my head. So when someone first starts teaching, the best teachers play the original game, and then when they get more knotches on their belt, invited the principal over for dinner, mowed the superintendents lawn a couple of times, thats is when they can start to change the game a bit to make it the best game (music program) possible and make it popular to a larger crowd.
It is possible that understanding the way her students see their world will influence the way Lindsay perceives her own world. If Lindsay is not willing to rethink her view of the world, it does not make sense for her to ask her students to rethink theirs. Before trying to change the students, a certain change has to occur within herself. If she can see her student's point of view, maybe they will understand hers more clearly. The quote talks about how we must transform ourselves in order to change the world. Since there are so many varying perspectives in the world, it is important that we come to understand some other than our own. If Lindsay is patient she will be able to musically influence her class as well as having them be able to influence her.
Hello class, well i just want to go back to the whole discussion of process vs product. I think that hands down, it should always be about the process. The product is the result of the process, so as a teacher, i would not want to focus so much time on the product or the idea of the product. now if we are put in the situation that helen was put in, i think it's still about the process. What Helen should be thinking is how she can adjust her process to fit with her headmaster's wishes. But she has to adjust her teaching habits and method to make sure the kids still learn but they can perform more effeciently.
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