Teaching Philosophy

Quincy Jones once said, “There are two things you can’t live without, music and water.”

I chose to teach music simply because someone taught me. My job as a teacher is not to withhold knowledge but to be a wellspring of knowledge that generations of musicians and creatives can draw from to further the arts. Good teaching occurs when one fully unlocks a student's mind and connects the content area to the student’s real-world experiences and cultural background. The purpose of education is to broaden and improve one’s way of thinking. The relationship between teacher and student is an exchange in which each pours into the other, and both grow in the process. Teaching is about gathering knowledge from the past while cultivating knowledge for the future.

Progressivism has been defined as a student-centered philosophy that believes ideas should be tested through experimentation and that learning comes from asking questions. The knowledge that stays with a person is that learned through instruction and experience. In music, highly effective learning occurs when the teacher provides knowledge, and the student applies it through trial and error. A trainer never gets in the ring with the boxer; that’s not the trainer's role. The trainer's role is to effectively communicate to the boxer how to perform at a high level. The same strategy should be used whenever one has been given the task of teaching. If not, the teacher’s skill and understanding will block the student from reaching his fullest potential.

Good teaching occurs when one fully unlocks a student's mind and connects the content area to the student’s real-world experiences and cultural background. Connecting my definition with progressivism in the classroom is making the curriculum, the music, and the methods of learning relatable to all students. When you understand a student’s culture, you can begin to understand what that student thinks. I execute this in the classroom through call-and-response, repetition, and focused listening, challenging students to engage with music in real time. My classroom environment is structured while encouraging students to be expressive and give their absolute best. Merging technology and music instruction through interactive videos, digital music tools, and recorded examples so students can hear, see, and understand.

My evaluation and assessment methods are rooted in observing both musical growth and student confidence over time. I use formative assessments such as call-and-response, echo singing, and class discussions to check for understanding in real time. Exit tickets and short performance tasks allow students to demonstrate their knowledge in an active and engaging way. I also track student progress from pre-assessment to post-assessment to measure growth in their ability to identify and apply musical concepts, such as dynamics. I provide opportunities for students to assess themselves and each other, which helps triangulate growth and creates a classroom environment where students do not fear constructive criticism. These methods align with my philosophy because they focus on learning through experience and emphasize growth, effort, and meaningful application over simple memorization.

My goal is always to enlighten students that music is an ever-present force in their lives and that they should never lose their love for it. To improve my teaching, I plan to keep in mind that every student has a unique skill set, so I must be able to effectively communicate and teach music in a variety of ways, even if the methods are unorthodox. Music is ever-changing, and to cultivate great musicians and creative minds, I, too, should be a lifelong student by consistently studying music’s cultures, nuances, and theories. I also want to create a classroom environment where students feel safe to express themselves, take risks, and grow both musically and personally.