Nathan Childs

MUED 273

Jesse Rathgeber

May 4, 2017

Semester Reflection

I. The Possibilities in Music

If anything, this semester, I exposed myself to more career paths within music more

than any other time in my life. The experiences that I journeyed through expanded my

perspective to the possibilities of how I can use my degree someday. As a class, we studied law,

psychology, media, and design. The interdisciplinary connections that music organically fosters

continue the expansion of music as a new art. Through different channels, such as YouTube

tutorials, guest speeches, designed ukulele experiences, and collaboration, music grows into

new forms. I am excited to follow these vehicles for musical expansion because they can take

me to diverse realms of music. I will continue to grow through music by exploring new online

media, creating new methods for musical expression, and collaborating with my colleagues.

As the industry of music grows, more concerns arise both from music consumers and

musicians. In the field of music education, I fear that my students will grow apathetic to music. I

consume myself with the worry that I will not retain their affection for music. I overcome my

irrational troubles by continually submersing myself in practicum and teaching environments in

which I do not feel comfortable. Practicum at Arc of Harrisonburg, provided a great opportunity
for me to expand my comfort zone this semester. On the day that I discovered Arc was my

practicum placement, I filled with anxiety. Working with students with severe disabilities is one

step out of my comfort zone. However, by exposing myself to that opportunity, I learned more

than I ever thought about the special education field in music. For that, I am grateful.

Looking forward, I hope to follow more possibilities within the music career. Entering

the Music Education program here at James Madison University, I wanted to teach high school

band. Then, I reached this semester. I experienced too much in music education to remain

close-minded as a want-to-be high school band director. I am steadfast in my decision that I set

forth years ago to teach high school band. However, there are many other possibilities for me

to explore. I recently declared a Music and Human Services Minor with the intentions of

exploring therapy and special education within music as a career path. All I can confidently

declare is that I truly do not know where music is taking me. I am not giving up on my goal to

teach high school band. Yet, I know I have a larger purpose in other fields of music education. I

plan to take the next two years to find my niche within education and within music.

II. Finding Meaning Among Chaos

I strive to enjoy music. The time I spend in college, studying, practicing, analyzing music

is the ultimate test to my love for the art itself. I find inspiration in hurdling the obstacle of

overthinking music. This semester presented many challenges on my ability to enjoy music. I

can proudly say that I love music even more now but, not without hardship. As music students,

we are bombarded by music until we fall from exhaustion. I seek solace in finding new music
that I enjoy. Currently, I enjoy the music of Philip Glass and things that are subtle and diatonic.

This is my musical escape from music itself.

Regarding education, I started this semester lost in the question, Why?. Why should I

teach? Why am I pursuing education? Why music? One might find these questions worrisome,

as I did. You spend years of your life knowing what you want, then one day you start

questioning yourself. It is terrifying. I used these questions as opportunities to find an answer,

rather than submitting to the doubts that I had. I explored new instruments, talked with my

peers, and dedicated myself to persevering. This semester, I realized the why. I expanded my

horizons and learned that music is not a binary concept. Music is a rippling ring of water on the

surface of a pond, always expanding. I was too caught up in the image of what I wanted to do

that I never asked myself what I could do. These two are not one in the same.

I remain motivated by my future students. Knowing that someday, children will count on

me to give them the musical experience of a lifetime pushes me to learn the best I can. I use the

slight fear of failing my future students as a motive to make sure I never fail them. I cannot

know everything there is to know about music. However, I can know how to attain information,

ask questions, and explore new ideas. I hope to inspire my students to do that same.

I reflect on my experience with JMUke as an opportunity to grow. With this event and

the curriculum behind it, I created a tutorial video, visuals aids, an experience design, a

collaborative plan, and learned ukulele. The events themselves taught me the most valuable

lesson I have learned thus far: be adaptable. I learned to completely abandon the work that

took several hours to create for something spontaneous and adaptive. Though I hope my plans
will always work, I now know how to adapt to an environment to create a lesson that is more

beneficial for my students.

III. Pedagogical Principles

1. Establish clear goals

Establish expectations for yourself as well as your students. Having clear expectations
and goals helps students understand what progress they should be making. If a
student fails to meet a goal, use it as a growing opportunity for the student to learn
from failure rather than dwell on it.

2. Encourage your students

Insisting the best from your students is not enough for them to grow. As an educator,
you must provide them with the support and encouragement they need to progress.
This can be as simple as providing feedback and rewards for a job well done.

3. Create a productive environment

The physical environment in which a student learns is crucial to his or her success.
Students can benefit from engaging in various group sizes, stations, and activities.
These are facilitated by the physical environment. Increasing your students
productivity rests on the ability for them to fluently move throughout a space.

4. Communicate
Effective communication between teacher, administration, students, and parents can
change how well a classroom runs. Interacting between groups is essential for
learning. Whether it is logistics or teaching students how to interact with music,
communicate. It expedites every process when you communicate.

5. Question everything
Use your curiosity as a catalyst for seeking answers. Never stop at the unknown.
Transform the unknown into the known by simply asking questions and pondering.
Encourage you students to never stop asking questions and to always demand reason.
Life with reason is chaotic. To fully understand a subject, we must question everything
about that subject until we know.

6. Strive to be your best

I wish I knew sooner that all people wanted from me was my best. By giving one
hundred percent to just one task, we can always outperform our expectations. Strive
to do your best and expect nothing less form your students. Form a symbiotic
environment where both parties push the other to do their best.
7. Be prepared
The Boy Scouts had it right by saying that you should always be prepared. If you
always prepared, then nothing can interfere with the educational experience you
provide your students. Having backup plans A through Z will ensure your success in
adapting to anything that could happen in the learning environment.

8. Accept everyone
In this era of self-discovery and self-identification, we must not forget that every
student is unique. Whether it is learning ability, sexual orientation, gender, or race, we
are all in it for the music. Find what connects us (music) and use it as a tool for self-
expression.

9. Love music
It is almost obvious that music educators love music. However, we must deliberately
continue to connect with music to demonstrate to our students that music is worth
the time. If we cannot learn to love music for its intrinsic value, then we cannot expect
the same from our students.

10. Inspire
I chose to be a music educator because I wanted to inspire others like my teachers
inspired me. To inspire you students means to enrich their lives with and open their
perspective in music. Inspiration is as simple as giving students the opportunity to
explore music for themselves. Sometimes, inspiration comes in unknown forms.