PhilosophyofMusicEducation

Education,orschooling,istheprocessbywhichwedevelopstudentsintocontributing
membersofsocietywhoarebothfunctionalandsocialized.Functionalityinthiscontextrefers
toskill-basedcompetency,whilesocializationreferstosocio-culturalcompetency.Forthe
purposeofcreatingcontributingmembersofsociety,educationshouldservetodevelopstudent
skillintangibleareasortrades,aswellastopreparethemforsuccessfulinteractionand
collaborationwithpeers.Tofurtherservethispurpose,educationalexperiencesshouldcome
fromavarietyofapproachesreflectiveofthediverseinteractionsstudentswillhave
post-academia.

Musiceducationisthepracticeofguidingstudentsthroughthemusicalprocess,throughwhich
theydevelopintheirabilitytocommunicateandexpressconceptsmusically.Usingthis
process,wehelpstudentstodevelopintofunctionalandsocializedmusicians.Inthiscontext,
functionalmeansindependentandexperiencedinexpressingvariousideasandconcepts,while
socializedmeansthatthestudentshaveinteractedwithmusicfromawidevarietyofcultures
andexperiencesandunderstandthemusicsroleinrelationtothoseculturesandexperiences.

Sothen,musiceducationsroleintheschoolsystemistoaidinthepursuitofdeveloping
functional,socialized,andcontributingmembersofsociety.Byextensionoftheirmusical
training,thesemembersshouldbeabletofunctionassocialchameleons,betterableto
effectivelyapproachothersinvariousscenariosandcontexts,whileplacingimportanceon
valuingandunderstandinghowtheirbackgroundinfluencestheirapproachandtheir
perspective.

Inthisregard,itisimportantthatstudentsareprovidedtheopportunityformeaningfulmusical
experienceswhichwillhelptodevelopthemintocontributingmembersofsociety.The
instructormuststructureaprogramtoaddresstheseneeds,completewithvariedmusical
learningexperiences,whichincludesperformanceopportunitiesandcommunityservice.
Studentsshouldbeabletoobservethecontextsinwhichmusiccanbeutilizedintheir
communities,andseehowitcanbeusedtoserveothers.Withthisapplicationofclassroom
learning,diversityofexperienceandmusic,aswellashighexpectationsforstudents,canbe
organicallyintegratedintotheprogram.Studentswillseehowonescenarioand/orcommunity
maybenefitfromoneperformance,whileadifferentapproachwouldprovebeneficialfor
anotheraudience.Withtheaudienceinmind,theinstructorcanthenprovideatangiblereason
forstudentachievement,andstudentscanworkinawaythatwillreinforcethegoalof
effectivelyservingtheircommunity.Intheclassroom,theinstructormustestablishan
environmentwherestudentsviewoneanotherasteammates.

Asdescribedabove,theresponsibilitylieswiththeinstructortoorganizestudentactivitieswith
afocusonlife-application.Thisrequiresthattheinstructorhasafocusonthelargerpictureof
thestudentseducationinthemusicclassroom.Further,withsuchafocus,theinstructorneeds
tobemethodical,analytical,andpurposefulduringtheplanningphasefortheircoursessothat
theycanbeflexibletostudentneedsduringimplementation.Theinstructorsprofessionalism
liesfirstintheirdevelopmentofaclearvisionandorganizedplanastowhatistobetaughtand
how.Itfollowsintheirattentiontodetailinregardtoevaluationofwhatthestudentsare
learning,comparisontowhattheinstructorintendsthemtolearn,andadjustmentasnecessary.
Finally,itiscompletedintheirprovisionofopportunitiesforstudentstovoicetheiropinions
andreflectontheirlearningwhichwillcausestudentstotaketheexperienceswiththem.

Thoughthereismuchtobegainedfromacademicexperienceinthearts,theeducationsystem
isinanauditphasewhereprogramsoutsideofSTEMcurriculumarebeingminimizedorcut.
However,thisisdetrimentaltostudentsuccessevenwithinSTEMcurriculum.Arts-involved
youthconsistentlyreceivehighergradesthanthosenotinvolvedinthearts,andthistrend
continuesevenwhenisolatingdataofstudentsfromlowSESbackgrounds.Studentsdeeply
involvedininstrumentalmusicdemonstratesignificantlyhighermathematicalachievementin
12thgrade,whilestudentsinvolvedintheatrearts(includingmusicals)experiencegainsin
readingproficiencyanddemonstratehigherlevelsofempathyandtolerancetowardsothers.
Further,studentsinvolvedintheartsplacemorevalueoncommunityservicethanstudentsnot
involvedinthearts.[Catterall,et.al.1997].Ifthegoalistodevelopyouthintocontributing
membersofsociety,thenmeaningfulexperiencesinmusicandotherartsmustbevaluedasan
integralpartofthecurriculum.

 WorksCited

Catterall,James,RichardChapleau,andJohnIwanaga."Involvementintheartsandhuman
development:Generalinvolvementandintensiveinvolvementinmusicandtheaterarts."
Championsofchange:Theimpactoftheartsonlearning(1999):1-18.