Theory Class Teaching Reaction

I have been taking Music Theory with the same teacher for 3 semesters now, and I really like the course.  I like it because we learn a variety of things and I always learn a lot from the material being taught.  Some students might find the class monotonous, but I think that it works.  Students might think its monotonous because each class we go through a routine.  We start the class with a stretch, and some solfege singing of scales.  I think that the stretch is helpful because it wakes up the students, and the solfege singing gets their brains engaged.  We then move on to a piano drill, which consist of chord progression with chords we are learning in class so we can hear what they sound like in context with other chords.  We then review any homework assigned from the previous day to check for understanding, then move on to new material.  When we learn new material, we are always given historical context and listen to pieces that have the new material in it while looking at the music we're listening to, which I think is very helpful to learning the material. Our teacher even will once in a while bring in more modern examples of what we are learning to listen to. For example, one day our teacher played us a Led Zepplin song because it had an example of a chord we were learning.  I think that giving us modern examples helps show us that these concepts are still being used today.  I think that the Music Theory classes here have a good curriculum and are very effective to a student's learning.

Humility

Being wrong is a part of life.  People take learning that they are wrong in different ways, but the responsible thing to do is be humble, realize that they have made a mistake, and try to fix it.  This is an important skill for a teacher to have in their classroom. Humility is just as an important skill for a teacher to have as confidence.  A good teacher needs to be confident in their teaching ability, but they shouldn't be cocky.  They need to show that they know the subject they are teaching, but they can also accept that they can be wrong on occasion.  A teacher needs to realize that if their teaching style has a flaw, they need to be humble and find that flaw in their teaching and fix it so the student can learn efficiently and successfully.

Efficacy

Teachers don't only need to be able to teach their subject, but they must also be effective at teaching their subject. Two things that seem to go together in being an effective teacher is one's self-awareness and belief in one's ability.  A teacher needs to be aware of themselves, and what they are teaching.  They also have to believe in themselves and be confident in their teaching, because if the teacher isn't confident in what they are teaching, how can one expect the student to be confident in their learning ability.  Along with confidence, a teacher must be persistent on the child's responsibility as a student.  All of these skills create better teachers, which in turn creates better students.

Inventiveness

Inventiveness is one of the most important skills that students can have in the 21st Century.  Kids are already showing this creativeness with bands, Youtube, and building websites. And when we are living in a constantly changing world, inventiveness is an important skill to have.  But how can teachers promote inventiveness and creativity in the classroom.  One way for teachers to allow creative development in students is to make the classroom a creative environment.  But classrooms have been a hindrance to creative development because of "busy-work".  Teachers need to find a way for students to use their inventiveness; they need to have projects, papers, and other classroom activities that help students use creativeness and inventiveness.

Reflectiveness

I have noticed through my schooling that one of the things that teachers want students to do is to be reflective.  But reflecting on oneself can be challenging.  I feel that being reflective is so difficult for people in our schools because of some of the reasons brought up in Wagner's Global Achievement Gap.  In his book, he explains that schools are only "teaching the test"; students are being taught what is going to be on the test and then forget about it.  But if the student is told to be reflective, it allows the student to think about what exactly they have been taught and why they have been taught it.  But being reflective is an important skill, because I think that it helps students articulate on what they have learned.  Reflecting can be efficiently used after the teacher teaches the lesson and having the students reflect and articulate on what they just learned. I think that if a student can reflect on what they have just been taught, they have actually learned the material.

Passion

Passion is an important part of being a teacher.  I decided to become a music teacher because the teachers I had for music classes were passionate in what they were teaching.  On the other hand, I had a math teacher that seemed like he didn't really care about what he was teaching us, so I didn't feel very motivated because I didn't know why I should care about it if the person teaching it didn't care either.  A teacher needs to have a passion for what they are teaching, because it will motivate the students to do well in the class, and will possibly awaken a passion for the subject in the student.

Authenticity In A Teacher

Authenticity is an important part of being a teacher.  I believe that students will be much more inclined to pay attention and work harder in a class if the teacher is authentic.  To me, a teacher who is authentic is a teacher that is animate about what he/she is teaching, and tries to show this love of a subject to his students.  I feel that if the teacher is positive and looks interested in what he/she is teaching, the students will as well.  On the flip side, a teacher who is not authentic will only teach what is necessary and one who does not look like they care about what they are trying to teach the students.  I feel that if the teacher isn't showing that they really love what they are teaching, there is no hope for the students to feel animate about that subject.