Sunday, February 22, 2009

It all makes sense now

Good afternoon!
It's a nice feeling when the fruit of your labors begin to pay off. School teaches you what you want to learn, and finding and using these wanted concepts in the real world can be refreshing. It makes school feel worthwhile. First, I'll talk about three concepts / theories from my Educational background, then one theory from Music.
One important theory to me comes from the basic interaction a teacher (or anyone really) has with a child. How you talk to children is a big part of how they view you and how then, they respond to you. A teacher (or any adult) should show the same respect to children when speaking to them as they would show to anyone else. Children can tell when they're being looked down upon. Being close to eye-level with a person when you're talking with them is also a big deal. Children are generally shorter than adults, so kneeling when you're speaking with them is a good thing to do. It also ensures that you have the child's full attention, and they are more likely to take what you are saying more seriously, remember it better, etc. These two concepts mentioned are always used with any child I may talk with. Usually, when I do kneel down and don't talk down, I get a great response from the child. They end up telling me a story or expanding on what we were talking about.
I found that "wait time" is also an important concept to know and practice. A lot of the time, when the teacher asks a question, and hands are raised, the called-on student can say the answer he / she was thinking of in no time. But, when the student is unsure, and does not answer right away, I've found waiting is an important thing to do. The silence and waiting can be pretty awkward, as it is easy to want to call on one of the other students with anxious looks and raised hands. But, giving that first student a little extra time is usually all they need to know what they want to say. I've found waiting on these students usually gives you the right answer, too.
When teaching, it's important to make sure your lesson was heard. In music, asking the class to "be your echo" is a great way to hear if they're ready to go on with the lesson. When we learn new songs, we first sing them, then start by singing one line at a time, the class echoing after each line. The song is memorized in no time, and the class is ready to learn the dance or instrumentation along with it. Teacher- "Be my echo, please.", Class- "Be my echo, please." Going into
solfège review next is a daily lesson. Teacher- "Sol, Sol, Mi, Mi", then the class, "Sol, Sol, Mi, Mi" singing and echoing in the correct pitches.
I hope you've enjoyed this post, and please let me know what you think. I'll post a cute story soon.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Week 4: Compare and Contrast

The realm of education is made up of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary settings. In Education, interdisciplinary could refer to the different subjects being taught and offered in a school. The Elementary school I intern at offers each subject required to be taught, as well as extra subjects such as Music and Orchestra, and extra-curricular subjects such as Karate or sports. Music is one of the many interdisciplinary roles at the school.
The multidisciplinary comes in the general classroom, outside the extra subjects and activities. Here is where one teacher is teaching many different subjects in one classroom (math, science, reading, writing, etc.). The general education classroom is multidisciplinary for this reason.
The music classroom I am located in operates in more of an interdisciplinary manner. Aimee Vining is teaching her students different instruments, songs, and dances from around the world.
The organizational structure of the school is ordinary, like most schools. The Principal, Vice Principal, and Guidance counselor are all the ones to contact if things go wrong. The Principal is the one primarily in charge. The teachers are the next in line. If Aimee is having trouble with one of the students, first she'll contact their teacher, then the Principal/ Vice/ Counselor, and then their Parents. Depending on the severity of the incident, one or more may be contacted. In school, communication is very important.