Reflective Journal #1: A First Attempt

Today is my first attempt at this Ed. Psych journal thing. I guess I'll do this in order, so I don't forget anything. So, first off, INTERNET SITE REVIEW. Well, with the recommendations of Paige Brandt's blog, I visited ArtsEdge, a site on the music links page of educationindex.com. This site was created by the Kennedy Center in DC, and it seems to be a really great resource for teachers. I visited the teaching section and was able in seconds to look up complete lesson plans and search for them by age and subject. I flitted around the site and became more and more impressed with the design and the offerings it boasted. I read about National Standards and their levels of achievement. I found a great article not just for music teachers about the ways that music can be integrated into other parts of the school day. I would definitely recommend this website to new and old teachers alike, as well as the developing ones in Ed Psych! Check this one out, people. There is lots of information on all forms of art education including theater, dance, and the visual arts. I could use this information to help my classroom stay focused on National Standards and to keep classroom ideas fresh and meaningful. REFLECTIVE WRITING (sorry, no fanciful transition here). I think all the time about my future classroom and how I want it to run. More importantly, I think about the students inside that classroom and the skills and values I want them to take from my teaching. I want to be a choir director; some might think that there are only limited skills to learn and teach as a choral director. I obviously disagree because I have experienced firsthand the amount of growth and development that accompany being part of a choir. Being in a choir teaches the importance of dedication, practice, and self-discipline. It places people inside of a community where the group is more important than the individual. A choir encourages responsibility and feeds an enjoyment of aesthetic experiences. I really could go on and on with the value and worthiness of skills learned in a choir (bands and orchestras too). This summer and when I was home during my first year of college, I helped the WMEB (Wayzata Music Education Boosters). Our school district's elementary band and orchestra program was cut recently, and the booster group's cause is essentially to bring back an expectation for children to be a part of music. After three years of hard work, fundraising, and advocacy, in the fall of 2006, the elementary orchestra program will be reinstated in Wayzata schools. Woohoo! Music is for everyone, they say. It is not for the people who have perfect pitch or have been taking viola lessons since birth. The brain that develops with the company of music is more logical, is more spatially intelligent, and ingrains basic learning and comprehension skills. I wrote my senior paper on all this in high school, but that's for another entry, I think. I just want to introduce y'all to my passion that music education is for EVERYONE and is vitally important for our learners, thinkers, and culture of today and tomorrow. Last, but certainly not least, I take you to the INTERVIEW SECTION. I discussed with a few of my residents this week about their 9/11 experiences, similar to the discussions we had in class the other day. Every person knew exactly where they were on that morning, and could tell me in great detail about what they had experienced. I asked them about the ways their teachers dealt with the day, and for the most part, the girls had good experiences. Most teachers allowed the students the rest of the day to reflect and watch the news, a select few used the the incident as a tool for discussion and questioning, and only one teacher I heard about tried to ignore the situation and brush it aside until the students left for the day. We can compare our experience during 9/11 with the experiences, perhaps, of our grandparents during Pearl Harbor. I have asked my grandma about this day, and she can tell me in detail where she was and what she thought about. For major traumas like these that happen during a school day, children will not only remember what happened, but how others around them reacted. It's really important for us as future teachers to think about the ramifications we will have on students' memories and what lessons they will be learning from us as we react during stress or trauma. This is just a reminder for myself to write about Danny Lee, Eric, and my conversation from Wednesday for next time (purpose of education and effective evaluation of students). Peace out! "Out of tune to singing is like bad breath to conversation. The content may be good, but it still smells." -Dr. Arnold, 9/8/05