MUED 352: Week 6

This week our class gave presentations on different method books for the beginning band and orchestra. And while everyone showcased the pros and cons of their chosen material, I was astounded by how much detail must go into each and every one of these method books. The amount of topics that one (method book) has to cover is really mind-blowing. I probably would not have noticed if it were not for having to sift through my method book with a fine-toothed comb.

I noticed that most method books are just extremely well defined crutches for music educators; not in a bad way though. I think that every teacher has a natural style to their teaching. It's because of this personal knack that I think method books act as crutches, again, not in a bad way. It would be too daunting for one human to teach all of their band students, and be successful at it. A method book is a tool designed to ease the stress of having to 'go it alone'.

This belief of mine takes into account the teacher retaining their specific style. Once a teacher starts to lose their personal flair, then they will fall back on the method book as a crutch; yes, in a bad way. The method book is a manner which to relay musical concepts to students, not to teach them. It is one of many different ways a teacher can help their students understand what concepts are essential to their musical development.

Although I enjoyed coming to these conclusions, I did find that the best part about MUED 352 this week was going into the schools; particularly South Euclid: Lindhurst (SEL). Being at SEL was quite an experience. Many of my prior experiences with schools have either been top notch or, to put it nicely, not so top notch. SEL has a program that has a feeling of top notch, in a not so top notch environment, which is how I prefer it.

I got to see teachers work in an environment that was not optimal, but achieve great results. I enjoyed this because it gave me a lot of hope that I can be placed in a location that is not musically fit, but have musically fit students.

After my observations I would only have one major critique, "Why so much Dr. Beat?" My word, my head is still ringing. I did not see a benefit to using the Dr. Beat that much, in fact I would like to see the students in a Dr. Beat-Free zone. I would like to see how they would start to develop as musicians if the "Dr. was not in the house."

I am super excited to start teaching at SEL because I feel that a lot of my learning can come from teaching in the schools, instead of reading books. Again, experiential learning is probably the best for beginning teachers because you have to deal with the scenarios in real time, not on paper. So I am hopeful that I get to test my skills in a real classroom! So excited!