Maybe High School Musical Wasn’t an EXACT Reflection of Music Teaching…

“So Miss…why do you want to be a music teacher?” Hearing the title “Miss” directed to me for the first time was an exciting feeling; I felt respected as I pondered an answer for the young pupil, who asked a question I have asked myself on many occasions. The honest answer, which has stayed consistent with me, is that I want to make a difference. As a hopeful teacher, my goal in the future is to inspire young people to find a passion in music and provide the tools to prosper with their music education. I realised quickly that this is easier said than done and my experience so far in my work placement hasn’t been exactly like the 2006 Disney Film High School Musical,with hundreds of teenagers singing harmoniously in the lunch hall. Music isn’t a subject that always has a high uptake and teachers often face challenges to keep the subject interesting and relevant for the pupils.

BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b009kfsn

However, since September I have had the privilege of teaching and getting to know several hard-working individuals from a variety of backgrounds and musical abilities. Over the previous couple of months, I have discovered that teaching isn’t always predictable; it can be stressful and demanding but so far, I have found music teaching to be incredibly rewarding and a career which I hope to enter in the coming years. This blog reflects upon my experiences using Gibb’s reflective cycle, reviewing my initial expectations compared to reality. 

Crowe Associates Ltd https://www.crowe-associates.co.uk/coaching-tools/gibbs-reflective-cycle/

Day One- I’m Going to Change the World!

From speaking with some of my fellow student teachers, I have discovered that many of us began our placement with the same over-confident mindset; our influence will change the lives of hundreds of children with our passion for music, and hopefully, natural teaching ability. As I sat in the principal’s office, in my pre-placement interview, my head was bursting with ideas on how I could expand and develop the music department. Carol services, musicals and spring recitals were constructed in my mind as the principal informed me that he would be happy to have me for the year, as I completed my placement. I left the school with one overarching goal; I was going to make a difference in the school.

 Naturally, when the first day of placement arrived, I was excited. With my notebook, pen and cup of coffee, I was prepared and ready to learn how over the next year, I would enrich the lives of the students I was minutes away from meeting. I was convinced that on my first day I would be teaching various musical topics to several classes but as the first set of pupils arrived, I quickly realised that this was an unrealistic expectation. This class, and the remaining classes of that day, consisted of shadowing the music teacher, as she delivered her lesson plan on Carnival of the Animalsto a room of twenty-five children with varied levels of enthusiasm. Sipping my coffee, I reflected upon my initial eagerness and concluded that the first few weeks of placement would likely consist of listening and learning from the music teacher, without much input from myself.  Mild disappointment at my lack of contribution was felt but I accepted that my goal of making a difference in the school would not be instantaneous and learning to be a competent teacher is not a skill that I will attain on my first day of placement. I concluded that I would make use of the opportunity to shadow the music teacher and learn from her teaching style so that when the occasion arose to teach a class myself, I would have the knowledge to successfully deliver a lesson. In The Art of Teaching Music, Estelle R. Jorgensen advises to observe successful music teachers in their practice. She discusses that after making a good impression, the teachers will soon find jobs in which they need assistance and will appreciate the extra help (Jorgensen, 2008). I decided that if I still found myself shadowing in the following weeks with no progression towards teaching, I would have a conversation with the music teacher and explain my desire for more practical roles.

How Do I Make Music Interesting?

Fortunately, I soon found myself carrying out useful tasks in the classroom; photocopying, helping with lesson plans, making poster boards and other errands to help the music teacher. After proving my ability with these duties, I began to see more teaching opportunities for myself and was given the topic of ‘the keyboard’ to teach the year 8 classes. I prepared a lesson plan covering a basic introduction to the instrument, with short pieces for the children to play. My aim was to provide lessons which was stimulating for the pupils. In a 2010 study by Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, their research found that the most effective teachers provided their lessons in an engaging manner (Button, 2010). I achieved this by including easy pieces that were recognisable to the pupils as I find that as a musician myself, it is often satisfying to be able to play pieces you know, especially as a beginner. Evaluating my choice of pieces, including ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ as seen below, some of the children struggled with the level of difficulty for the first lesson. If I were to teach keyboard again, I would include more basic pieces with less notes for the first few lessons, to avoid putting pressure on the pupils who have less natural musical ability.

Topmusicco https://topmusic.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/beginner-piano-sheet-tim-topham.png

Despite my slightly inaccurate early assumptions of what my placement would look like, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Larne High School since September. The opportunities given to me have provided a realistic insight into the demands of teaching in a secondary school and experiences to develop my skills, as I consider future career plans within teaching. 

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Bibliography

BBC (2012) High School Musical 2. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b009kfsn(Accessed 25 November 2021).

Button, S. (2010) ‘Music Teachers Perceptions of Effective Teaching’ Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education 183, pp. 25–38. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27861470?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents(Accessed 20 November 2021). 

Crowe Associates Ltd (n.d) Gibbs Reflective cycle. Available at: https://www.crowe-associates.co.uk/coaching-tools/gibbs-reflective-cycle/(Accessed: 20 November 2021).

Jorgensen, ER 2008, The Art of Teaching Music, Indiana University Press, Bloomington. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. (26 November 2021).

Leeson, A.M. (2015) ‘Experiential Learning In and Out of the Classroom’. The Sixteenth Century Journal 46 (4), pp. 25-38. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27861470?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

Topmusicco (2021) Piano Sheet Music for Beginners. Available at: https://topmusic.co/where-to-find-piano-sheet-music-for-beginner-students/(Accessed 24 November 2021).