Teaching

I believe that every child deserves a chance to learn and make music in their formative years of schooling - both at the elementary level and the secondary level. Music is, and always should be, a means of self-expression for the child. Once music has been instilled as a means of self-expression, should music become a form of art or an academic subject. By ensuring that music is a tool of self-expression before a form of art or an academic subject, music teachers can be optimistically hopeful that their students will grow up to be tuneful, musically sensitive, and have a better overall quality of life 30 years from when they were in the classroom than if they received a compulsory or academic-based music education. I recognize that many, if not most, of my students will not go on to be music majors in college or music professionals, but the students that will go on to be these music majors and professionals in the music field should not be the only ones to learn music; that opportunity is for everyone. As a music teacher, this is my goal for all my students. Simply put, music should not be for the privileged few that show good potential early on in their musical education, but rather a tool with which all students can express their emotions.