Musical Life - Social Life - Academic Life - Tasks of Living With Others
Academic Life
Professional Website Assignment
The website for the American School Band Directors Association is easily navigable to whatever information one needs to find. The home page simply shows the logo of the organization with links containing various forms of information.
The first link appearing on the page is a link to information about the organization. This page states the group’s mission statement as well as a brief history of the association. This part of the website is especially helpful to those who are looking for something in particular in an organization they are considering joining. The ASBDA is a group that is pushing for equal involvement in music in the curriculums of school districts. ASBDA’s first formal convention was held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1953. The information page also lists the charter members of the organization as well as those members who have been honored by ASBDA.
Another key link on the home page describes the membership process. To become a member of ASBDA there is an application and review process that goes over the eligibility of the candidate. A candidate must have a minimum of five years teaching experienced, have a record of good service to the community, and be an active paid-up member of his or her district and state associations. The application form is downloaded from a link on this page and mailed to the ASBDA headquarters at the address given.
There is a discussion forum where band directors can discuss various teaching techniques and concert repertoire. This would be helpful to young band directors just starting into the field to get an idea of what has been successfully done and what doesn’t work. Another valuable link for new directors is an order form for different publications the ASBDA has released. These include concert repertoire CD’s, recommended literature for different ages, sample curriculums, and studies on how brain development is related to music education.
Other valuable links on the page include the link to the newsletter and the contact information of officers and chairpersons. The page also has information about the annual convention. The 2008 convention will be held in Brookfield, Wisconsin.
This website and organization would be very helpful to a director who is starting out teaching in any grade level. It is easy to find help with what he or she needs to do to succeed as a band director.
Outstanding Teachers
Part I
My High School Band Director was an outstanding teacher. He was a very talented musician who wanted us to excel as an ensemble, and as a solo performer. On the same note, he also knew our limitations and didn’t expect us to do the unthinkable. He selected music based on our strengths and challenged us to become even better. Outside of rehearsal, he was also the head of our Stage Crew, of which I was the President. His knowledge for the stage and technological part of music was helpful and he taught me a lot about sound systems.
My High School Choir Director was another outstanding teacher. I was lucky to have two talented and friendly music teachers in my high school. My choir director kept the class entertaining while teaching us how to come together as one. Every now and then he would just make a wise-crack or two to lighten the mood of the ensemble. It mad people look forward to having the class. That was important for the ensemble to perform well. Everybody loved talking to him, and he was always available to help us out individually if we had an audition coming up, or if we just wanted to become better vocalists.
My Calculus teacher never yelled at anybody, but calmly talked to them about what they needed to be doing. Her personality was wonderful, but the best part about her was her approach to teaching. She had an established career as an engineer, but decided she wanted to teach, even though engineers make more money than teachers. She enjoyed teaching and helping the students. To keep us from being bored, she changed up how she taught the lesson, and she never went on if somebody was confused about the material. It was easy to learn a hard subject from a caring teacher.
Part II
My high school band director is an empiricist. He taught us the basics of music by emphasizing a knowledge of scales and key signatures. During class time, he was intolerant of any distracting behavior. Nobody was allowed to talk unless they were discussing music. He selected a repertoire of music that is well known. For instance, in Symphonic Band, I have already played 2 pieces that I played in high school. The thought that empiricists only admit qualified students to ensembles is slightly true with my band director. One ensemble we had was an audition only ensemble. Although some aspects of his teaching differ from empiricist thoughts, my high school band director was mostly an empirical teacher.
My choir director is about a 50/50 mix of pragmatism and empiricism. While he had us perform the standard repertoire of vocal music, we also had fun and never got bored with class. We had an audition only ensemble like most empiricists would have, but there was also an open ensemble that was equally as enjoyable. The mood in the class was often a lighter one. He didn’t like people goofing off or talking, but it wasn’t a big deal if it did happen because students were normally discussing the song we were singing. If I had to choose one philosophy for this teacher it would be pragmatism because he didn’t always abide by the set standards.
My Calculus teacher is also a split between pragmatism and empiricism, but she leans more towards the empiricist side. Since it was an AP class, we were taught strictly by the guidelines of the AP tests; we only learned what we needed to know for the exam. The classroom was more of a relaxed setting than other classes. It didn’t bother her if we were talking, as long as we did what we were supposed to. Since the class was all about learning what we needed to learn in order to succeed on the AP exam, she would have to be classified as a empiricist teacher.
Professional Development Plan
Part I - Discuss 4 of the National Standards I feel least prepared to teach, and explain what I will do to better prepare myself for teaching.
Standard #8 – I feel as though I am least prepared for this standard mostly because I had trouble understanding it at first. After a little research, I understood what it meant and pondered how difficult this can be. I know about music, but I haven’t really learned much about how it relates to other parts of life. I know that music is everywhere, but beyond that I will definitely need to improve. I plan on being involved in PCMEA and other groups that release newsletters that I can gain valuable information from.
Standard #9 – This standard is equally as challenging as #8. I never had the time in my schedule in high school to take music history so it is my greatest musical weakness. I will take the music history classes and work hard to learn everything I can, but also pay attention to how the class is taught to get an idea of what is effective and what is not. When playing pieces, I will try to find out about when and why they were written.
Standard #4 – I did a project in high school theory, but it was basically, just do this, this and this and the piece is written. I didn’t feel as though I was taught how to do it, so I don’t really know how to do it, let alone teach students how to. I know next year I will have assignments to complete along these lines. I will make sure to pay attention to how the instructor describes the assignment. I will also keep working hard at theory since it is an essential element of composition.
Standard #3- Improvisation is a hard subject to teach. A lot of great jazz players just played what they felt was right and it was. I plan on getting involved with the jazz department to understand how to improvise both as a soloist, and accompanist. There is even a class to take on jazz improvisation. Both of these will help me understand how to instruct improvisation to students.
Part II - 2 goals for improvement.
Goal #1 – Organization. I have been making plans to become more organized, but I haven’t been following through. I understand that to be a teacher I need to become more organized, so I have been focusing on keeping my room organized and not keeping stuff I do not need anymore or will not need again. My room here at Penn State is much cleaner than my room at home, so I think I have been making progress, but It is not where I need to be yet.
Goal #2 – Time management/Becoming a Morning Person. I have slept in through my 8 AM classes 5 or 6 times this semester. I do not want to do that anymore, and having after I have a job I cant do that anymore. Sometimes I sleep in because I stayed up late due to a lack of time management. I need to focus on doing work even though I sometimes am not in the mood to do so. TV and other recreational activities needs to come after my work is complete.