Univeristy of Wisconsin Oshkosh
October 18, 2001
A
little boy sat and stared at the people.
They were singing along to a song and the boy envied them. He wanted to sing, but he was too
afraid because he never had music lessons. The majority of the population just sits and stares while
people play music. Music is more then
sitting, its moving, singing, clapping, and laughing. A teacher must understand the value and importance of
music. These values impact the
child’s life and how they will react to contact with other students. We do not want the future adults of the
world to not be able to communicate because we never taught them to
communicate. With each lesson we
have in music, the child will grow into an adult who has experienced the beat
of a drum, the nervousness of being in front of a crowd, and the confidence to
go and try new things. What an
amazing gift a teacher could give to a student.
Each time a student walks in to a classroom they understand why
they are there, they are there to learn.
To many times a student will walk into music not understanding why they
are there. Why is the student in
the music classroom? In an
optimistic world the student comes willingly to learn the world language, and
to experience new and different sounds.
In the real world the child is forced to come. That is why we as teachers must show the student that
they are here for a reason. The
students must see that music is just as important as science, and as
challenging as math. They must
understand that with each level of music they reach, comes pride and great
achievement.
Teachers must show the student the value of music in their
life. When a student knows that
value, they will work harder, and perform better. That little boy, watching the people, was willing to sing,
but no one had taught him that music does not have to be pretty. Maybe if he had a music teacher, to
show him singing is for everyone, he would be singing with the group. That‚s why music teachers are
here, to encourage each child to participate and to be able to perform. The joy of seeing a child
accomplish this is amazing, and any teacher should try there hardest to get a
child to that level of esteem.
When teaching is a music room a teacher must be prepared. Preparing daily, weekly, monthly, and
yearly will help the students learn better. It will also help the teacher. When a teacher prepares for class their first focus should
be helping the child expand their knowledge. This knowledge could be in any subject, for instance
learning how to raise a hand, and to be picked when the student wants to speak. This is a life lesson, for everybody
and should not be ignored. Another
example is learning different cultures, or maybe even having the child research
on musical backgrounds. Each child
learns differently, so the teacher must be flexible. Using different techniques or even doing different
activities can be difficult, but a teacher must dedicate themselves to hard
work and time for their students.
If a person is not prepared to work hardand have time for there students
they should reconsider their career.
They must also have the desire to teach children, planning and hard work
can not go anywhere if they do not
desire to teach. It is rare
to find a bad teacher, but if you ask a student what teacher affected them
most, they will say the bad one.
That is a shame when so many others have influenced their lives.
Hopefully, that student will be encouraged more to act better, then to act
worse. That is why teachers must
have the desire and discipline to teach students.
The lack of music in the school system shows how much the country
and its people have declined.
Without music a country will lose some of its character. Each little note, or pound on a drum
shows what cultural background a person is from. These notes can also bring countries together. During World War two Germany and
England were fighting on a battle ground one Christmas Eve, when a truce was
called. Slowly each man climbed
out of their cold forsaken trenches to meet face to face with their enemy. Looking into their enemies‚ eyes
a Christmas carol started and slowly each soldier started to sing that
song. They sang songs all night
long, and that night will always be remembered as the night two enemies put
their differences aside and shared peace and love. Who taught these soldiers
Christmas songs, teachers, parents, anybody, that does not matter, they learned
to sing. These enemies were
brought together in a peaceful gathering by music. Music could have the opportunity to do this worldwide, if we
keep on teaching it.
Music should be taught to anyone! Not just the talented or the gifted, but to those especially
who lack any understanding of music.
If soldiers in World War Two could sing for one night, and enjoy it, who
else would? If teachers prohibit
themselves from teaching other students they could miss some enjoyment as
well. The amazing thing about
music is anybody and everybody can learn to do it, singing in the car is music,
stomping your feet, to a football game is music, and playing with cups and
silverware can be music. Music is
the world language where anyone can join in, and music teachers have to be
there to encourage that.