Kevin Reyes

PID:5482712
Modern Music Education Philosophy: What is our purpose?
What is our purpose? In the mind of a music educator, the question would seem simple to many, that
being: To just teach music. But theres much, much more to it than that. I originally thought the
purpose of being a music educator was to just direct a program and instruct students on how to improve
themselves in music, in layman terms. But after going to a group of local middle and high schools
consistently this semester, as opposed to just one high school as a tech as Ive done the past two years,
Ive seen and realized theres so much more to being a professional music educator. Ive chosen to base
my personal philosophy on firsthand experience and observation because of the influential idea of
Challenging the way we think article by Estelle R. Jorgensen, which can be embodied by this statement
in the latter-half of the article: observation coupled with reflection on that observation suggests an
experientially based philosophy that, because it is derived from an intimate and personal experience, is
something that the teacher is prepared to act on and, importantly, loves to do.
Being a band director is a constant struggle, but its what we love doing.
When we start going into the backroom of the classroom, being the copious forms and other paper work
needed, the reality that our (future) professions contain just as much tedium as a cubicle employment
position kick in. Ask any competent director and youll be told about all this needed planning and
deadlines for forms spanning a plethora of needs. FBA evaluations for Marching Band, Orchestra, Indoor
band; Any competitions planned for the ensembles plus the projected price for each competition, which
must then be incorporated into the budget for the school year or Booster program if lucky enough to
have one; Negotiating your schedule and what ensembles will be included each year with the higherups in the office, and even then having it reworked by them after class forms have been turned in,
sometimes notifying you just weeks before the school year begins (This was mentioned by three current
local directors: Mr. DeJesus at Zelda Glazier middle, Mr. Sacca at G. Holmes Braddock high, and Mr. O
Neal at Miami Sunset high.); and a last example for those that seek employment at a music magnet or
fine-art specific school must meet certain quotas of student paper work. Unlike a regular school, its
common for the music magnet and fine-art schools to require reading and writing in the music
classroom. That means on top of the miscellaneous paper work throughout the school year, the event
(evaluation and competition) entry registration, and class scheduling kerfuffles, theres what seems to
be an unneeded addition to the classroom.
They use my only band class as a recycling bin
This is a quote from a conversation I had with Mr. O Neal at Miami Sunset High. Hes been the director
at that school for years, this being his last before retirement, and the program has declined
exponentially these past few years. But its not due to him, hes actually a very clear and organized
instructor, it seems to stem from the main office itself. Sunset has always had a notorious drug problem
due to its location, and its reflected on the students very negatively. The higher-ups in the office
allegedly put the troubled students in the band program as opposed to other academic electives,
which can be seen when visiting the class, but also attempt to take students such as the current Band
captain who has a 4.0 GPA with all high school credits pending completion already in her Junior year,
and place them in the medical engineering magnet program. This exemplifies the painful reality of
internal struggle with superiors. The program is near death, and its very likely that when Mr. O Neal
retires this coming year, it will cease to exist due to dwindling numbers, lack of student interest in the

music program, and lack of any love or pride . This once great program is hanging on a brittle thread,
and it was not within the power of the band director to do anything to save it.
This is an extreme case, but its something we as directors need to consider when asking ourselves what
our purpose is.
This could be said to happen only in certain schools, and that may be the case for this extreme of a case,
but even in bigger programs such as at W.R. Thomas, there was brute force (Interference wise) in the
classroom according to Mr. DeJesus and his time spent employed there before his current employment
at Zelda Glazier. On a certain teacher work day, the previous principal of the school came into his class
and dropped a stack of worksheets on his desk, Math worksheets, with not so much as a word. He
looked at them and then scurried down the hall to catch up and ask about it, to which it was explained
From now on, Friday will be Math day in your music classes.
Can you imagine that? Getting a job as a band director and then getting math shoehorned into your
class because the general student populace of the school suffers in math?
DeJesus strongly disagreed with this and went straight to the office to file a legal complaint, as the
subject of Math, or anything, being shoehorned into his class was against his contract under Lesson
planning procedure, where it was listed that the teacher may teach with complete freedom as long as it
included Smartboard interaction and informational reading. He got the majority favor of the APs and
the math inclusion was dropped at the cost of the principal hating his guts until she was transferred.
What does this bring up to us? The factor of Risk against Valor. Do we as teachers risk our reputation
and potentially job to do our job correctly? Or do we give in for our job security?
Balance is key
As music directors, were primarily educators, which means were also role models. Students go through
a lot, we all go through a lot, its a fact of life, and its our job as educators and role models to find the
perfect balance of being an educator and counselor, in light terms, to our students. What all Music
educators should strive for is excellence within themselves and their students, and that starts with
encouragement. Kids can be mean, really mean, and it can result in mental scarring or more severe
actions in our students. This can be shown not only by our experience, but also this line from the
Bullying: what can Music teachers do? article by Donald M. Taylor: Boys who want to play an instrument outside expected norms may be particularly vulnerable to taunting, and that can be especially
challenging during adolescence. The same can be said for female students, this is but one of the many
ridiculous causes of bullying and victimizing.
We, now as role-models, have to find ways to impress the idea of acceptance upon our students. Firstly,
we have to be relatable to the students, show that we too are human just as they are. A good example is
the way Mr. DeJesus is before and after school. During school hes as average tempered as the usual
music teacher, professional and focused, but after school he frequently speaks with students about offtopic things such as shows and pop culture, even occasionally playing games with them. It shows that
the students respect him as a teacher and musician but also realize hes a normal person, there have
been no instances of disrespect during classes due to this from what I have seen.
That example seems very loose to what we may be used too and what wed like to do, but I feel it sends
at least a general feel for what we have to do. We dont need to be super friendly or anything as the
such, but we have to show our humanity, because if were strict and closed, we end up pushing students
away when we should be opening to them. Once we manage to instill that, the students may become
more open towards us and seek us out.

So as music educatorsjust what is our purpose? There is no simple answer, at least to me, as a music
educator we have to be omnipresent. We have to be an accountant, a manager, a counselor, a
strategist, a human, open minded; the way I see it, to be a good music educator you need to be so many
things, including the basic title: an educator. We must ask ourselves the questions presented in this
paper to begin to understand music education past the surface, we must, as clich as it may be, be
philosophers.
There are several reasons why every music teacher should be a philosopher. In essence, these reasons
amount to expressions of the principle that education is primarily a philosophical endeavor and that all
our objectives, methods, and organizational structures must be philosophically defensible.
Challenging the way we think by Estelle R. Jorgensen
My philosophy as a music educator simply put, is to have the most open of minds as possible and be
ready to adapt to anything. If what Ive witnessed and what weve read should say anything, it would
be exactly that. But its only my opinion, everyone will have a different philosophy, and that builds into
my own philosophy Be open to everything, including other philosophies. Just like in Music, we will
never stop learning and adapting until were dead and buried.

Article Citations

Observation coupled with reflection on that observation suggests an experientially based philosophy
that, because it is derived from an intimate and personal experience, is something that the teacher is
prepared to act on and, importantly, loves to do.
Challenging the way we think by Estelle R. Jorgensen
Boys who want to play an instrument outside expected norms may be particularly vulnerable to
taunting, and that can be especially challenging during adolescence
Bullying: what can Music teachers do? by Donald M. Taylor
There are several reasons why every music teacher should be a philosopher. In essence, these reasons
amount to expressions of the principle that education is primarily a philosophical endeavor and that all
our objectives, methods, and organizational structures must be philosophically defensible.
Challenging the way we think by Estelle R. Jorgensen