In our guest lecture with Dr. Hopkins, we touched based on developing a curriculum that would allow for teachers to better suit the creative minds that come pouring into music classes.
Traditionally, music has been taught since approximately the 1970s, using the "spiral" curriculum using the elements of music such as rhythm, melody, harmony, form, etc. in which music is viewed through these same lenses with more complexity each year that passes. This was done in the hopes that music could be taught in a less linear way. This curriculum is based on the idea that music should be taught as a process to people in order to produce a product. However, people in today's society would argue that this is still is a too linear way of thinking. We compared this to the use of method books. We discussed why they are both good and bad resources for a beginner's music class. On one hand they set a standard that unifies everyone in the class's experience and simplifies a lot of complexity. However, there's a lot of emphasis on what music looks like and it doesn't allow for personal expression, growth, or creativity. The idea of the "method book" teaching approach follows a similar structure to this old method of teaching the same musical elements over and over with newer "complexities". There isn't much room for creativity in an incredibly creative subject matter. How then are we supposed to tackle music education in a cohesive way that doesn't inhibit creativity? Dr. Hopkins posed an essential question to us, "Is music a language?" We came to a conclusion that music is not a language, but it behaves very much like one. Therefore, when Dr. Hopkins aided in writing the new music curriculum for Nova Scotia they based their approach on the acquisition of language through 3 strands: 1. Creating, Making, Presenting 2. Understanding/Connecting Contexts of time, place, and community. 3. Perceiving, Reflecting, Responding And split into four units: 1. Foundations of Band Music Instruction 2. Introduction to Melody 3. Taking Ownership of Performance 4. Canvas and Colour There's not enough time or space both within the lecture and here in my reflection to completely unpack all the information inside the curriculum, but I will debrief my own thoughts of what I heard. First and foremost, I was really excited to hear a new opinion on music curriculum. In my experiences, I've heard the same things about music education over and over again. I feel as though the Ontario curriculum hasn't really changed in the span of my life. I really appreciated hearing about the advances other provinces in the country are taking, and I really hope Ontario follows suit. The most interesting thing to me was that Dr. Hopkins lecture challenged a lot of the teaching I have the most experience with. When I was in middle school we used the very method books that Dr. Hopkins challenged. I believe that my interaction with music class in the public school setting has been very deeply set in an old way of learning music. We discussed in class different ways to promote the creativity of students through improvisation and without sheet music being in front of students. Though exciting, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, knowing that this way of learning "wasn't how I was raised". Through high school, there were many occasions where I was challenged to create music without having written it down, but to use what I could create and hear on my own. Yet, this brought me so much discomfort. I would have much rather had sheet music given to me and for me to learn that. That leads me to question, would I be a different musician if I had learned in a different way? If I had learned music similar to a language instead of in a more linear, sheet music based way, would anything about my journey as a musician have changed? More troubling, will the way I learned music affect the way I teach students? I would hate to think that I could deny students the ability to foster their creativity because of my inability to engage with them in this newfound way of education that I wasn't brought up in. Dr. Hopkin's lecture challenged me to rethink the way I approach education. While I don't want to completely abandon how I was brought up in music, I don't want to completely go the other way either and do the exact opposite of how I learned. I am perplexed to try and find that balance between order and creativity. But it's quite the idea to wrestle with, and hopefully when I find my answer, it will allow me to be a good teacher to all the students that I will meet in my lifetime.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Carole PalattaoI'm an 18 year old studying classical voice at Western University. I'm also a hardcore mental health advocate, and I do creative writing on the side for fun!
Archives
April 2017
Categories |