I would not be the musician or educator I am today if it were not for the music teachers who gave their time and talent to inspire young students like myself. From my first trumpet instructor, who taught me the fundamentals of trumpet to my church choir director and elementary music teacher, who has mentored me from elementary school through my high school NYSSMA competitions; I have had the incredible opportunity to work with dedicated music educators that give of themselves so others can grow. In looking toward my future, I am eager to inspire the next generation of musicians and make music a safe and enjoyable part of their school curriculum.  

To me, Education means a lot of things. It is the relation of information to a person or group of people. It is the teaching of everything from general knowledge to some in-depth theoretical analysis. Education is about sharing knowledge about the content area I love, music. Education is teaching a student their first musical skills such as matching pitch and decoding rhythm to advancing a student’s musicianship to a high level. The role of an educator is to be the best resource for your students. You do not just want to teach them the content area, you want them to acquire life skills they will use when evolving through life. You are their biggest supporter and always willing to help. You always want success for your students. You are always instructing your students in and out of the classroom.  I believe in success, not failure. As an educator, I will implement core life characteristics like respect, responsibility, and honesty into my classroom environment and through my content material with an additional emphasis on culturally responsive teaching. My students will not just be brilliant musicians, but better versions of themselves than when they first walked into my classroom. 

My instrumental musical experience started in 3rd grade. I can distinctly remember the feeling I had when the outside music lesson company came to my elementary school and showed off all the different band instruments. I was super excited to take up a new challenge. Then, they got to show off the trumpet. From the moment I heard the first notes of the Star Wars theme, I was hooked! I knew I had found my future calling.  

 

I was also lucky enough to attend private catholic school where some of my elementary music curriculum was learning church hymns by rote in the children’s choir as well as providing instrumental music for church services like playing trumpet, percussion, and handbells. This is where I learned my fundamentals of music making. 

I believe all children should receive a quality music education, whether that be through a general music, music theory, music composition, or instrumental music lense. There are so many musical and non-musical skills that can be acquired from the class. Music should not be a class that is stressful and a waste of time. We are not teaching our children to become the next musical genius or pop star, but rather as a creative outlet for students to express themselves, and that is my main goal as a music educator. 

Children should experience a lot of things in their music classroom. Besides forming a foundation of musicianship, they should be immersed in different genres of music as well as being able to learn the historical background or culture of music. I think it's super important to have children listening to diverse music by diverse composers at a young age, and it's our job to expose our students to these notions within our classroom community. Music education is important in child development because music helps the brain make connections between the right and left sides. It helps connect motor and cognitive development, creativity and personality. My classroom environment will be a safe space welcoming for everyone. It's important to provide the best classroom environment as well as follow Universal Design for Learning. It is also important to be fluent in the ways that different student's intake and apply information, whether it's aurally, kinesthetically, or visually. Visuals within the music classroom contribute to success. I will be inclusive of all learners through the universal design for learning and modify my activities and instruments to allow all students to participate in music making. I will also encourage my students to participate in musical activities outside of the classroom to fulfill their creative outlet for overall mental wellbeing. 

Something that fuels my philosophy of education at its core is the story of the starfish. “As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that he was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea.  The boy came closer still and the man called out, “Good morning!  May I ask what it is that you are doing?” The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.” The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfishes on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”  The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled, and said, “It made a difference to that one!” As an educator, I must understand that my teaching theories may not make an impact on every student I teach, but if I made an impact on just one student, I will have found success as an educator.