Noor Sandhu: Philosophy of Education

My educational practice is grounded in the belief that every child is instinctively imaginative,
expressive and possesses great creative capacities. It is our duty as educators, therefore, to foster their
intrinsic love for knowledge as much as possible. In my previous teaching positions and internships,
both in the New York Public and Private chool system as well as at the !"M #orld $cademy in
%ubai, &nited $rab "mirates, I have fostered my students' creative capacities and enthusiasm for music
by encouraging them to take part in school concerts and creating their own musical compositions for
their peers to perform. #ith my primary students, I have incorporated both (he )odaly Method as well
as (he *rff $pproach of music education into my teaching+ I have successfully taught the concepts of
rhythm, structure, and musical expression through movement in keeping with )odaly's philosophy of
,eurythmics,- as well as *rff's doctrine of learning music through dance and speech.
I argue that music education is absolutely critical in schools as music surrounds every facet of
an individual.s life. It is essential to reinvigorate the imagination and innovation through music as it is
the study of music that aids our students in tackling /0st 1entury issues. Music education does not need
to have a final product or performance as a measure of its competence and success as a program.
Instead, school administrators ought to reali2e that music is a process, and has to be crafted over time.
(he amount of patience, focus, and determination re3uired in practicing and preparing a piece of music
is an important skill that students will apply to all their other sub4ects and in life after their scholastic
career. 5ather than simply relaying information to each learner, I believe it is the duty of an open6
minded music teacher to create opportunities for students to foster their own self6discovery. #hile the
teacher creates the environment for the student, it is for the student to explore it in his own way7 it is
then that the learning environment becomes student centered. (eaching is an amalgamation of
curiosity, exploration, trial and error, and patience7 it is this that creates a 3uality education.
My previous conservatory6based training at Manhattan chool of Music was primarily focused
on how to prepare the student in achieving great artistic ability. (hinking about my training there now, I
feel that the word 'ability' automatically generates a 'competitive streak' in the mind of the students. (he
Manhattan chool of Music experience involves, first and foremost, training the student to be the best
at what he does. (here is no room for experimentation, or the struggle that naturally occurs when
attempting something new7 the primary goal is perfection at one.s craft, particularly in terms of
techni3ue.
*n a day6to6day basis at Manhattan chool of Music, we would perform in front of our coaches
and peers who would criti3ue everything from the way we sang a phrase to the style of our shoes. $
shaking confidence as well as being sub4ect to humiliation in front of the class was 3uite normal7 it was
expected, and sometimes even encouraged, as the conservatory was preparation for ,life in the
business.- $lthough I undoubtedly improved vocally at Manhattan chool of Music, I am unsure now,
especially after my study at (eachers 1ollege, whether my training there did actually improve my
artistry and musicianship. tudents were considered successful at Manhattan chool of Music if they
received a principle role in the opera, or if they played 8first6chair. in the orchestra. I must say,
especially after my experience thus far at (eachers 1ollege, that the environment at Manhattan chool
of Music may be many things, but accepting is not one of them.
$s a result of my experiences at Manhattan chool of Music, when I started teaching, I still
believed that our ob4ective as music educators was to first and foremost, put on a first6rate concert with
our students7 the students would then improve exponentially in terms of their techni3ue, and that was
our primary ob4ective. $fter carefully considering what I have been exposed to thus far at (eachers
1ollege, however, I reali2e that I was blindly following what I had been taught.
(hose who have experienced conservatory6based training have been taught to create music that
follows a standard set of rules and guidelines. *ften times, therefore, the student finds himself making
music within a 8blocked box.. I have found, through my experiences at (eachers 1ollege, that it is
necessary for teachers to break down musical parameters and challenge their students to try something
new. My time here has also made evident how important it is to teach students that it is about the
message behind the work, which the artist needs room for interpretation in order to create. Is it not the
role of the composer to make the notes come to life9 (o do that, they need the space and supportive
environment to both imagine and explore their creative minds. #hen given these things, there is no
doubt that the student, or rather the ,artist,- will create something special.
#alt #hitman's Song of Myself, for example, illuminates the fact that students are not always
given the respect and belief that they are capable of making their own decisions, which are of great
value. I reali2e now that my idea of the classroom prior to my time at (eachers 1ollege had nothing to
do with having a student grow in their artistic selves and creative capacity, but rather was solely
focused on perfection. I now know that the right kind of music education, involves having a student6
centered, open classroom, which promotes self6discovery, the most important aspect of education.
imilarly, :ohn 1age.s perspective on beauty is perfect for structuring a classroom+ sometimes it
is best for us to simply experience a sound, rather than focus on understanding it completely. *nly
through this reali2ation can we ,con3uer dislike.- $lthough I sometimes still find it difficult to
understand 1age.s works, when I now listen to the way he so innovatively portrays his ideas through
his experimental music, I find myself agreeing with his beliefs+ there is no reason for a piece to not be
beautiful. ound, and therefore, music, exists wherever we are. I want to take this mentality into my
own classroom. (here is no way of escaping the variety of sounds in the world7 and even though our
students may choose to avoid them, my goal as a teacher is to have them accept what they hear, 4ust
like we are encouraged to do our classes. I now reali2e that one of the best ways to teach music is to
expose students to an array of sounds and experiences through play and experimentation. Young
children, in particular, are dynamic and imaginative geniuses, in that when they open their mouths,
sound automatically comes out. Play is also one of the main ways through which children process
information and should be encouraged as much as possible.
I think that experimenting with different sounds and genres of music stimulates the student.s
imagination and gives them the ability to en4oy music in their own way. (herefore, why can we not, as
teachers, turn the tables on the 8out of tune;in tune. concepts, and incorporate what students are
naturally trying to create themselves9 #hether it be make believe play, or simple vocali2ations, it is
crucial that we have respect for the music that inherently exists within our students. I think that the
reason society labels things as 8beautiful. or 8ugly,. is because it fails to reali2e that beauty is carried
within us all7 it is this frame of mind that needs to be trained out of students as soon as possible.
<aving lived in different parts of the world, I have developed an appreciation for a variety of
cultures, and systems of education. My early education began in the =ritish school system in India and
Nepal7 the move to the International chool of =ei4ing and my final years at the hanghai $merican
chool gave me experience of the International =accalaureate as well as the $merican International
school system. >inally, a strong foundation of the principles of teaching and learning music from
(eachers 1ollege, and my experience of teaching in the state of New York, have prepared me for the
post of music teacher at the Primary or econdary level at an established school. <owever, regardless
of one's past experiences, I think that we, as educators, have to keep in mind that, as :ohn %ewey,
argued in his How We Think, ,there is no single and uniform power of thought,- but rather a ,multitude
of different ways in which specific things . . . evoke suggestions or ideas.- Maybe there is no 8set.
principle a student has to learn when they are in class7 perhaps teaching should instead be an
amalgamation of curiosity, exploration, trial and error, and patience. (here is not a 8set path. to having
students grasp a concept, and maybe that should not even something we concern ourselves with.
5ather, I think our goal as teachers is to create an environment, as %ewey suggests, in which our
students. ,individual powers habitually express themselves.-
Perhaps one of the only ways of achieving this is by reali2ing that the teacher is never simply a
means of transmitting information. *ur roles are so much more crucial than that. %ewey posits that,
with younger children, the influence of the teacher.s personality is very closely fused with that of the
sub4ect7 there is no separation between the two, and the teacher.s influence has a great effect on both
the emotional and intellectual intelligence of the child ?%ewey, 0@0AB. I argue that this, too, will be a
part of my own 8open classroom.. <ow often has a student hated a sub4ect because of a bad teacher9 $
student.s reaction to a teacher often takes the place of his reaction to the sub4ect. I argue that a teacher.s
patience, personality, and motivation about the sub4ect is everything.
(eaching includes the act of noticing, listening, seeing and responding ?$llsup C hieh, /A0/B. I
agree that this call for reforming public music education deals with ,wide6awakeness,- where teachers
deal with larger social issues in addition to the sub4ect they teach. I, as a beginning teacher, have
always thought that music is always enough D 4ust studying and being inspired and moved by the
wonder of music is enough. =ecause of this mentality of mine, students I have had often respond with,
,o what9- ,#hy is this important9- or ,#hat difference is this going to make in my life9- 1learly, the
study of music alone is never enough D students are not in class only to learn musical skills from
teachers, but rather to shape both musical and social traditions that transform the world ?$llsup C
hieh, /A0/B. (his difference of opinion, and exposing students to the different cultures around them
must exist in order for students to receive the optimum learning experience.
I am incredibly fortunate for my time at (eachers 1ollege. In addition to rethinking the
ob4ectives of my own performances, each and every one of my courses have made me restructure my
views on education, made me see students and their intrinsic creativity in a completely different light,
and has made me see exactly how I wish to influence their future. =ecause of my experiences, and what
I have gained here, I know that I will be able to give my students the capacity for self6discovery in the
classroom, and I cannot even begin to explain how eager I am to startE