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Semester Reflection
Semester Reflection
MUED 273
Jesse Rathgeber
May 4, 2017
Semester Reflection
If anything, this semester, I exposed myself to more career paths within music more
than any other time in my life. The experiences that I journeyed through expanded my
perspective to the possibilities of how I can use my degree someday. As a class, we studied law,
psychology, media, and design. The interdisciplinary connections that music organically fosters
continue the expansion of music as a new art. Through different channels, such as YouTube
tutorials, guest speeches, designed ukulele experiences, and collaboration, music grows into
new forms. I am excited to follow these vehicles for musical expansion because they can take
me to diverse realms of music. I will continue to grow through music by exploring new online
media, creating new methods for musical expression, and collaborating with my colleagues.
As the industry of music grows, more concerns arise both from music consumers and
musicians. In the field of music education, I fear that my students will grow apathetic to music. I
consume myself with the worry that I will not retain their affection for music. I overcome my
which I do not feel comfortable. Practicum at Arc of Harrisonburg, provided a great opportunity
for me to expand my comfort zone this semester. On the day that I discovered Arc was my
practicum placement, I filled with anxiety. Working with students with severe disabilities is one
step out of my comfort zone. However, by exposing myself to that opportunity, I learned more
than I ever thought about the special education field in music. For that, I am grateful.
Looking forward, I hope to follow more possibilities within the music career. Entering
the Music Education program here at James Madison University, I wanted to teach high school
band. Then, I reached this semester. I experienced too much in music education to remain
close-minded as a want-to-be high school band director. I am steadfast in my decision that I set
forth years ago to teach high school band. However, there are many other possibilities for me
to explore. I recently declared a Music and Human Services Minor with the intentions of
exploring therapy and special education within music as a career path. All I can confidently
declare is that I truly do not know where music is taking me. I am not giving up on my goal to
teach high school band. Yet, I know I have a larger purpose in other fields of music education. I
plan to take the next two years to find my niche within education and within music.
I strive to enjoy music. The time I spend in college, studying, practicing, analyzing music
is the ultimate test to my love for the art itself. I find inspiration in hurdling the obstacle of
overthinking music. This semester presented many challenges on my ability to enjoy music. I
can proudly say that I love music even more now but, not without hardship. As music students,
we are bombarded by music until we fall from exhaustion. I seek solace in finding new music
that I enjoy. Currently, I enjoy the music of Philip Glass and things that are subtle and diatonic.
Regarding education, I started this semester lost in the question, Why?. Why should I
teach? Why am I pursuing education? Why music? One might find these questions worrisome,
as I did. You spend years of your life knowing what you want, then one day you start
rather than submitting to the doubts that I had. I explored new instruments, talked with my
peers, and dedicated myself to persevering. This semester, I realized the why. I expanded my
horizons and learned that music is not a binary concept. Music is a rippling ring of water on the
surface of a pond, always expanding. I was too caught up in the image of what I wanted to do
that I never asked myself what I could do. These two are not one in the same.
I remain motivated by my future students. Knowing that someday, children will count on
me to give them the musical experience of a lifetime pushes me to learn the best I can. I use the
slight fear of failing my future students as a motive to make sure I never fail them. I cannot
know everything there is to know about music. However, I can know how to attain information,
ask questions, and explore new ideas. I hope to inspire my students to do that same.
I reflect on my experience with JMUke as an opportunity to grow. With this event and
the curriculum behind it, I created a tutorial video, visuals aids, an experience design, a
collaborative plan, and learned ukulele. The events themselves taught me the most valuable
lesson I have learned thus far: be adaptable. I learned to completely abandon the work that
took several hours to create for something spontaneous and adaptive. Though I hope my plans
will always work, I now know how to adapt to an environment to create a lesson that is more
4. Communicate
Effective communication between teacher, administration, students, and parents can
change how well a classroom runs. Interacting between groups is essential for
learning. Whether it is logistics or teaching students how to interact with music,
communicate. It expedites every process when you communicate.
5. Question everything
Use your curiosity as a catalyst for seeking answers. Never stop at the unknown.
Transform the unknown into the known by simply asking questions and pondering.
Encourage you students to never stop asking questions and to always demand reason.
Life with reason is chaotic. To fully understand a subject, we must question everything
about that subject until we know.
8. Accept everyone
In this era of self-discovery and self-identification, we must not forget that every
student is unique. Whether it is learning ability, sexual orientation, gender, or race, we
are all in it for the music. Find what connects us (music) and use it as a tool for self-
expression.
9. Love music
It is almost obvious that music educators love music. However, we must deliberately
continue to connect with music to demonstrate to our students that music is worth
the time. If we cannot learn to love music for its intrinsic value, then we cannot expect
the same from our students.
10. Inspire
I chose to be a music educator because I wanted to inspire others like my teachers
inspired me. To inspire you students means to enrich their lives with and open their
perspective in music. Inspiration is as simple as giving students the opportunity to
explore music for themselves. Sometimes, inspiration comes in unknown forms.