Teaching Philosophy

Teaching Philosophy

Samantha Belinski

Dr. Cape

Art of Teaching Music II

11 December, 2020
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Abstract

This paper will discuss different philosophical ideas when it comes to Music Education

that were discussed in the fall semester in the class Art of Teaching Music II at Westminster

Choir College. Different questions will be answered regarding teaching music in schools, and

these answers will be drawn from the knowledge gained about different music education

philosophies: Aestheticism, Praxialism, Critical Pedagogy, and Utilitarianism. The main

questions that will be answered are Why should music be studied in schools? Who should study

music? What music should be studied? and What should a comprehensive school music

education program entail?

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Teaching Philosophy

Music Education was brought to public schools for the first time in Boston,

Massachusetts in 1838 by Lowell Mason, who is also known as the “Father of Music Education”.

Since then, several philosophies about Music Education have been created, and there are many

different ideas when it comes to how music should be taught and why it is important. This paper

will focus on the differing ideas of these philosophies as I describe my own philosophy while

answering four main questions: Why should music be studied in schools? Who should study

music? What music should be studied? and Broadly, what should a comprehensive music

education program entail?

To begin, it is important to first look at why music education is important to study in

school. Lowell Mason believed in the philosophical idea of Utilitarianism, which is the belief

that music makes us smarter beings and there are so many benefits of music that can be found

outside of the classroom. I also share this belief, and I have found several examples of these

benefits, even if those who learn music do not become musicians after school. Through music,

we are able to learn about different cultures and develop an appreciation for other types of music

and other groups of people. The article “Music Education Benefits” by Edward Droscher

describes this, stating “Music is a part of our society and a part of all communities - every human

culture uses music to carry forward its ideas and ideals”. Not only this, but having the

opportunity to study music “provides… an internal glimpse of other cultures and teaches

[people] to be empathetic towards the people of these cultures”. Music is a way for different

cultures to express its values and ideas and looking at the music of other cultures can create a

sense of respect from one culture to another, and I think that these are very important ideas that

can be taught through music. Music also has benefits on the body, and Sharon Bryant describes
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some of these in her article “Benefits of Learning and Playing Music for Adults”. She explains

that “A Stanford study shows that music engages areas of the brain which are involved with

paying attention, making predictions, and updating events in our memory” and “Musicians are

found to have superior working memory compared to non-musicians”. Additionally, “...

participants who listened to upbeat classical compositions by Aaron Copland, while actively

trying to feel happier, felt their moods lift more than those who passively listened to the music”.

These are all examples of some of the benefits music can have on individuals, even if they are

not musicians as the Aaron Copland examples shows. Many more benefits of music education

were also discussed in Art of Teaching Music I, and it is because of these that I believe music

should be taught in schools not only because it is an important subject to learn but because music

education has positive benefits on the students that can be seen outside of the music classroom,

which lines up with the Utilitarianism philosophy.

It is also necessary to answer the question, Who should study music? Music is a subject

and set of skills that everyone should learn because of its importance, as mentioned previously.

An answer to this question can be found through looking at Paulo Freire’s ideas of Critical

Pedagogy. Critical Pedagogy is a music education philosophy that talks about honoring the

students’ world and meeting them where they are, entering into an equal partnership between the

students and teachers, and giving everyone the opportunity to learn. I personally believe in all of

these ideas as well, and I believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn. My

reasoning for this coincides with my answer to the first question, Why should music be studied

in schools? As previously discussed, music education has countless benefits both inside and

outside of the classroom, and I believe that every student should have the opportunity to

experience these benefits. I think it would not only be difficult to determine which students
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should have the right to learn about music but it would be wrong to deny certain students the

positive experiences that will come from a music education program and to deny them the

chance to learn skills that will be useful in all aspects of their lives. The Praxialism philosophy

and its leader, David Elliot, also believe that all students should learn music, and Elliot describes

music as a “human activity” (39) in the chapter from Music Matters - A New Philosophy of

Music Education that was read and discussed in Art of Teaching Music II. Both Freire’s and

Elliot’s belief that everyone should learn is absolutely right in my opinion, and I think that this

applies to all subjects, not just music.

When looking at what types of music to teach students, it is important to include a variety

of genres and composers in order to not only give students a well-rounded music education, but

to also honor their worlds and cultures and the types of music that normally surround them. I

think that this can best be done through using the ideas of Praxialism. Praxial classrooms have a

heavy emphasis on performance, but teachers using this philosophy also believe that all music

should be studied. Different types of music allow students to understand different genres and

understand that music is, and should be, diverse. As teachers, we would be biased to choose one

type of music over another and describe it as “more important” music. Elliot discusses this idea

in Music Matters - A New Philosophy of Music Education and states, “We must use them all. We

must consider all these dimensions and their interrelationships as they contribute to our

understanding of the nature and significance of music as a diverse human practice” (45). I

believe that this is a very important idea to have. All different types of music should be studied

to expose students to other cultures and perspectives, but also to allow each student to feel

represented. Having a heavy focus on Western music, like the Aestheticism philosophy has, is

not beneficial to every student because they are not learning about these differing ideas. In
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addition, those students who do not come from a Western background might feel unappreciated

or feel as if their culture is not “good enough” to be studied, and this is something that should

never happen in a classroom. I agree with the Praxialist ideas on what type of music should be

studied and I think that these beliefs also line up with Critical Pedagogy and the idea of honoring

the student’s world. Each child comes from a different background with different beliefs, so it’s

important to honor all of their previous experiences and teach a well-rounded music education

using all music, not just Western music.

Finally, a comprehensive music education program should include a variety of different

activities and lessons in order to give the students a well-rounded music education and to

accommodate the many different needs and learning styles that will be found in the class. In Art

of Teaching Music I, Howard Gardner’s ideas about multiple intelligences were discussed.

Gardner believes that there are nine different types of intelligences: spatial, naturalist,

intra-personal, musical, logical-mathematical, existential, interpersonal, bodily-kinesthetic, and

linguistic. Each intelligence has its own strengths and weaknesses, but he believed that each

person is intelligent in one or many of these categories and everyone is different when it comes

to their skills. McCarthy’s four different learning styles (Imaginative, Analytic, Common Sense,

and Dynamic) were also discussed along with Gardner’s ideas. Just by looking at these different

intelligences and learning styles, it is clear that every student is not the same and every student

will not learn or show their understanding in the same way. This is why a music education

program should include a variety of activities and lessons in order to meet the needs of all

students. In Art of Teaching Music II, “The Application of Critical Pedagogy to Music Teaching

and Learning” by Frank Abrahams and Chapter 2 of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed

were both read and discussed to gain a deeper understanding of Critical Pedagogy. Critical
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Pedagogy believes that teachers and students should be engaged in an equal partnership that

allows learning to occur on both sides and that learning should be flexible, but there is also a

sequence that should be followed. This sequence can be changed or modified to accommodate

the students needs because, again, learning should be flexible, but this sequence allows students

to be engaged in a variety of activities and lessons: Honoring the students’ world, sharing the

experience, connecting their world to the concept, dialoguing together, practicing the concept,

connecting word to world, assessing the learning transformation, and acknowledging the learning

transformation. It is my belief that this sequence should be followed to allow different types of

learning to take place as well as to allow the students and teacher to be engaged in an equal

partnership that allows them to learn from each other, and many of my beliefs regarding the way

a music education program should be structured line up with ideas of Critical Pedagogy. I agree

with Aestheticism that music listening is important and with Praxialism that music performance

is important, but I do not think these activities are the most important areas of music and I think

that learning should be flexible, not just for music but for all subjects.

To conclude, my own philosophy of music education draws ideas from Utilitarianism,

Praxialism, and Critical Pedagogy. Music education should be available to all students because

of the positive benefits and skills that students can gain both inside and outside of school, and

music should be taught through a variety of genres, activities, and lessons while realizing that the

learning process should be flexible and accommodate the needs of the students. As I continue my

own music education, I am excited to see how my own ideas and perceptions grow when it

comes to my philosophy of music education, and I think that these different ideas and beliefs are

important to discuss so we can figure out what kind of teacher we want to be in the future.
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Bibliography

Abrahams, F. (n.d.). The Application of Critical Pedagogy to Music Teaching and Learning.

Visions of Research in Music Education, 6, 1-14. http://www.rider.edu/~vrme

Bryant, S. (2014, June 1). Benefits of Learning and Playing Music for Adults. NAMM

Foundation. Retrieved December 10, 2020, from

www.nammfoundation.org/articles/2014-06-01/benefits-learning-and-playing-music-adul

ts?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlcXe3_706QIVAWyGCh3LYAUlEAAYASAAEgIhJPD_BwE.

Droscher, E. (2014, November 25). Music Education Benefits. National Association for Music

Education. Retrieved December 10, 2020, from nafme.org/music-education-benefits/.

Elliot, D. (1995). Toward a New Philosophy. In Music Matters - A New Philosophy of Music

Education (pp. 18-45). Oxford University Press.

Freire, P. (1970). Chapter 2. In Pedagogy of the Oppressed (pp. 71-76). New York: Continuum.