Christina Colletti
The following links are my copies of a high school band handbook and monthly planning reminders for high school and middle school. I've taken much time in developing my band handbook after reviewing several handbooks of successful high school programs. I've designed mine to follow my philosophy in music education. It has all the requirements and expectations that I would require from my own high school bands. The planning documents are brief reminders of what I will be doing each month in the school year. I would like to thank Mr. Bill Castillo for helping me with my middle school monthly planning list and Mr. John LaCognata for helping me with the high school monthly planning list.
High School Monthly Planning Teaching Philosophy
Through education, it is expected that children start developing responsibility, cognitive development, healthy self – esteem, and a well rounded, diverse view of the world. Music education is an essential part of this process. It may be the only subject in which the student will practice several types of intelligence, responsibility, independence, music appreciation and initiative every day of the school year. Therefore, I believe it is the responsibility of the school to provide every student with an opportunity to take classes such as band, chorus, music appreciation, music theory, jazz band, music technology, and more. The opportunity to take such classes is necessary in order for students to acquire a well rounded education . My goal is to have a variety of teaching techniques available to accommodate all students in learning these different subjects. They will learn about the major genres, composers and cultures of music and will develop other types of intelligence including; linguistics, logical, musical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal. It is also a priority to include the national and state standards in the curriculum to achieve academic excellence. These serve as continuous expectations that should be met in order for students to receive a quality education.
Not only should all students receive the opportunity to be in the music program, a music program is important to even those who are not directly involved. Musical ensembles are an essential part to the school environment and a tradition among certain events in the school. These ensembles are one way of showing the schools reputation in support for the arts and for student growth. They represent the school at community events, parades, festivals, contests, competitions, and other local and state events outside of school.
Although it may be a tradition or beneficial for the school for the music program to appear at certain events, the best interest of the student's education is first considered. There are a lot of performances for students to be apart of, but it is important not to burn out the students and band parents with extraneous performances. For those performances that are chosen, it is a great way to show the community how students are spending their time in an educational and inviting atmosphere. Performances are fun for the students and the audience and the aesthetic experiences the children will receive will be of greater value to them then extrinsic things such as grades or trophies. It is important to the school and the students that performances are a continued success and a worthy educational experience.
Competition is a motivator and nothing more. In order to make sure that competition may stimulate the growth of self improvement in the students and the teacher, it is important that students understand the educational value of their performance. Music teachers often mislead students into thinking competition is something other then a motivator, so it is important to keep competition in perspective and not use it as a tool to beet another component or be better then someone else. It is simply a way of motivating students to strive for a goal in themselves and their ensemble. Students should have fun when they perform and not worry about the reward in the end but rather the reward they are getting out of their performance. That is a healthy competitive spirit in which can be useful to the children's future.
Although auditions may become competitive, they are also assessment tools. I believe assessments should be made continuously through-out the students learning process. There should be daily, weekly, individual, ensemble, formal and informal assessments. Frequent assessments should be made to help identify how the students learn best and what they need from the teacher to help enhance their musical education. Although auditions may be one way of assessing student progress, I can not base judgment solely on one performance as every performance is different.
In order for students to do well in performance or class, they need to understand their expectations. They will better understand expectations if a well structured rehearsal and environment is apparent. A typical rehearsal structure should consist of the students preparing for rehearsal, having a rehearsal outline visible by the instructor, going over any important announcements or upcoming events, warming up, and rehearsing through problematic areas in the music. Having a steady routine will ensure every students participation in the activity and will quickly solve any classroom management issues that may arise. When the students understand the expectations and have a well organized agenda, there will be less questions and confusion and more time to accomplish our goals.
Music Education is rewarding for parents to see in their students and therefore will encourage parental support. The parent's involvement in the band program is very important for the student's success. First of all they are a huge influence on their students. Secondly, the parents are needed for things that I personally could not achieve alone, but are never the less important. Band parents and their leadership are very helpful in areas such as chaperoning, fitting uniforms, setting up stage and equipment, and most of all fundraising. Fundraising is the only way a band program may survive by supporting activities, commission new music, summer camps, private lessons and special clinics.
Safety is the number one priority while traveling, so having parents around can make safety less of a concern. Chaperones are helpful to have on buses, in hotels, during trips to away football games, over night tours, and festivals. It's a great way to have the parents be apart of their children's education and a big help to the students and staff. Things that are preferred in a music program can really be attainable through the help of the parents. Although parents acquire important roles with the band program, I do believe that I am the music professional in the school and that all ideas must be approved by the principle and/or I before action is taken.
Because of music education, students will be able to explain and demonstrate basic musical elements such as rhythm, dynamics, timbre, balance, blend, form, melody, harmony and intonation. I also believe that a certain level of reading music and playing technique is required and should be accomplished by the student in order to function as independent musicians. Proper technique in posture, embouchure, aperture, breathe support, and fingerings will be explained and expected in everyday practice.
Aside from technique, terminology, and reading music, perhaps the most rewarding part of being a musician is the aesthetic experiences. Students will experience feelings they have never felt and they will also find that playing music will be an outlet to some feelings they are currently experiencing. It is my job to provide an atmosphere that is nurturing, inviting and comfortable for the students to explore music for themselves. A neat, organized room and a positive atmosphere will invite students to make musical errors so they may learn from them, take a chance at their intuitions and test out their ideas. They will explore their minds and their hearts without being punished and therefore become better musicians and better people for trying. When students learn to play with emotions, they have learned the greatest gift of music.
In order to acquire such experiences, it is necessary to have a wide variety of musical repertoire available. Deciding what music to play is like deciding what novel to assign for reading class. I want to give the students top quality reading material that they will love and learn from. There is a variety of well arranged compositions and more to come through current composers. Having a variety of music from different time periods and different cultures is essential in music education because musical styles have and will constantly change. It is also important to provide a variety of levels of music for the students to grow and enhance their musicianship. Music of different genres and different levels of difficulty can be organized into a successful program for students to learn and grow from. By providing worthy and fun material for the students to learn, they will develop motivation and interest in learning and playing more music.
Although having all of these resources available for student's education, they will be quite limited by the teachers' strategies, therefore; it is important that I constantly seek for self improvement. It is important to me as a person and as a teacher to work with other people to help students get the most out of music education. This includes working with staff who are highly educated on the subject and other individuals who are not familiar with the music world and could bring new and helpful insight to the program. I believe this will help improve the way I teach and will also give my students a different experience. I also plan to seek advice from professional organizations, clinics, experienced musical directors, and coworkers. Constant self improvement is the only way to continuously provide a quality education for students today.
As it is palpable, music education is an active program in the school that requires a lot of attention but is necessary for the student's education. Having available courses, supportive band parents and administration, a structured rehearsal and environment, and a well handled program and financial business, are important factors. Students will be challenged with the responsibility of learning about themselves and music. I know that I will be a major part of this process and I believe that while children are learning from me I will always be learning from them. Therefore passing down the magic of working together and learning through music is consistent in the classroom. It can be one of the most exhilarating experiences for a child while they develop to their fullest potential.
Teaching Philosophy