Final Presentation Topic

My topic I am choosing to do my final presentation on is a language arts topic. The topic is finding the main idea in nursery rhymes.

Teachers paid based on student performance

I do not believe that teachers should be paid based upon whether or not their students are performing well or not. There are a few reasons for this. One reason is because some students simply do not want to be in school so they will not participate or listen so they will not perform very well no matter how hard a teacher tries. Another reason is because some areas may perform better than others. For instance, one school may have lower income families that go there and statistics show that they perform lower. Another school, perhaps with higher income may perform better. These schools may be in the same district so it is not fair for teachers to have to be paid differently based on student performance. Also, some students may be behind from previous teachers so they will not perform as well since they are not caught up to the material that you should be covering at that grade level.

Teachers Unions and tenure

I feel as if teachers unions and tenure are both good and bad ideas. They are good because they protect the teachers if they are falsely accused of something they did not do. It's awful when something like this happens and it is really hard to be able to afford a lawyer on a teachers salary so teachers unions are great for great teachers! However, every once in awhile there will be a "bad seed" teacher who really needs to be fired and kick out the school districts and it is nearly impossible to do so because they have tenure and the teachers union they belong to will protect them. Overall, I believe who ever created or had the idea of teachers unions and tenure had the right idea but I do not think it was thought through very well and still has a few kinks in the ideas.

Balance

In today's society, it is very hard to balance things. Most people think they can multitask and end up taking on more than they can handle. A lot of students enjoy being a part of something at school such as a sport, drama, choir, or any other extra curricular activities. In fact, at my high school it was a requirement for all freshman and incoming transfer students to partake in at least one extra curricular activity. The motives behind it were something along the lines of "if we were involved in school activities, we would be able to enjoy school more and be less likely to drop out or become depressed or feel left out" It is a great idea to be involved because then you can feel a sense of community. However, sometimes students become a little too involved and allow sports and other extra curricular activities to take over school and they become distracted. In my high school, in order to balance out sports and school, we could not participate in games, meets, or events if we had more than 2 D's in our classes or 1 F. We could partake in the activities once we got our grades up but until then, we were placed on academic probation. This is one way to balance extra-curricular activities with our expectiations in the elementary classroom in a Sports-Driven society.

Introduction of Instruments

There is an "appropriate" time for students to be introduced to musical instrumentals. This is because at a certain time, children's skills are developed enough to be able to perform and learn new instruments.
Instruments such as the Kazoo and rhythm sticks should be introduced first because they require less fine motor skills and more gross motor skills. Instruments such as the finger cymbals, I think, are sort of a "gateway" instrument that bridges the gap between gross and fine motor skills instruments and should be introduced after kazoos and rhythm sticks. I think that the recorder and xylophone are a little more complicated and deal with fine motor skills so they should definitely be introduced after the other instruments. If a teacher just jumps right in with a recorder, students will feel stressed out and defeated because they have not worked their way up and to spring an instrument that requires such skills on an innocent student is simply not fair to them.

Carl Orff

I think that Carl Orff's philosophies would be perfect for the 21st century child. I think this because his philosophies allow students to experience music at their own level of understanding. Today, it is very important to understand that not every student understands things the same ways. This particular statement is very important because it allows students to experience the knowledge in a way they can understand

importance of sequential learning

In the general classroom, sequential learning is very important. Sequential learning basically means learning in order. If a student learns in order, they will be more likely to actually learn the material. If a student is not taught in order, they may become confused and not learn the material. A lot of topics, such as learning music, need to be learned step by step starting from the most basic elements and building their way to more complicated material and elements.

Rote learning steps
1. sing the song together while tapping a steady beat
2. use hand signs to sing the song
3. practice moving fingers in the air while singing
4. play the song on the piano, one phrase at a time

Educational Philosophy in alignment with student needs and national/state standards

My philosophy of education consists of various beliefs that I believe a professional educator should agree with. They are designed so that I can be the best teacher I can be. I feel as if teachers need to be flexible and allow the students to learn in the best way they can. My philosophy of education consists of various methods and beliefs stating the best way to help students. I feel as if it is important that students needs are meet and if you read my educational philosophy, you can clearly see just that.

Impression of Music Therapy

I most likely have encountered music therapy and did not realize it. From what I read, it seems like it is very beneficial and students enjoy it. It has a number of social benefits such as increased attention, improved behavior, decreased agitation, and increased socialization. As far as reading and literacy skills, I read that one of the outcomes is improved receptive and expressive language. It also says that it can improve word recognition, logo identification, print concepts, and prewriting skills of children in early intervention programs. Social problem solving skills in kindergarten aged students are increased on a long-term basis through through musical therapy.

Experience/Perception with Special Education

Very recently I saw a video of this father whose special needs child was being harassed by his special education teachers. It completely disgusted me! This poor innocent child was unable to communicate and let anyone know what was going on because of his condition. If you are interested here is the video...
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/25/11389266-dad-wires-up-autistic-son-10-to-expose-bullying-by-teaching-staff?lite

Cases such as these push me that much further to become the best teacher I can be and not allow something like this to happen.
Other than the bad cases that are on the news every once in a while, overall, I believe that special education today in America is a fairly decent program. It could use some work, but overall, it is a fairly good program. Some students are being pulled into special education programs that do not necessarily need to be simply because they are not focusing in the classroom because they are distracted.

As educators, we meet the needs of differentiated learners by adapting and enabling every one of our students to be able to learn. If they are not learning by our methods, as educators, it is our duty to change our methods and allow the students to learn. I feel like many teachers do this, and are therefore meeting the needs of differentiated learners.

bloom's taxonomy vs. nine national standards for music education

Bloom's Taxonomy


Nine National Standards for Music Education
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. 
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. 
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments. 
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines. 
5. Reading and notating music. 
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music. 
7. Evaluating music and music performances. 
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts. 
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.


Bloom's Taxonomy and the nine national standards for music education are tied together. Many of the standards fit right in to Bloom's Taxonomy. The ninth standard: understanding music in relation to history and culture is synthesis. Reading and Notating music goes with comprehension. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music ties in with analysis. These are just a few examples of how these standards and Bloom's taxonomy are tied together. The difference between the two is the standards go more in depth and give examples of the levels in Bloom's Taxonomy. Bloom's taxonomy is basically levels of knowledge, each level goes more in depth. 

Terms

cognitive learning: The process by which learners acquire knowledge, beliefs, facts, and thinking skills.
cooperative learning: an approach to organizing classroom activities into academic and social learning experiences.
eurhythmics: the interpretation in harmonious bodily movements of the rhythm of musical compositions; used to teach musical understanding.
multiple intelligence theory: proposed by Howard Gardner in 1983 to explore and articulate various forms or expressions of intelligence available to cognition.
rote learning: memorization by repetition
think-pair-share: a strategy designed to provide students with "food for thought" on a given topic enabling them to formulate individual ideas and share these ideas with another student
checking for understanding: viewing work samples, providing opportunities for performance, and broadening the definition of testing and assessment beyond a grade-giving function

Teacher Education for the Arts Discipline

ASSERTION #2

The art of teaching the arts means far more than getting students to see the arts as “nice” or “fun.” It means providing them with in-depth access to the content of the arts as academic disciplines.

QUESTIONS FOR DECISION MAKERS

• In light of the Standards, what content elements of the teacher preparation process, in terms of the arts disciplines themselves, now require more focus or attention (e.g., basic and advanced skills in creation, performance, analysis, and integration; knowledge of historical, analytical, and cultural dimensions; breadth of knowledge across the arts)?
•  the relationship of the teacher to the education system
• depth versus breadth
• the use of time as a crucial instrumental resource 
• the use of technology in teaching art
• In light of the Standards, what content elements, in terms of other disciplines, now require more, or less, focus or attention?
• standards in dance, music, theatre and the visual arts will require more focus and attention

9 National Standards for Music Education

1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
5. Reading and notating music.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.

Questions 1-8

1.  How do you use music in YOUR life?

I listen to music every day. It helps me focus and keeps me entertained and relaxed at the same time. When I am driving or cleaning or doing homework I am usually listening to music.

2. What musical activities and interests did you have as a child?

In elementary school I was in the church choir for about 2 years and I was in Women's Chorus in high school for a year. I would put on a little show every summer with my neighborhood friends when I was little and we would dance and sing to music in our front yards. I always dreamed of becoming a huge superstar singer when I grew up but knew I never had the courage to actually sing in front of a group of people

3.  Have you observed children at musical play?

When I babysat years ago I made up this game I called American Idol and the kids and I would act like we were trying out to be on the show and we would take turns judging and singing. So, yes I have observed children at musical play

4.  Are there some musical skills you are able to teach to children more easily than others?

Personally, I have a hard time keeping a rhythm or beat. I can clap a beat pretty well until I have to start singing along with it then it all just goes down the drain! So I would be able to teach a variety of musical skills, but I would have difficulty intertwining them.

5.  What do you think that all children should be able to do, musically, as a result of a MUSICAL education?

As a result of a musical education, I think all children should be able to sing basic tunes and rhymes

6.  Have you ever observed a teacher integrating music into the classroom?  Cite examples.

The only observing of music integration in the classroom that I have encountered was today in class when you made us sing with the puppets and the other various activities

7.  How do you think music can be integrated into the elementary classroom?

I think that music can be integrated into the elementary classroom in a variety of ways. It could be listening to soft music while the students are napping or during downtime. Little jingles can be created to help students learn better. The possibilities are endless!

8.  How do you think music can be used as an interdisciplinary tool in the elementary classroom?

Music can be used as an interdisciplinary tool in the elementary classroom by singing instructions like "1. 2. 3. Eyes on me!"