For ERIN
In Tim Lautenziheiser’s video You Make the Difference a number of points are raised that should encourage music educators and those aspiring to become music educators to reflect on themselves before entering a classroom. He emphasizes the importance of attitude in the classroom and speaks about how the way one thinks can determine the outcome of a given situation. I believe the majority of his insights are both valid and relevant to music educators.
An educator plays an intricate role in the life of their students. Children and adolescents spend an immense amount of time in a classroom being influenced not only by their peers but by their teachers. As the controller in the environment, the way a teacher presents themselves to the students has an impact on them. Being a teacher is not solely about imparting knowledge to your students; as Tim Lautenziheiser says, it is more personal than that. You impress upon them some of yourself, for better or for worse.
I agree with Lautenziheiser on the topic of the attitude of an instructor. He really pushes ideas that you are able to achieve what you believe you can and that your day will go as you believe it will. This is relevant to teaching because if you go into a classroom with an expectation that they will be disruptive and unco-operative, you will receive different results than if you believe they will be engaged for the duration of the lesson. I believe it to be important to enter with a positive attitude and a cheerful demeanor if only to keep your students in a good mood. It is very true that the attitude of the teacher is, in a way, contagious.
The topic of humor in the classroom came up during Lautenziheiser’s lecture, for which I’m glad. I don’t believe the classroom necessarily has to be a quiet, reserved space for students to be handed information. While there is a time for reservation, students should feel comfortable being expressive and should always feel engaged in the learning process. A laugh can break tension, perhaps loosen a person’s inhibitions and potentially inspire them into contributing. Lautenziheiser quotes B.F. Skinner in saying, "In the presence of job, people learn three to four times faster." I think that this is relevant because when a person is a part of a good, enjoyable environment, it is easier for them to feel they can accomplish what the teacher has set out for them
I enjoyed the part of the video where Tim Lautenziheiser spoke about motivating factors for choosing employment. I couldn’t imagine choosing a job solely because of salary or freetime. What caused me to decide to take this path is thinking "What will help me maintain a level of happiness in my life and what will I be content with doing for the duration of my life?" Money will not make a person happy, at least not for long, and I would rather be making some sort of small difference in the world than to just have idle time. I agree with the video where it says we have to be in it for more than these things because it takes a special motivation and passion to teach effectively and to commit to teaching a music program. Reflecting on my high school experiences, the most effective teachers I had from whom I learned the most were the teachers that were passionate about what they were teaching and who loved their subjects so much, they would go out of their way to help us in our learning.
One part of Tim Lautenziheiser’s lecture that I didn’t agree with was where he spoke about how many high school students attempt suicide. The statistic he gave was one in ten which is a believable statistic. For interest’s sake, I looked on a Canadian government website that focused on this and found this fraction to be accurate. In fact, it says that approximately half of all teenagers think about suicide, 10-12% attempt it and 1-2% succeed in killing themselves (Shaver). The part of HIS argument that I don’t agree with is the part where he states that music students don’t try to kill themselves. I don’t believe this is a fair statement. Just because a student is in music class and has rehearsal and is "needed" does not dictate their mental state and how other aspects of their lives are effecting them. Perhaps I’m taking his argument too literally though. I can see how an involved music teacher that connects with their students and lets them know they are worthwhile may help keep their students spirits up and their outlook positive. There may also be a level of trust built between teacher and student that makes the student feel like they could go to that person if they were to need help or just someone to talk to. This is not within the job description of a music teacher and yet now we find ourselves back to the idea of how music educators put a lot of themselves into their teaching.
As an aspiring music educator, I must admit that what was covered in this video kind of opened my eyes further to the type of commitment and work ethic I would be required to achieve as a teacher. Being a music teacher is not just about showing up for class, tossing out a few theory terms and then going home. What this video made me realize the most is that we must be prepared to be an influence in the lives of these students, and hopefully a positive one. This is a gigantic responsibility that music educators undertake and I have realized that I will have to commit myself to becoming as well prepared as possible before I can allow myself to become this sort of influence. There is a professionalism in a teacher’s classroom attitude that is not something that can be taught; it is a state of mind that must be understood.
Tim Lautenziheiser gave an inspiring lecture that really caused me to think about how a music educator can truly make a difference in the lives of their students. He further encouraged me to be mindful of my attitudes and how they effect my life and how these same personal attitudes can go on to effect the life of a student. Although I didn’t always agree with what he seemed to be saying, this video had a lot of offer. His insights are not only relevant to music educators, they can be applied as essential life lessons for any individual.