General Music Lesson: Take Two

Today I had the unique opportunity to redo my 10 minute lesson. We were all given the option of changing our lesson how ever we wanted (or we could keep it the same) for the second run through. The point was to take the knowledge we gained from the first experience and use it to improve our ability to deliver a lesson.

I chose to keep some of the aspects of my lesson (the activity) but develop the procedure and make the lesson more well rounded. While I wouldn't say it went perfectly, as I still made mistakes and there was certainly more ways I could have improved, I think I reached my goal of improvement. This time around I have a better imitation to the lesson and I stated the objective to the students early on, both aspects I had left out the first time around. I then moved into the activity which involved a "passing the beat" telephone like game. Once again I gave the students the directions and checked for understanding. When I realized that I had an odd number of students, three of them volunteered to sit out which I allowed them to do, and I really wish I hadn't. I could've and should've found another way that they could assist or still participate in the lesson, after all, that's what I would have to do in real life. I think the order of the game flowed more than the last time but I made a mistake in the first round when I forgot to tell the students the meter and number of mesaures, something I told them I would give them. In spite of this, the students were almost all able to figure it out and once I realized the mistake I corrected myself on every other "round". I also think I should have come up with more simple rhythms, some of them were a little tricky.

Overall, I am really glad I got to do this and I'm even more glad that I got to watch my classmates get up and do this. I go to school with a lot of really good future music educators and it was cool to see how everyone taught, differently but effectively. It certainly gave me ideas and helped me to grow. Thank you to all of my peers for a great semester. It's been a pleasure working with and getting to know you. I can't wait to call you colleagues.

Building an Audience

As music educators, how can be build an audience? Should we worry about building one, or does it happen naturally?

I remember, when I was a student at CCSU, every music major was required to attend a specific number of concerts throughout each semester. This was a way to ensure that every performance had a audience and every person supported, heard, and saw their peers and mentors perform. A simple structure that "killed two birds with one stone" so to speak where everyone benefited. The down side to this? Any music major knows that their major is just about the busiest one imaginable. We take anywhere from 8-12 classes a semester, rehearse, practice, perform, and sometimes even work. When every minute of every day is accounted for, it makes taking an hour or two to attend a concert a frustrating task at times. As much as I always enjoyed a good concert, I'll be the first to admit that if this requirement had not been in place, I probably would not have attended half as many concerts during my undergrad as I did and not due to lack of interest but rather lack of time.

Why do I bring this up? Not to complain about having to attend concerts that I loved going to. Not to advertise the h*ll that music majors go through. But rather, to make the point that everyone is busy.

That is the reality of the world we live in. We have our jobs, our families, our relationships, our studies, and the very little and precious "us" time that we cling to for dear life and the fact is, the lives of our fantasy audience members is just as important to them as ours is to us. So how do we make taking the time to attend a public school concert a priority? We want our kids to perform for a good size audience. We want their families, their teachers, and the community to want to see and hear them perform. But with life always getting in the way, how can we build our audience?

For one thing, we advertise! A lot! We build up the music, we build up our students, we build up incentives. We make our concert the place to be. We schedule them at a convenient time and place, we make the admission free, maybe we even sell things during intermission. We impress upon student's families and our colleagues how much we appreciate their attendance and we work to make every concert an enjoyable experience that people want to come back to and one that our students are proud of.

The truth is, we can't guarantee an audience- no one can. But what we can do, is understand that life is busy and do our best to get our concerts put on the list of priority.

10 Minutes of General Music Instruction- A Reflection

Today in my secondary methods class I had the opportunity to get up a teach 10 minutes of the 3 day lesson that I had written on "rhythm". For my 10 minutes I decided that I wanted to have the students do an activity that used their knowledge of rhythms in compound meter.

Overall, I think I had a good lesson planned but I could have executed it better than I did. While I think I was confident and clear in my instructions, I made two noticeable mistakes. The first mistake was not having a clear on the objective of the lesson. The point was to have students recognize, memorize, perform, and write rhythms that they had been practicing in compound meter. I think that if I had done a few things even slightly differently the objective would have been more clear and there would have been a better understanding among the students as to what they were doing. I should have set more restrictions on the lesson, this was my second mistake. I originally told the class that it was going to be common rhythms in compound meter but I wasn't going to tell them the time signature or the number of measures. After a minute I realized that this was too challenging and they would be more successful with a little more information. I then told them that the rhythms would be in 6/8 time and two measures long. By narrowing down the objective like this, the students were quickly more engaged and successful.

I think I planned a good activity that when put in the right context is really good for helping students put their knowledge to practical use. I just need to be more clear, in both my own head as well as the way I explain to the students, about what I specifically want to accomplish and how it's going to happen.

Creating A Love Of Music

I once had a college professor who compared teaching music to Santa Claus. Yes, you read that correctly; Santa Claus.

On the morning of my first day of leadership camp, my college band director asked me to close my eyes and try to remember what it was like when I was a little kid and I still believed Santa was real. She encouraged me to recapture that feeling of pure magic. That feeling of safety, hope, trust and love. The sense of security that whatever I wanted, Santa had the power to deliver no matter how hard or impossible it seemed. That feeling that there's someone out there who you can trust to lead you. That, she said, is how a music teacher should make their students feel about music.

She then went on to explain that we all start off innocent and willing to believe that music is magical in it's ability to take us to a unique place where no one else and nothing else can go, just like a child believing in Santa. Then when we get a little older, we eventually realize that Santa isn't real. He's not an all-knowing mystical figure, but rather represented by a real person made of flesh and bone. And while we are a little disappointed, we still feel that sense of gratitude towards the person (or people) working tirelessly to make us believe. And then some day, if we are blessed enough to be given the chance, we become Santa Claus so that we may create those feelings; that sense of magic, for someone else.

We have all felt the feelings that a music teacher gave us. That person instilled in us a passion and a love that runs so deep that we rise above and become that person for someone else. I believe that this, the ability to instill a deep love of music in our students, is our primary job as music educators. The only question is: how do we do this?

A few weeks ago, I watched the movie August Rush, the story of a young musical prodigy orphan (August) who uses his gift of music as a tool to find his parent. Throughout his journey he meets people of all ages, ethnicity, backgrounds, and performance abilities that impact him as both a person and as a musician. What each one of these people have in common is their love for music and the unique way in which they use it to express themselves. From each of these people, August takes a piece of their love of music and uses it to enhance his own love of music while it simultaneously leads him one step closer to his parents who are both musicians.

This film is powerful to me in many ways. For one, it is the compelling story of a beautiful child searching for his parents and his purpose. For another, it is a fair tale set to real life circumstances. But it also shows the power of music and it's ability to touch anyone and everyone who comes into contact with it. It shows it's power to move us, and create a humane side of us we otherwise may not have known.

I think that this is how we instill a love of music in our students: by loving it ourselves and letting that love guide our teachings. We do it by giving them something, even one little piece, of that magic that was created for us; a piece that they can take with them and keep forever until they are blessed enough to pass it along to someone else.

"Music is all around us, all we have to do is listen." - August Rush

Should we have to rely on parents and fundraising to run a modern BOJC program?

In a perfect world, there would always be more than enough school funds to support a music program and any opportunities that a music teacher can successfully set up to enrich their student's musical education. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. We all know that we need to advocate to others that music education is important and should always be well funded. But the reality is that music is still often looked at as an "extra",  a "special" and not something that is absolutely necessary.

A few things that a BOJC (Band, Orchestra, Jazz, Chorus) program should have budgeted money for includes:

• Instruments
• Percussion equipment
• Music
• Marching band uniforms
• Color guard uniforms/equipment
• Banners and flags

Even if we are lucky enough to have a school that supports music, there are a lot of extra opportunities that would really be beneficial to our students that are often not built into a budget because while they are important, they are not necessary.

A few of the "extra opportunities" that a BOJC (Band, Orchestra, Jazz, Chorus) program might need fund raised money for include:

• Field Trips
• Competitions/festivals
• Clinics
• Guest conductors, composers, performers
• Commissioning anew piece
• Work shops
• Traveling performance opportunities

It goes without saying that having the support of our students, colleagues, administrators, parents, and the community, are very important when trying to build and run a successful music program. However, I don't think we should have to rely on parents entirely for fund raising. We should always work with parents and do everything we can to encourage them to lend a hand and be involved, we need to find our own ways of getting money that we need if we should need it. But fund raising is an important part of most music departments and that is just one of the many reasons why their help with matters such as these is always appreciated.

So we should not have to rely on parents for fund raising but we should be prepared to enlist their help when needed.

 

Using Technology in the Music Classroom

Today, the use of technology plays a huge role in all of our lives. It has changed the way that we communicate, access information, solve problems, and educate both children and ourselves. The use of technology in the classroom is becoming more and more essential to education all the time. Even in the music classroom, this is no exception.

Kids nowadays are use to having endless resources at their fingertips, that they can call upon at any given time. With this in mind, we (music educators) need our teaching to reflect this, so that it is both useful and of interest to our students. When used correctly, technology can be a invaluable tool to help us do our jobs better, and help students learn better. From online sights like Youtube and Notefliht to garage band, to finale; from recording equipment to electric keyboards to midi systems; from iphones to mac computers, technology has ingrained itself into our curriculum. 

That being said, is becoming more and more necessary all the time to "get on board" with technology. We must learn to embrace it and become familiar with the ways it can be used to enhance our lessons. Technology could be used for many purposes in our classrooms including writing their own composition, share music, listen to recordings from top musicians or even the local band that played the same piece. Have them record themselves practicing or making music in groups. Record rehearsals and play it back to them so they can hear what they sounds like and then have them critique. Make a recording of the accompaniment to the chorus pieces on an electric piano and then have the students sing along, freeing you to walk around and assists/assess or even conduct. The list of possibilities goes on and on. Decades ago, when music education was new to our public school systems those teaches did not have access to anything that we do now. The children we teach come from a different world than when we were in school and we must make the most of those new found opportunities to improve our craft and enhance their education.  

In nearly every classroom I enter I see consistent use technology. It's all around us, it’s just up to every teacher how they want to use it, and they can all use. I think it’s clear that the more technology based our society becomes, the more technology based education will become. It is likely that technology will continue to grow exponentially overtime, and so we must always be ready and able to adapt and utilize whatever is available to us, to ensure that future generations of students always receive the best education possible. 

For more information and ideas on how to incorporate technology into your music classroom, please see some of the following links below:

http://www.nafme.org/everyday-education-teaching-music-in-the-age-of-technology/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ireal-pro-music-book-play/id298206806?mt=8

http://www.apple.com/mac/garageband/

https://www.noteflight.com/login

http://brandtschneider.blogspot.com/2015/06/final-project.html
 
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/The-Valleys-Alive-with-the-Sound-of-iPads-150943055.html

Rubrics: The double edged sword

Rubrics are a double edged sword. On one hand they are useful tools that give guidance to teachers and students alike; on the other, they standardize learning and expectations in a world where everyone's learning style is unique.

In his article, The Trouble With Rubrics, Alfie Kohn discusses the various problems with using rubrics as a means of assessment in the classroom. He argues that rubrics strip away a student's ability to be creative and both enjoy and understand the process of what they are learning. He states that "showing that students whose attention is relentlessly focused on how well they’re doing [the students] often become less engaged with what they’re doing" and therefore they become unable to function unless every requirement is spelt out for them. While I both understand and admittedly agree with the points being made, I'm not sure it's quite that simple.

Throughout my own education I have encountered rubrics at nearly every turn; even now as a graduate student I am frequently given a rubric as a means of understanding what I am being graded on. However, according to Kohn, rubrics, while being an easy tool to justify a grade, are actually more hurtful in education than they are helpful.
 
In his article he writes, "Rubrics are, above all, a tool to promote standardization, to turn teachers into grading machines or at least allow them to pretend that what they’re doing is exact and objective." I admittedly agree with this, but only to a degree. I think he's right in saying that rubrics are a way of setting standards in an attempt to give a fair grade that can be defended against something concrete. On the other hand, I don't believe than meaningful learning can be or should be something that is standardized or measurable. But then this begs the question:

How do we fairly assess students without measuring them up against a rubric?

Alfie Kohn's article, while factual and persuasive, fails to really answer that question. The truth is, I'm not so sure if there even is an answer.

With music especially, it's difficult to assign a grade to a student without knowing exactly what merits each grade. How do we put a letter or number grade on a persons effort, practice, enthusiasm, or interest? In a math class it's no big deal; did the student get the problem correct or not? It's all very neat and tidy but how do we know that a student isn't playing a passage well simply because they aren't trying (practicing)? Could the problem be that they don't fully understand how to play it and have been practicing it wrong? Are they distracted today by something else going on? Are the nervous about playing in front of us, or their peers, or an audience? I don't see the harm in letting students know what they are being graded on.

I have always thought rubrics were a good idea, and I think under the right circumstances, they still are. A rubric doesn't have to be as confining as Kuhn is making it out to be. If nothing else, it can serve as guidelines that allow both students and teachers to fully understand what is expect so that no bias can creep in unintentionally. As long a rubric of not the only form of criteria but one of several and doesn't drive the instruction, I think it's a tool that should be utilized; especially in the music classroom where assessment can be trickier than other academic settings.

Teaching American Folk Music...And All That Jazz

Should Music Educators be experts in jazz or American folk music?

Perhaps. Though I'm not sure if all music educators should be experts in jazz or American folk music, they should certainly be familiar enough with it to know what kinds of songs they should be teaching, how they should be teaching them, and why they’re important. There is so much that every music educator must know in order to be successful, is jazz and folk music a priority? Well...

What if music teachers were change agents--and folk music and jazz music was a way to empower youth?

It's an interesting way of looking at it, isn't it? American folk music and Jazz are our own genres; it was born here, and it has a place in our hearts and our culture. If this is really true than it is not only our right to teach these area of music, but our responsibility. For if we don't teach it, who will? What will happen if we don't teach it? Like knowing the pledge of allegiance, there are certain forms of music and certain songs that I believe every child should be exposed to. It's just about making it a priority and finding a place for it in our curriculum. The opportunities are there, even if we have to be creative in finding them.

I observed a great lesson a few month ago that incorporated jazz in a 6th grade chorus class of all places. Jungle Bell Swing was one of their concert pieces which is sung in the less common meter of 5/4 time. The chorus teacher, Amy, used this as a teachable moment to explain to the kids the difference between 5/4 and what they are use to (4/4, 3/4, 2/4). She first guided them through questions, and then wrote examples of the meter it out on the board, showing how the each measure is broken down. Next, she taught them how to conduct in 5/4, which I thought was very cool. Middle school kids are never (that I have experienced) taught anything about conducting because it’s a skill that they don’t have to have. The kids know this so they think it’s cool too, which makes them feel empowered as a leader. Plus, through conducting the kids learn how to physically move to a 5/4 meter and can physically understand how it is broken up. Finally she gave the kids an example of how 5/4 is used in real music by playing for them a video of Dave Brubeck, a famous jazz pianist, playing one of his hits “Take five” and had the kids conduct along. She spoke to the kids about this work and Jazz music, which they seemed to take a genuine interest in. After seeing that every kid understood, she brought them back to their music and began to rehearse with obvious improvements. 

Here is a wonderful example of how one of these seemingly unrelated forms of music can be incorporated into an everyday lesson. Even in a 6th grade chorus class, while preparing for a holiday concert, we can find creative ways to introduce other aspects of music. 

What American songs should every child know?

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

The Star-Spangled Banner

I Got Rhythm
Take Five 
The Star Spangled Banner

America The Beautiful

Yankee Doodle

Mary Had A Little Lamb

Twinkle Twinkle

Camptown Races

Gold bless America

Hot cross buns

O Susanna

My First "First Lesson" - A Reflection

Today in my secondary methods class we were asked to get up in front of the class and give the first 5 minutes of an instrumental lesson. I was assigned to the Trombone (the instrument I know the least about and would probably have the hardest time teaching). Our professor acted as fifth grader who had never touched an instrument before. I was really nervous to do this in front of my peers and my professor because I felt sure that everything was going to come out wrong and I'd get off track or something disastrous would happen. I actually enjoyed the experience a lot more than I thought I would. It was fun to watch my peers get up and see how everyone approached something that should be so similar, so differently. I liked watching everyone's trials and errors, their laughter a minor mistakes or the power behind then when they did something unique, interesting, resourceful, or skillful that made the lesson come to life in a way that you knew it would be great in real life. For me that was the best part of this experience, not necessarily getting up and doing it myself but getting so many ideas and good tips from my colleagues and professor.

When my time came I was nervous but also a little excited to see in what direction it would naturally go. Overall, I think it went fairly well considering the fact that I don't know how to play the trombone and I have never taught a "first lesson" before in my life. I think the biggest cause of my nerves was just that; I had no idea how to teach something that I myself couldn't do, and I was overwhelmed with trying to make decisions that would control every little aspect of the first five minutes. Even within such a short amount of time, there were so many decisions to make and each one felt huge because the way that you establish yourself, the relationship, and the process as a whole. But once it got going, I found that the time went by quickly and it became easier as I went. If I could go back and redo it, there are certainly things I would change (I would have him open the case differently and on the floor, I would explain and demonstrate the buzzing better, the list goes on...

It's funny, just today at my internship I taught 4 periods of different band and orchestra lessons and not one of them played my instrument (the flute) and yet I wasn't nervous at all. It was just another day at work, and me trying to find problems, resolves them, and give them good guidance. I think the difference is that, I wasn't doing it for anyone else or for a grade. I wasn't over thinking it or trying to analyze every action, I was just being me.

I think everyone did a good job and I learned so much. They incorporated things into that first five minutes that I will definitely use in my own teaching such as:

• Having the student open the instrument case either on the floor or at a table where it cannot fall
• Doing an "ice breaker" with a student to get to know them. For example: If they are 11 then they have to tall you eleven things about themselves, etc.
• Playing a piece of music for a student so that they can hear (and see if it's a video) what they're instrument sounds like and it can motivate them to learn. 
• Putting a sticker on the side of the case that faces up so that they know which side it opens on.
• Explaining the expectations of them and for the class (rules, procedures, etc) right in the beginning
• Letting them explore their instrument safely (because that is likely what they will be most eager to do) 
• Telling them what they need to bring to every lesson

This was a great experience for me. It's amazing how much you can learn from five minutes of teaching.

Creating Musicalily Flexibile Musicans Through Ensemble

How do we determine if someone is a good musician? 

Usually, within the ensemble setting, if someone reads and performs music well with good tone, technique, expression, and phrasing in a way that is accurate and pleasing to the ear, we tend to think of them as being a good musician. While these are all certainly marks of a good musician, I think we can all agree that there is much more to it than that. 

Are they able to write music, do they have a strong ear, can they transpose, do they have a strong understanding of different musical styles? This list goes on and on.

As a society we tend to think of music as being a creative and free art form, only in most public school ensembles, it isn't treated that way at all. 

In his piece, Creating Musical Flexibility Though the Ensemble, Brandt Schneider writes,

"Bands and orchestras are often repertoire machines – churning out a fixed collection of pieces year after year. Directors are judged by the pieces they select and how their ensembles perform at concerts and competitive festivals. Through all of this, rehearsals become desperate scrambles to the finish line – a process that, while it can be rewarding, leaves little room for creativity from the members of the ensemble. This system creates an overemphasis on reading and performing music, a fraction of our national standards.”

He's right, isn't he? Is this not exactly what the vast majority of today's music programs are like? I don't think it's something anyone does conscientiously; it's just the nature of the program. Music teachers are under a constant pressure to teach music, as quickly and accurately as possible in order to make the "deadlines" of the concerts where parents, colleagues, community member, and administrators will be judging our abilities as educators based on our students' abilities. As a result, not only are we leaving out half of the national music standards, but we're not turning out fully creative and flexible musicians. Perhaps we just don't feel that we have the rehearsal time, the energy, and the ability as educators; or maybe, we just don't know how to begin. 

Schneider persuasively writes about the different ways that we as music educators can help our students grow musically through four specific means of focus:

1. Musical Discipline
2. Technique
3. Theory
4. Composition 

What does he mean by "Musical Discipline"?

I interpret musical discipline as making students musically responsible for what they are performing. In nearly every ensemble there will be kids who are only there because their best friend is there, or their parents are telling them to be, or because they'd rather play an instrument than sit sewing. They may show up on time, play the right notes, and go through the motions, but are they really growing as a musician? What if we made a conscientious effort to "shake things up" by presenting them "out of the box" opportunities to create music like giving a flute part to a percussionist and asking them to learn it on mallets? Or asking them to learn a simple piece by ear in a specific key rather than by reading off a page? These are just a few examples of how to hold students accountable for their own musical growth.

Technique

I feel as though often times music teachers measure a student’s technique in very basic terms: Can they play their music accurately or not? Can they play a two-octave D Major scale with the right fingers/positions or not? Etc. But why not really challenge them to learn their instruments inside and out? What if we took that same tune that we asked them to learn by ear in Bb major and ask them to learn it in every key?

Theory

I think that we (myself included) tend to think that musical theory can only be taught with 12 kids sitting at desks with staff paper and textbooks. But theory (understanding it and being able to use it in real life situations) is not practiced that way. Schneider writes, " It was important to me that my students had some understanding as to what was happening both melodically and harmonically in the music we chose to rehearse and perform. Finding ways to move them beyond a mere “button pushing” experience and towards a broader conception of “musician” proved to be my biggest challenge." The point he wants to make is that any ensemble can and should be a theory class because theory is about practical use, not just the stuff you find in textbooks.

Composition

Composition is one of the key areas of "creating" music. Teaching a musician how to read but not notate and compose music would be like teaching an English class to read books but never write anything. What if we made time, it doesn't even have to be a lot of time, to allow student to try their hand at composition? It could be done the class(es) after a concert, it could be for half a class every other week, but it should have a place in every ensemble.


Schneider advocates for giving students real world experience in music and having them get involved in musical activities that will help them grow in more musically inclined ways. The only way to do this is by holding students to very high and real-life standards and treating them like professional musicians as much as possible. In the long run it will benefit them (and you) more, and they will probably enjoy the experience more as a result of being in an environment where they are constantly being challenged and every class holds something unique.

Schneider's piece is filled with interesting ideas that worth taking the time to explore and consist of differently concepts I will be incorporating into my own teaching one day. It is so important to have students exposed to real life musical problems and situations because that is truly the best way to get them to grow into flexible and creative musicians. These strategies will make them feel empowered, inspired, engaged, motivated, and allow them to have fun simply because it is fun to be good!

Who I Am

Hello! My name is Rachel Smithson; I am currently a graduate music education student at the University of Bridgeport, and an Intern at Roger Ludlowe Middle School in Fairfield, CT. I graduated from Central CT State University (CCSU) with a B.A in Music and a strong desire to continue moving forward in my education by becoming a music teacher. 

I once had a college professor who told me that there are two types of music teachers in the world: those who are musicians who happen to teach, and those who are educators who happen to teach music. Since hearing those words, I have undergone a lot of personal reflection in an effort to figure out which kind I am, and if that’s kind I want to be. It’s an interesting question, but is this really true? And if so, is one better than the other? Thinking back to all the music teachers I’ve had and come into contact with over the years, there are some who I believe would clearly fall into each category. Many however, would not. 

I guess the real question would be, which aspect of music education do you personally value the most?

I've had an interest in music for as far back as I can remember. As a child I was very shy and didn't make friends easily. Music became a way that I could express myself when I couldn't find the words. It was my way of being able to connect to those around me, but mostly, it made me feel like I was a part of something greater than myself. To this day I relish in any experience where I get to make music with others. 

As an educator, I believe that music plays a crucial role in a society’s fundamental well being, and contains many facets of psychological and intellectual benefit that no one should go without. I also believe that music teachers are among the lucky few who are blessed with the unique opportunity to truly make a positive impact on a child’s life, and that only those dedicated to that effort should be allowed to enter the education environment. I think the best teacher is the one that finds the silver lining in the ever-constant wave of educational reforms, and that keeps the students at the forefront of any decisions made. The field of music education is always changing and evolving; therefore, I believe anyone entering that career field carries a huge responsibility.

I believe that every child should be able to experience music and it's ability to bring people together. I think that music teachers need to help their students feel empowered. Children want to know that they're not just another filled chair in the room, that they matter, and that the choices they make have the power to make a difference. It's important for us treat our students in such a way that they feel important. There's a quote by Maya Angelou that says it better than I will: 

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

To me, teaching is a job filled with challenges, excitement, frustration, and joy that cannot be taken lightly. Every child is capable of meaningful learning and personal growth when they are given the proper amount of motivation, dedication, and care from their teachers. In my eyes, an outstanding teacher is one that uses their acquired knowledge, not only to teach, but also to inspire their students both inside and outside of the classroom. Through a sincere effort to make personal connections with students, an outstanding teacher gives them a sense of safety, security, trust, humor, and understanding so that the students feel empowered in their school rather than imprisoned. 

I believe in education, and it's power to take us places and I believe in the power of music and it's ability to take us to another place within ourselves. I believe that with the right attitude, work ethic, and dedication anything is possible. But mostly, I've come to believe that you don't get found without allowing yourself to be a little lost. You don't learn and grow from playing it safe, and you don't get to lead the orchestra without turning away from the crowd. It's like the saying goes, "A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for."

That's why this year I am working as hard as I can and trying to take advantage of every opportunity, as both a student and an intern, to learn as much as possible so that I can grow into the best teacher that I can be. I am working on getting out of my comfort zone and putting faith in myself and my abilities. I let you know how it's going!

Me (Rachel Smithson) playing flute at the 2013 Prism concert at Central CT State University (CCSU).

 Photo Credit to the CCSU Music Department.