Question:
I am taking a music instructional strategies course and am wondering how
many elementary classroom teachers teach music to their students. When I was
in school, the students went to another teacher's class who was the school's
music teacher. How many teachers teach music to their students or do they
send them off to another teacher who specializes in the music field. Please
let me know what your experiences are with music education in your schools.
I would be interested in hearing your thoughts
Answer:
-I am a music teacher, and there is *nowhere* in my district that the regular
classroom teaches music themselves ... in fact, I'm not familiar with that
happening anywhere near where I live. Perhaps it sometimes some in rural areas?
I am sure that, except in rare instances, the students don't get a proper music
education when that happens.
-Point taken. But consider two other points:
1) When there is no other music program, the classroom teacher is the only
option. According to your concern, you can at least be assured that the poor
music education is only for one year. At that point, no program at all can
resume.
2) Only some of the instrumental or vocal music teachers we have had over the
years were effective in reaching more than a handful of children. Even with
itinerent music teachers, most music still comes from the classroom teacher.
-As a pre-service teacher doing my work in many different classrooms ranging
from preschool through third grade, I have observed classrooms that regularly
use music in their curriculum. In one of my placements, there was no music
program so the teacher incorporated music into the classroom herself. Even
though a certified music teacher would know more, I think regular classroom
teachers should use music to the best of their ability. Whether it be
singing songs or listening to classical music (which promotes children's
learning), it is better than nothing at all.
