Why, not What or How

[Susan Haugland]

Whilst in the middle of writing a new book, my daughter's boyfriend and I discussed the evolution of the recording industry and the impact said industry has had on music education over the last century (or has NOT had) and he tells me, "that book you're writing is the same thing. You could just be writing a blog and putting it out there." He's right, in a way - but the benefit of publishing my thoughts in a hard or soft-bound 150 or so pages is that it gets delivered to my target audience: pre-service teachers. Royalties are inconsequential as I am finding through the publication of my first two books. However, upon further thought, it seems that a blog is the perfect avenue to reach a wider audience and hopefully spur some much-needed discussion.

So here is my first blog post and today's thought is this: Why, in music education, are we so focused on the what and how of teaching when the why of music education is glossed over minimally in a requisite philosophy/sociology catch-all class? Actually I know why, but it's still disturbing. We send teachers out into the workforce to do what their predecessors and those before them have done for almost a hundred years with very little thought as to why we're doing what we do.

And why do we do what we do? I believe that we do what we do because the music we make is part of who we are, and discovering that part of one's humanity is essential to the well-being of each and every student. Psychologist Erik Erikson proposed that one's life is centered around the development of identity. Contemporary psychologist Howard Gardner posits that we all have several intelligences and music is one of them. If both of these theories hold true, then it seems that the development of one's music identity is central to one's overall development as a human being. This is why I teach music.

Once we figure out the why, then we need to move on to the what. Are the ways we deliver music education relevant to our students? Stay tuned, and PLEASE discuss.

[Susan Haugland]

So - if becoming a music teacher was for you a financial necessity, have you found it to be more fulfilling than you expected?
Let me expand on that question - why is music education important to students in public (or private, or parochial, or whatever type) schools? Is music education important to all children, or only those whose parents seek out private instruction for them? Why or why not?

[Randy Young]

For me, I think the "why" is very similar to what Chris said.

If I can, in some way, help steer someone to a life driven by passion and love for what they do - in this case music- then I feel a sense of accomplishment in that.

I never viewed myself initially as a teacher - yet I have been doing it in one form or another all my life. But like so many things in life - you simply don;t understand until it happens to you. When you see students, especially young ones, take what you have taught - integrate it - and expand on it - it's a pretty fulfilling moment. At least it is for me.

[Chris Brown]

You raise a great question and I've been thinking about how to answer this. To keep it brief my reasons for teaching are more , or want of a better term, self-centered.

People have been asking me to share my skills/knowledge with them since soon after I began studying and I love help others grow musically. Now I am active as a musician teaching provides a steady income and schedule that helps support my artistic endeavors. Also I get a tremendous satisfaction from being the best teacher, musician and person that I can be and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to practice each every day, hopefully getting a little better every time.

Saying all that, I concur with the points you make and I'm looking forward to hearing from our colleagues here.