Page 29 Question #2

Take a moment to write down some of the tenets of your personal philosophy of music education. Based on these tenets, discuss your view of the role of assessment in general music and its importance to general music teaching.

The most important belief I have in relation to my philosophy of music education is that every student that enters my classroom is a musician in some way. For them to know that, and to know that I believe that is my first task as a teacher. My job is to determine in what ways and to what extent they are musicians. I base my philosophy or music education on contextual learning, what students already know and what they can bring to the class. It is as important for students know to know music's role in their lives (which is different for each student), as it is for them to know fundamentals of music.
I also believe that no one student learns the same way, and to that effect no one student shows you what they know the same way. Assessment can't be done just one way, and that is one thing that I entirely agree with Brophy about. I get frustrated when I read books that preach one opinion and philosophy and totally disregard another. I think in education, and especially in assessment we have to look at it from various angles in order to be successful. I agree that constructivism and objectivism both have a place in the music classroom. There are set facts about music, the fundamentals, that can be assessed through traditional testing, but I also never forget that there's so much more to teaching music than fundamentals.
The questions, "is teaching observation enough" and "is classroom behavoir appropriate" are examples of looking at assessment from only one view. No, these two things are not enough in themselves for assessing music learning, but they are absolutely valuable portions of the entire process. Classroom behavior includes a student's general respect for the teacher and those around him/her, but also deals with a student's willingness to thinking critically, "outside the box," and to really give me his or her all. I believe as a teacher I demand the best from my students whether that be in reference to their intelligence or their overall demeanor. And I believe in making students aware of that from the start.
Assessment is very important in music, for all of the reasons I listed in my notes. It's a form of proof. It's something that I as a teacher can physically look back at to see what I have and haven't taught well enough. It's a guide for future decision making on my part. In addition, it's a form of proof for validating my program to parents, colleagues, and administration. Without assessment, there is not gauge for any of that.