They discussed emotion early on in the chapter, and this grabbed my attention. They say, "Emotion is a critical component to learning and, whether positive or negative, helps us remember - and, in some cases, can interfere with memory and therefore learning" (Hansen, Bernstorf, & Stuber 21). This is such a good point. When I think back to the things I actually remember learning in school, they were often connected to emotional experiences or activities. For example, this past year was full of auditions and performances, which I was not necessarily used to. I did not do a lot of solo violin performance in high school, and I struggled with a lot of anxiety and worry dealing with these performances. These intense emotions pushed me to practice and to perform the best that I could. The emotions caused me to take my music so much more seriously, and I came out of this school year so much better of a performer and player than I was going into the school year. It was within these incredibly emotional experiences that I was pushed not only to practice more, but I also developed so much mental and emotional strength.
This made me realize how crucial it is to be aware of the different emotional levels in children, as emotions differ because of age, gender, race, and so many more factors. They state that it is important to be aware of the emotional aspects of learning, as this awareness will help to enhance the learning of important content by providing experiences that are intertwined in positive emotional contexts (21). The first idea that came to my head when considering how to provide an emotional context for learning was the idea of having children perform in front of one another. Or, in other words, having "concerts" in the classroom. Though my music classes never did these, I have heard of different teachers within the past few years do these. For these concerts, children would be able to choose any song they want, practice it for a few weeks, and showcase their skills by performing it for the class. This would be a great opportunity for students to put to action the different things they are learning, as well as learn how to perform for other people. If I sought to create an environment where positive feedback was the only kind of feedback students could give one another, I anticipate this would be a very emotional experience that would help them become more independent musicians. Consider a student who had an intense case of stage fright. To get up in front of his or her classmates, perform a song, and hear applause and positive feedback. This would be an incredibly emotional experience with fantastic outcomes in relation to their musicianship.
Though there were so many benefits of classroom play that were given, I will only expand on a few. One of the outcomes of play is that students will grow in vocabulary knowledge through talking, reading, and singing together (Hansen, Bernstorf, & Stuber 33). Fortunately, music teachers have an already available outlet for "play". This is performance. There are so many vocabulary terms and technical skills students will learn about in their music classes, but there is no better way for a student to really learn about these vocab words and technical skills than to put them into action. I have often found with myself that I do not fully and completely understand a theory concept until I sit down and pound it out at the piano, and I anticipate this will be the case within my music classrooms as well. By prioritizing time to perform in the classroom, students will have a much deeper understanding of the different terms and concepts they learn about. Actually taking time to learn to play through the different musical skills will lead them to understand music in an entirely different way.
Another benefit to play in the classroom is that students must generally interact with others for musical play settings, thus teaching them social skills (Hansen, Bernstorf, & Stuber 33). I mentioned in my last blog that my younger siblings and I have been homeschooled for the past seven years. It is commonly known that homeschoolers are often attacked for having no social skills, and as the years went by, me and my younger siblings became well acquainted with this criticism. However, as we became better musicians and began playing different venues for different crowds, we found ourselves interacting with people from a variety of different backgrounds. Though I never sat at a high school lunch table or went to a high school football game, I found myself talking to people from public high schools, along with fellow homeschoolers, other musicians, adults, teenagers, and the list goes on. I can say I definitely still had my fair share of socialization, though it was not done inside the walls of a high school. Music brings people together, and I plan not only to prioritize time for my students to showcase their skills in the form of solo performance, but I also plan on making time for students to work and perform in small groups. I have found that there is so much one learns about someone else when they begin playing music with them, and I plan to take time throughout the school year, no matter what type of class I am teaching, to pair different students together and arrange different groups so that my students have the chance to play with a variety of different classmates, thus growing them in their social skills.
I have mentioned in previous blogs that I truly feel music teachers have an advantage over other teachers through the wide variety of resources and creative outlets readily available to them. Especially after reading this chapter, I am so motivated to create a classroom where there is constant creativity and play being cultivated. There are so many obvious outlets for this within a music classroom, so I should feel ashamed if I am not seeking to incorporate these outlets consistently in my classroom. I could take a day to have an "American Idol" show with my students. I could sing the "clean up" song with them as they put away their instruments. I could hold personal recitals where they showcase their skills through solos. I could take them to a nearby nursing home to play for and interact with the residents. The ideas and opportunities are endless. There are truly so many opportunities to play, both figuratively and literally, in the music classroom, and I want to seize every opportunity I can.
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