The Power of Actively Engaging in MusicMany students are not very successful in the core education classroom. They may struggle with math, or reading and end up falling behind their peers because of this. Some others simply have trouble staying engaged when they are forced to sit behind a desk and listen to lectures throughout the day. Many of these students have one place in which they can succeed, however, and that is within the music classroom. In the music classroom, students have the opportunity to move around and they are able to engage their minds and bodies on a different level than in the general education classroom. According to Howard Gardener and his theory of multiple intelligences, there are 8 areas of intellectual ability that a person may possess. These are visual-spatial, verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, and aural or musical. This is important because not all people possess innate talent in all 8 areas of intelligence, but some that lack in certain areas have very strong ability in others. So a student who has low linguistic, or mathematical ability may excel in music, and it is important to give them the opportunity to do so so that they do not get discouraged from less than stellar performance in other areas.
I have seen this through my work as a student-teacher at Rosewood Elementary. While these students were young, ages 5 to 11, they were capable of more musically than you might imagine. One student in particular stood out as an example of this. She was in the fifth grade and she struggled to follow directions and achieve academically in most of her classes. However, when we started to play the ukulele in her class something clicked and she was able to make a connection with this instrument. She treated it with great care and respect, and when given a written assessment on the parts of the ukulele she was able to make an A, which was a rare occurrence for her. Part of this can be attributed to the intrinsic motivation some students have to succeed in the music classroom and be able to make music. It is not like succeeding at a math problem where you simply have a correct or incorrect answer, there is an auditory and emotional connection to music in which you can hear and feel that what you are doing is right. The feeling associated with being able to perform a song they might like or achieve a new skill on their instrument drives students to want to know more. Some students also simply possess an incredible innate talent in music. I saw this with one of my students at Rosewood who at just 6 years old seemed to possess great musical potential, like that which Gardener describes. I did an activity with his class where the students were instructed to write 4-beat rhythm patterns on their whiteboards as a pre-assessment before they learned how music should be properly notated, but his pattern was notated perfectly on the first try. This activity can be explored in more detail in my Unit Work Sample for student teaching below. Through this, and other activities in my teaching experience, it was amazing to see how many other students had innate musical talent within themselves that they were ready to share. Even in kindergarten students were able to move to the music as I sang, and play with me on classroom instruments such as drums, tambourines, maracas, and woodblocks. Many of these children were just learning how to sound out words, but they could repeat a musical progression back to me, and play together as an ensemble which is incredible to see. In South Africa, the people celebrate Nelson Mandela day each year on Mandela’s birthday, July 18th. I had the opportunity to celebrate this day during my time at Dainfern College, the private school I was working with on my Study Abroad trip to Johannesburg. The Mandela Day campaign message is: "Nelson Mandela has fought for social justice for 67 years. We're asking you to start with 67 minutes." and so across the country people celebrate Mandela’s fight for freedom, justice, and a new South Africa by giving 67 minutes of their time to support the community through service. For our service, we took a trip to the outreach school, Diepsloot Primary, to teach the children there. The town is a slum made up of houses that are barely shacks with holes in the roofs patched up with whatever materials the residents can find. The streets are littered with trash and debris and the crime rates are some of the highest in the area. It was heartbreaking to see. South Africa has 11 national languages, so many of the children did not speak English but a mixture of tribal languages including Zulu and Xhosa. Despite the fact that the children did not speak our language they were so happy to see us and welcomed us into their school. We split up to reach more classes and went around to the classrooms singing and engaging with the students. Many of the students looked 3 to 4 years younger than their actual age as they did not have the food and resources to grow to a healthy weight, but they still smiled and sang and danced with us because you do not have to speak the same language to communicate and share an experience through music. We taught some simple songs by rote, in which all you have to do is listen and repeat. When we left the children sang “Thank you, we love you, god bless you” and all of our hearts sank. From that alone, I could see the impact music can have on people. Some people simply possess an innate musical talent that is impossible to deny. Others are able to develop this skill through listening, singing, and playing music over time. Through active engagement in music, students are also able to develop kinesthetic and spatial ability by moving to the music, and linguistic ability through the syllables they use when singing specifically. This can be seen in my video artifact below as I work with a Kindergarten class at Rosewood Elementary. I believe all people, regardless of age or experience, can excel musically, or grow in their musical intelligence, by actively engaging in music through listening to performances, playing an instrument or simply singing along to their favorite song on the radio. Music is a part of our history, and culture, passed down through generations and that is why everyone should have the opportunity to engage with music. It is a part of us and it should continue to be engaged and explored throughout our lives. |
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