Engagement Portfolio Post - MUED 271

Mountain View Observation Reflection Link
Elkton Middle School Observation Reflection Link 
Spotswood High School Observation Reflection Link 

Having the opportunities to observe classes at all levels of k-12 education has given me a better idea of the purposes of music education at the different levels and the dynamics between the teachers and students. Before starting the course work for the music education program at JMU, I thought that I would have a preference towards teaching positions at elementary schools. Since going to different classes with different age groups, I appreciated the different perspectives those experiences have presented. 

The general music class that I observed at Mountain View Elementary seemed to focus less on the technical aspects of music and focused more on fostering the students' creativity. In the beginning of the class the teacher presented an age appropriate video that explained the differences between major and minor keys. Then, the kids were asked to draw a representation of their feelings while listening to famous classical pieces in either a major or minor key. It was also difficult to get a good perspective of this class because the normal teacher was absent and a substitute filled in that day. 

The chorus class at Elkton Middle School I observed mainly focused on preparation of the upcoming concert. There wasn't as much of a student centered creative aspect compared to the elementary school class. Also, dynamics between the teacher and student were drastically different compared to elementary. Students seemed to have more difficulty staying on task and talking over the teacher. Sometimes the teacher, Mr. Todd,  had to take a more authoritative tone. 

The adaptive music class I observed at Spotswood High School  is difficult to compare to the others because of the nature of the class. The majority of the students were confined to wheel chairs. The objective of the class I observed was to prepare for the Christmas performance at the school assembly. However, even though the lesson was focused preparation for the performance, the kids were still able to explore their creativity by either walking or dancing around the classroom, or not necessarily singing along but just enjoying the music. I liked how the class wasn't;t very structured and Mr. May did an excellent job of exemplifying an ethic of care in his classroom. 

Overall, one thing I noticed in all of the observations was that I wasn't able to get the full perspective of what each class was really like from only observing the one class period. In some classes, the teacher had a few minutes afterwords to explain other activities that are done throughout the week. However, I would have been able to get a better understanding of each teacher curriculum by observing multiple time throughout the semester. 

Link to Mountain View Elementary website 
Link to Elkton Middle School website 
Link to Spotswood High School website