Some Thoughts Concerning the Current Education System

Having taught in multiple schools in many various subjects, I believe I have a more holistic view of our education system than most teachers. As I aspire to be a “specials” teacher, I know that I will not have much interaction with “core subject” teachers throughout my day. The opposite holds true that most content area teachers do not know much about specials. I have taught every core subject at nearly every grade level, every branch of specials, and even some vocational technology classes. While I love music with a passion, I also love learning and receive great satisfaction having successfully explained a math equation or grammatical concept to a student. Here are some of my thoughts recently as it regards various areas of education. The three excerpts are only truly related in that I composed the thoughts. They do not, however, form a logical sequence or push a primary purpose.

Literary Context Clues Outside of the Reading Classroom

In Reading class, we emphasize defining words within their contexts. If you’re unfamiliar with a term, look around and use prior knowledge to define it. This method is usually quite effective, particularly in intermediate level literature. The author is not concealing his meaning; he gives you hints and clues to provide further understanding.

However, in Social Studies and Science courses, we tend to have students copy words and definitions before reading the text. While this may add some form of primary knowledge, it certainly strips the vocabulary from its context and lessens the likelihood that the content lasts. I view education very broadly in that I want my students to display true understanding, not just rote repetition of specific words. A student may recite the definition of a word temporarily, but if they don’t grasp the heart of it, it will soon slip away.

While many teachers disapprove of Common Core methods in some way, the attempt to universalize content and provide a more holistic approach to education is certainly worth considering. Reading books is our gateway to a plethora of knowledge. Let us use useful methods and practices to become effective readers in every content area, not simply the Reading classroom.

Substitutes are Teachers, Too!

Expectations for a substitute teacher are often laughably low. In many districts, a college degree is required to substitute. This may not necessarily be an education degree, but the fact that an individual has a desire to teach a classroom of children should point to an educational heart.

With that said, the work left for many substitutes is often a time-killer and ungraded “busy work,” and the students know it. This has worked in two ways in my experience. The least likely to happen is that the students understand that you as the substitute have only been given so much. The substitutes job is to fulfill the plans left by the teacher, whatever those may be. If a student sympathetically understands this, he or she will do the work assigned without hassle. Unfortunately, the more common response is that of nonchalance and defiance. “The teacher never grades this stuff anyway, so there’s no point in doing it.” “I really don’t care about this stuff.” “This is such a waste of time.” Sadly, these students are often right. When no meaningful work is left, the end result is usually a wasted day of instruction.

Substitute teachers are teachers. We serve to instruct, enlighten, and inspire just like a “regular” teacher. My degree may not be in your specific content area, but I am quite capable of teaching one lesson thoroughly and clearly. Please, take advantage of my skills and degree in education. Do not leave simple worksheets (or worse, crosswords) irrelevant to your current plans. I am a substitute teacher, and I want to teach!

Educating about Education

I believe that students should be taught the history of education itself. Our modern society is just that: modern. Our current educational system has not always existed. Many centuries have passed to lead us to our current schooling system, and it’s still not perfect. It would benefit today’s students to know what uneducated people did in the past and compare their own future possibilities. They would hopefully realize that the path before them is infinitely broader than the paths of children not so long ago. Perhaps even a first hand experience of the alternative to education (hard labor) would provide a deeper appreciation for schooling rater than the utter disdain expressed by many today.

A glimpse of schooling in other countries might be a worthwhile endeavor as well. Some schools are in session all year long with more frequent medium-length breaks. As aforementioned, the current schooling system is not perfect. Students could weight the pros and cons of multiple countries’ systems and think of improvements that could be made.

In short, I wish to see students get outside of their tiny bubble. Many students in our current education system are not grateful for what is provided to them. In the case of public schooling (another recent change), there is much less financial strain on the part of parents. Perhaps if students appreciated the opportunities lavished on them, teachers would be able to spend less time performing classroom management and more time educating the minds of our future.

Classroom Ideas

My name is Daniel Derflinger; and I am a Substitute Teacher.

How you read the above line is greatly determined by where you live, what type of school you attended, and on what side of the teaching process you sat. I have now taught in numerous different classrooms, both public and private. Regardless of the setting, students always test the substitute. They will push boundaries, testing to see how serious you really are about discipline. It can be quite ruthless.

Upon overcoming this first obstacle, the music substitute may begin to work with the students. Every teacher in every school is very different, and the substitute’s job is to carry on the regular education in the teacher’s absence. This means not necessarily running rehearsal in a preferred manner. On the positive side, a music substitute is very quickly exposed to many different methodologies as it concerns the music classroom. I would like to document what I have seen and what I will attempt to incorporate in my own classroom and rehearsals.

No two music classrooms are alike. This could be said about any two objects, but this statement is especially true of schools. Different music teachers have different foci and personal interests (or the lack thereof, it seems). The classrooms that most honestly reflect an interesting teacher become a very positive learning environment. When I enter a bland, bare-walled classroom, I feel bland and bare as well; and I’m just the substitute! Imagine how these high-energy students feel when entering such a room. We’ve all heard the phrase, “if these walls could talk.” Well, in many ways, they do. Use the vast wall space available to most classrooms as learning reminders, motivational posters, and examples of beauty in music.

While a music director should keep an interesting room, this should not be at the expense of tidiness. While entering a bland classroom is bad, entering a messy classroom is much worse. Among chorus, orchestra, and band classrooms, band rooms tend to be the worst in my experience. It certainly takes extra effort on the teacher’s part to maintain the organization of any classroom. The best methods I have seen involve the students in the process. When ensemble members help with cleaning and organizing, a sense of pride and responsibility is instilled in them. If this character-building experience is nurtured over the course of a few years, it is more likely that it will continue long after a single director leaves.

A final positive aspect to the classroom I would like to use is individual accountability. The best musical groups are great due to personal practice on the part of the individual musicians involved. While a middle or high school ensemble may not go on tour or become of great renown, it should be the ambition of director and ensemble alike to be the best that they can be. Students regularly underestimate their potential as musicians and easily give up. Encouraging regular practice and holding students accountable for such practice can improve a group in leaps and bounds. In districts where students do not have access to an instrument outside of school, other assignments could be given to still give benefit. Examples of such replacements would be listening to certain relevant pieces or songs, writing an original composition, defining musical terminology within current repertoire, or reading a music-related article. Obviously, individual instrumental practice is ideal, but there are other options available when that is not an option.

While there is certainly much more that could be added, these three categories cover much of the regular interaction in a music program. While this post is primarily for my benefit, I eagerly welcome your thoughts and critiques. Please, leave your comments below!

“Images” for Saxophone Quartet, Pt. 3

This 3-movement work was inspired by Debussy’s use of artwork in his music. Paintings by James Whistler inspired Debussy’s Nocturnes for orchestra. The images for this work vary in origin from movement to movement, from personal photograph to a famous painting by Caspar David Friedrich.

III. Wanderer

Based on Caspar David Friedrich’s “Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog,” this piece seeks to convey in music one of the interpretations of the work. As one views the work, he is not shown the wanderer’s face, leaving the emotion of the man up for interpretation. I chose the determined and heroic interpretation for this piece, depicting the wanderer as a man ready to conquer the uncertainties of the sea of fog ahead. This movement uses more scalar passages in each instrument and passes the thematic material around freely.

Performed live on March 31, 2012

Music Depreciation Class?

As a music education major, it is my duty (and usually, privilege) to observe at various schools in my area. Having observed at many of the schools in this particular district, it is very interesting to see how the level of interest in music can be drastically different but a few miles away. Why is this?

The first and foremost reason I want to discuss today is the teacher. This should be an obvious one. Of course, if the teacher likes teaching music, the students will be more likely to share the passion. However, there must be more than just a degree of fancy for music. What I speak of is excellence.

In Pennsylvania, it is the time of year for standardized testing. I was speaking with my private instructor today, who revealed to me that if a school reaches a certain point, they receive Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). There is no gradation of AYP after this, however. A school could have every single student score perfectly and they would receive AYP- nothing more, nothing less. Where is the recognition of excellence? Are we too afraid to congratulate those who work hard and succeed?

In the music classroom, students need to be exposed to musical excellence. While your typical “music appreciation class” certainly exposes students to great works of art (hopefully), does that truly instill an appreciation for music? It seems that most students who take these courses come to depreciate music more than anything else. These courses have become a cop-out for students who are required to take a music course, but don’t want to participate. Not participate? Is music simply a spectator sport? Can a music teacher truthfully say that their music class’s lack of participation in music will instill a love of music? Perhaps if, for once, we teachers expect greatness out of all of our students (not just the ones who already “get it”), we would receive as such. In no other subject are students encouraged to sit back and intake, intake, intake, without once expressing what they’ve learned in some way. Music, one of the most expressive of arts, should not be given different expectations.

Rant complete, for now. My challenge: do not settle. Nobody likes half-hearted attempts at greatness. If beautiful music is what you seek, beautiful music is what you will find.

“Images” for Saxophone Quartet Pt. 2

This 3-movement work was inspired by Debussy’s use of artwork in his music. Paintings by James Whistler inspired Debussy’s Nocturnes for orchestra. The images for this work vary in origin from movement to movement, from personal photograph to a famous painting by Caspar David Friedrich.

II. Izaak

A photograph taken by yours truly inspired the music for this movement. An Izaak Walton Wildlife Reserve in Virginia was a common getaway for my family and church. Most of the activities included fishing and target shooting, but I always enjoyed the walks on the trails. I snapped a pleasant picture of a trickling stream with some various foliage around it. The movement begins depicting the dead branches and leaves near the bottom of the picture and gradually lightens up as the eye moves toward the sunlight at the top.  Musically, this movement focuses on the interval of a Major 9th.

Performed live on March 31, 2012

“Images” for Saxophone Quartet

This 3-movement work was inspired by Debussy’s use of artwork in his music. Paintings by James Whistler inspired Debussy’s Nocturnes for orchestra. The images for this work vary in origin from movement to movement, from personal photograph to a famous painting by Caspar David Friedrich.

I. Wishful Thinking
The inspiration image for this first movement was a photograph taken by my brother at a beach in North Carolina. The sky is vast and almost blends with the ocean. A bright yellow shirt draws the eye to the bottom left corner where I stand. The piece aurally tells the story of my desires to journey into the ocean and experience the great adventures to be had in her waves.

Performed March 31,2012