Philosophy Statement Directions(1)

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Youngstown State University *

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8920

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Philosophy

Date

Feb 20, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by CaptainWillpower13459

Directions : Write an extended philosophy statement of 850 - 1000 words about teaching music in the high school setting by responding to one of the following sets of prompts after completing the 2 readings . i. Respond to prompts 1 &2 as the basis of your philosophy statement ii. Respond to prompts 3, 4, & 5 as the basis of your philosophy statement iii. Response to prompts 6 & 7 as the basis of your philosophy statement 1 st person is fine but try to support your opinions with rationale ).  Your reponses to the prompts are merely starting points. You must use these ideas to then create a framework for your own philosophy.   Option #1) The Problems of Tradition & Method (Allsup ) Consider the following quotation from Allsup: “[B]and culture has a teaching tradition that goes beyond the normative concept of training or tekhné to what behavioral psychologists call ‘conditioning.’ ” (p. 4 in document / p. 158 in journal) Learning, in this model, is seen as “controllable” and “predictable.” This educational model is necessary to help students master the basic foundational concepts of band, according to Allsup, but he implies that it is a poor representation of how meaningful learning could or should happen. Prompt 1: Give your honest opinion as to whether or to what extent learning, in general, is controllable or predictable. Discuss with reference to your experiences and what you’ve learned about learning so far.   Allsup describes traditional band instruction as “a conveyer belt of highly effective instructional content and a measured and rational process of learning that is safe, predictable, and above all confusion free.” (p. 5 of document / p.159 of journal) While admitting that there is a certain amount of value in this efficient, “clinical” approach to teaching, Allsup asks the reader to consider the following questions (among others): Question 1: “How do we nurture artistry despite the predictability of its historical means and methods?” Question 2: “Where does objectivity and control end and aesthetic inquiry begin?” (p. 6 of document / p. 160 of journal) In other words, the ideas of certainty and control are problematic if they pervade ensemble instruction to the point where students don’t learn to question things about music or to interpret music for themselves. Prompt 2: Discuss and try to answer both above questions in italics. Draw on your personal experiences and knowledge and explain if this is a new concept to you or if it is something that you had considered prior to reading this article. Give your opinion about how and under what
conditions high school band instruction might foster an artistic, as opposed to a ‘reproductive’ mindset. Option #2) The Problem of Legitimacy (Benedict) “In the case of wind band director, one way hegemony is often made manifest is through the careful maintenance of the orchestral classical repertoire celebrated and revered by a cultured audience, the careful maintenance of the venerated wind band conductor, and the accompanying normative practices for transmitting this repertoire.” (p. 7 of document / p. 161 of journal) Prompt 3: Look up the word ‘hegemony’ and then explain in your own words how the author seems to be arguing that this word applies to the world of high school band teaching.   What does this have to do with our quest for legitimacy? Develop / articulate a personal position on this issue.     Prompt 4: What does “normative practices” mean? And what is the significance of her choice of this word to describe band teaching? Develop and articulate a personal position on the issue of normative practices in band / choir teaching.       Consider the following Benedict quotation (re-read the ideas before and after it):   “Our efforts to live up to a label named by others deflects attention away from the systemic issues and actually serves to keep us in our place.” (p. 8 of document / p. 162 of journal) Prompt 5: What do you think she means by this?     Option #3) The Pedagogy / Performance Paradox (Freer)     Consider the following two quotations from Freer’s article:   “[M]any choral music teachers have yet to consider the appropriate balance of performance and educative ideals, torn between the curricular mandates of schools and governmental entities and the longstanding, tradition-bound standards of choral music performance.” (p. 10 in document / p. 172 in journal) “[T]his paradox is persistent, partly because choral music teachers rarely seize the opportunity to question what they do or why they do it.” (p. 10 in document / p. 172 in journal) Prompt 6: Discuss Freer’s view that both pedagogy and performance goals are necessary, and that they must be balanced somehow, as well as his claim that we need more thoughtful approaches to teaching.       “[H]ave we lapsed into a self-imposed trap by elevating our standards of school-based choral performance to the point where they exclude more students than they include?” (p. 11 in document / p. 173 in journal)
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