JAYSON P. MONROE

            Music is an invaluable element of human culture. It is something that everyone encounters and has had the opportunity to be affected by in a significant manner. It’s a subject area with a universal means of communication; it is aural perception of feelings. This universal language encompasses growth in all basic subject areas, such as math, history, and reading, and invokes both critical thinking and emotional expression. I believe that music should be taught with this in mind at all levels of instruction.

            I believe that students of all ages should be afforded the opportunity to experience a high-quality music education. Music is for everyone. The rewards of this subject extend far beyond the classroom and contribute highly to the individual’s well-being and well-rounded lifestyle. Without the opportunity for music education in PreK-12 education, I believe students are deprived of the possibility of tapping into and/or mastering their creative abilities. In addition, the ability to interpret music through higher order thinking, which includes understanding the technical, emotional, and intellectual aspects of music, becomes significantly more difficult or impossible. Those who are passionate, perseverant, and patient should be the ones to dedicate their time and effort to study music and become educators.

            As a music educator, my role in student development takes many forms. Not only do my responsibilities include fostering a safe and welcoming environment for my students, in which student growth and success through authentic learning is promoted, it also includes providing students with the knowledge and information for them to appreciate music and the related fine arts. Most importantly, regardless if my students continue on to major in music or not, I want them to have a significant musical experience; to be profoundly impacted by music they have listened to, performed, or researched. In this regard, I am the most limiting factor in the rehearsal room and the classroom. It is a difficult truth to accept, but the students will only ever be able to progress as long as I am constantly seeking out new knowledge and refining my pedagogy. 

            Just as I need to be proactive in the continuance of my development, I believe in a cooperative learning environment where I will teach for mastery and students are proactive components in their education. It is essential for students to recognize when they are not achieving their goals or obtaining what they hope to get from music. When it comes to the areas of struggle with understanding a specific concept, I am human and do not know what I don’t know. In this classroom environment, the students hold me accountable for their mastery of music.

            To close, music is both an essential part of the human condition and in the development of young people. I believe all students should be afforded the opportunity to have a music education and a significant musical experience, in which they can learn music in way that is effective, retainable, and applicable to their everyday lives. Additionally, I am enthusiastic to enrich the lives of students through music just as mine has been inspired. The experiences students encounter through music promote and advance the cognitive, psychomotor, and emotional skills needed for successful development. With the appropriate instruction, a cooperative student-to-teacher relationship, and application of information, music develops students as they transform into adults. I aspire to be a competent facilitator of music learning experiences and look forward to evolving the many lives I will encounter along my journey.