Dr. David E. Knauss
After nearly four decades of mentoring beginning music teachers, it has become apparent there are four huge concerns that cause new teachers lots of apprehension. First, what personal music skills do I need for teaching music? Second, how do I teach music effectively? Third, what do I teach the students? Fourth, how do I deal with student behaviors, especially negative ones? Answers to these questions can be volumes of information, but following are a few thoughts to begin the learning journey.
What Personal Music Skills Do I Need for Teaching Music? Many music teachers in public, religious, and home school cooperatives have asked, “What music skills do I need to teach music?” There are four basic skills. However, before listing the four skills, you need to know that no one can be a successful music teacher without him or herself being artistic and musical. With inner musicianship as a foundation, the basic skills needed to be successful are as follows. Two are gateway skills that all students must learn as well. (1) Well-developed intonation with singing in tune while accurately and consistently maintaining the tonal center. (2) Mastery of performing a steady beat while accurately and consistently maintaining the meter. Additionally, a successful music teacher must (3) fluently know how to read treble clef music, and (4) know how to play simple chords on the piano, guitar, or any other such instruments to accompany students’ singing. A successful music teacher must practice these skills daily to be always leading ahead of his/her students.
How Do I Teach Music? This is called the Art of Teaching, which is a life-long learning process. A beginning teacher must continually assess oneself concerning his/her teaching effectiveness. Video one’s teaching often and view it with an expert music teacher. Trust the experts. Discuss what is effective teaching and what is not. It takes at least five years to become comfortable and confident with the art of teaching. Also, a well-written music curriculum will feature built-in, explicit, easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions to guide the beginner teacher into becoming an experienced one, and an experienced teacher into a master one!
What Do I Teach the Students? Many unanswered curriculum questions plague a beginner teacher. A first grade class enters your music room for the very first time and sits down, and you ask, “Now what do I do?” What do I teach Kindergarteners, first graders, second graders, any graders? How do I start at the absolute beginning? What and how do I sequentially teach primary elementary students, intermediate elementary students, middle schoolers, secondary and high school students? What music skills should be taught to each grade? How should the music skills in each grade build into the next grade? How should elementary build to middle school and then to high school? For a music curriculum that is precisely “Scope, Sequenced, and Spiraling,” grade upon grade, this is where a beginning teacher must Trust the Experts. Find a music curriculum that is core-skills based, scope and sequenced, and framed with the latest research on how children learn music. It takes time for a music teacher to master curriculum writing. When a music teacher understands the artistic “what” in each music activity, that teacher has achieved a master’s level in understanding. When a music teacher understands the “why” of each music activity and the “why” of the entire curricular scope and sequence, that teacher has acquired a doctorate level of music education insight. Seek to understand the “whys” more than “whats.”
How Do I Deal With Student Behaviors, Especially Negative Ones? Again, Trust the Experts. In public or religious schools, partner with veteran teachers who seem to “really have their acts together.” They can mentor you with many helpful tips for managing attitudes and behaviors. Partner with the student to discuss his/her appropriate and inappropriate behavior(s). Partner cooperatively with the parents or caregivers to address behaviors in school and at home. The same negative ones invariably happen at both places. There are no teacher-preparation courses that instruct beginning teachers how to “respond with truth” rather than “react with emotion” to negative situations, but it is only truth that will actually help misdirected behaviors. An excellent publication to absorb is a small but giant book by Ron Clark. I advise beginning teachers to read, memorize, and practice, award-winning, Ron Clark’s The Essential 55 and its accompanying workbook, ISBN 1-4013-0001-4 and ISBN 1-4013-0770-1. While trying out elements of someone else’s management style, your own will emerge and become very effective.
Please feel free to contact me at any time, as often as you please, with any mentoring, music teaching, music curriculum, or classroom management questions.
Dr. Knauss mentors student teachers and regular teachers into teaching excellence. He taught for 3 decades in inner-city public schools, winning over street kids into being like family, became one of the principle curriculum writers for an award-winning, internationally-recognized music department. He retired from public schools, completed a Ph.D. in Music Education, and presently is an adjunct music education professor at Baptist Bible College.
David E. Knauss
Ph.D. in Music Education.
Contact me through my website at:
www.classroom-music.info
After nearly four decades of mentoring beginning music teachers, it has become apparent there are four huge concerns that cause new teachers lots of apprehension. First, what personal music skills do I need for teaching music? Second, how do I teach music effectively? Third, what do I teach the students? Fourth, how do I deal with student behaviors, especially negative ones? Answers to these questions can be volumes of information, but following are a few thoughts to begin the learning journey.
What Personal Music Skills Do I Need for Teaching Music? Many music teachers in public, religious, and home school cooperatives have asked, “What music skills do I need to teach music?” There are four basic skills. However, before listing the four skills, you need to know that no one can be a successful music teacher without him or herself being artistic and musical. With inner musicianship as a foundation, the basic skills needed to be successful are as follows. Two are gateway skills that all students must learn as well. (1) Well-developed intonation with singing in tune while accurately and consistently maintaining the tonal center. (2) Mastery of performing a steady beat while accurately and consistently maintaining the meter. Additionally, a successful music teacher must (3) fluently know how to read treble clef music, and (4) know how to play simple chords on the piano, guitar, or any other such instruments to accompany students’ singing. A successful music teacher must practice these skills daily to be always leading ahead of his/her students.
How Do I Teach Music? This is called the Art of Teaching, which is a life-long learning process. A beginning teacher must continually assess oneself concerning his/her teaching effectiveness. Video one’s teaching often and view it with an expert music teacher. Trust the experts. Discuss what is effective teaching and what is not. It takes at least five years to become comfortable and confident with the art of teaching. Also, a well-written music curriculum will feature built-in, explicit, easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions to guide the beginner teacher into becoming an experienced one, and an experienced teacher into a master one!
What Do I Teach the Students? Many unanswered curriculum questions plague a beginner teacher. A first grade class enters your music room for the very first time and sits down, and you ask, “Now what do I do?” What do I teach Kindergarteners, first graders, second graders, any graders? How do I start at the absolute beginning? What and how do I sequentially teach primary elementary students, intermediate elementary students, middle schoolers, secondary and high school students? What music skills should be taught to each grade? How should the music skills in each grade build into the next grade? How should elementary build to middle school and then to high school? For a music curriculum that is precisely “Scope, Sequenced, and Spiraling,” grade upon grade, this is where a beginning teacher must Trust the Experts. Find a music curriculum that is core-skills based, scope and sequenced, and framed with the latest research on how children learn music. It takes time for a music teacher to master curriculum writing. When a music teacher understands the artistic “what” in each music activity, that teacher has achieved a master’s level in understanding. When a music teacher understands the “why” of each music activity and the “why” of the entire curricular scope and sequence, that teacher has acquired a doctorate level of music education insight. Seek to understand the “whys” more than “whats.”
How Do I Deal With Student Behaviors, Especially Negative Ones? Again, Trust the Experts. In public or religious schools, partner with veteran teachers who seem to “really have their acts together.” They can mentor you with many helpful tips for managing attitudes and behaviors. Partner with the student to discuss his/her appropriate and inappropriate behavior(s). Partner cooperatively with the parents or caregivers to address behaviors in school and at home. The same negative ones invariably happen at both places. There are no teacher-preparation courses that instruct beginning teachers how to “respond with truth” rather than “react with emotion” to negative situations, but it is only truth that will actually help misdirected behaviors. An excellent publication to absorb is a small but giant book by Ron Clark. I advise beginning teachers to read, memorize, and practice, award-winning, Ron Clark’s The Essential 55 and its accompanying workbook, ISBN 1-4013-0001-4 and ISBN 1-4013-0770-1. While trying out elements of someone else’s management style, your own will emerge and become very effective.
Please feel free to contact me at any time, as often as you please, with any mentoring, music teaching, music curriculum, or classroom management questions.
Dr. Knauss mentors student teachers and regular teachers into teaching excellence. He taught for 3 decades in inner-city public schools, winning over street kids into being like family, became one of the principle curriculum writers for an award-winning, internationally-recognized music department. He retired from public schools, completed a Ph.D. in Music Education, and presently is an adjunct music education professor at Baptist Bible College.
David E. Knauss
Ph.D. in Music Education.
Contact me through my website at:
www.classroom-music.info
