PHILOSOPHY OF MUSIC EDUCATION For as long as I can remember, my life has centered around music; it is what wakes me up in the morning and it is music that sends to me to sleep in the night. Every second of every day I notice its influences and principals engrained in my mind, affecting everything within me from the way I treat others, to the holistic way in which I view the world. Music has positively affected my life in the greatest possible sense, and I have grown to respect it in every form. It is with this great admiration andlove that I want to enter the profession of Music Education, and hopefully encourage my students to develop their own, personal relationships with music. Operating under the philosophy that all children have musical potential, I plan to create an environmentwhere students feel free to eplore their minds through creativity and self epression, uncovering their own musical identities, and learning more about themselves and others. One of the most natural forms of communication, music is a timeless entity, spanning and uniting generations of people, preserving their thoughts, hopes, dreams, and emotions in music, and it is my goal as an educator to welcome my students into this world, and teach them how to be successful in it. !iding them in their social and emotional growth, my goal is to encourage this communication of thoughts and feelings through song, movement and verbali"ation, giving them a vastly more powerful repertoire of self#epression.Involving more than $ust singing, music is a highly academic practice, an aspect of the sub$ect which is most often overlooked. Encompassing all of the ma$or sub$ects that are seen as vital to a well#rounded education, such as science, math, language, history and physical education, the study of music possesses a direct connection with each. %owever, while music can and should be included when addressing the ma$or academic sub$ects, there is one final aspect that sets it apart from all the rest; music is art. &ot only does music enhance our minds, but it connects with human beings in a uni'ue way, arming students with powerful tools for understanding human eperiences, and communicating with the world around them. In the end, the arts have a certain intrinsic value to all human beings, allowing each individual to develop their own personal relationship with the arts, and benefit from them in their own uni'ue way.!s a teacher of music, my main goal is to provide my students with musical eperiences that are both positive and meaningful. (eaching them to see, think, and hear as musicians, I hope to educate my students on the importance of music literacy through the study of notation, theory, and music history, aswell as give them the tools to analy"e and think critically about music. Fostering creativity, students will be shown that their thoughts and opinions are valued, giving them the freedom to take risks, and teaching them to see the positive internal rewards these actions can bring. )ith a goal beyond teaching my students to be proper singers, I aim to shape them into well#rounded musicians, presenting them with the knowledge and eperience to allow them to formulate their own educated opinions regarding music. *ringing light to the relationships between music and the world in which they live, my students will be able to draw connections between music and culture, while being introduced to a diverse range of musical styles, and cultures. !n important point to remember, it is not an educators $ob to force students into a specific, standardi"ed mold, but rather give them the tools to decide for themselves. It is with great love and passion for the art of music that I enter the career of music education. (he thought of sharing my ecitement for the sub$ect with others will be my greatest $oy in the profession, and I will do all that I can to ensure my students are given a rich education in music. Encouraging student involvement, and fostering growth through a range of educational and social eperiences, my main goal is to give my students the opportunities to create lifelong, positive memories with music.