Techniques From a French Horn Masterclass

Earlier in the semester I had the opportunity to attend a French horn masterclass taught by David Wakefield, a member of the American Brass Quintet. The class was open to all French horn players and three students were able to play for him. He gave the students advice on improvements they could make in the songs that they were playing. He also had the rest of us bring our French horns so he could work with all of us. It was a very interesting and educational experience. He gave advice that all of us could apply to our playing. Throughout my college career, the only instruction that I had received was from my French horn Professor, which has been great advice. It was very helpful to receive some suggestions from another professional horn player. He had some very interesting ideas for us, to help us increase our range and to get a better sound. There are so many teaching methods that people use and everyone comes up with different ideas about how to play better, especially when they have had a lot of experience trying different things out. After the masterclass, I went to practice the music I was working on and I tried out some of the techniques that he had taught us to see what would work for me and what would be the most beneficial. It was interesting for me to get ideas from someone other than my professor. I think this idea can be applied to all kinds of teachers. When you are able to get advice and ideas from multiple people, you can put it all together to figure out what works best for you.

 http://www.americanbrassquintet.org/

Putting An End To Bullying

School should be seen as a safe environment for students to further their education and spend time with their friends. No one should ever be afraid of going to school. For students who are bullied, this is not the case. In schools at every grade level, bullying can have terrible effects on students who do not fit in with the popular group. Teenagers try so hard to be liked and accepted by other students, but in many cases, this will not happen. They are bullied each and every day and as this continues, their self esteem drops. Students who are bullied do not want to be in school so they do not see school as a safe place. Jodee Blanco experienced a similar situation when she was in middle school and high school. During her visit to Decorah High School, she shared her personal story of how she was bullied each day at school and how she dreaded going to school for all of those years. She gave parents and teachers ideas of how to deal with the students who are bullying others and ideas about how to help those who have been bullied. Even though some of her advice would not necessarily work with all children, we need to do all that we can to help children who bully others realize the effects that their bullying can have on other children. We also need to help the children who dread coming to school by encouraging them to become involved in activities to meet new friends and help them realize that they are important and should not be tormented by their classmates. Bullying is a serious issue in schools. As teachers, we need to watch out for signs of bullying in the hallways, cafeteria, and at recess, because students will not likely bully others in the classroom; it would be too easy for them to get caught in the classroom. We need to be aware of what goes on outside of our classrooms to see the amount of bullying that really goes on and confront those responsible for making their classmates miserable in school.

http://www.jodeeblanco.com/media_room_video.htm

Effective Teaching

There are so many ways to be an effective teacher in the school systems today. All teachers have skills in different areas and enjoy teaching certain subjects. Even though all teachers are different in what and how they teach, they all need to have some similarities that help them become effective teachers in their own way. They need to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses as a teacher and be willing to make the necessary changes that will benefit their students as well as themselves. It is important to be aware of what makes you a unique teacher and what makes your teaching methods, as well as personality, special and effective in the classroom.

When teachers are persistent in the classroom, the students will always know what is expected from them; in their behavior, school work, etc. When a teacher is consistent with their grading and homework expectations, students know what to expect and they will not be frustrated about unclear explanations and guidelines. It is vital for all teachers to have a strong work ethic. People do not go into the profession of teaching for the money. They know the amount of work that goes into teaching at any level and they want that challenge. They want to make a difference in childrens' lives. Teachers have to have a great work ethic to get everything accomplished during the school day and after hours. There is so much to do outside of the school day to prepare for the following days, so if teachers did not have the strong work ethic that is needed to be a great teacher, they would be failing their students.

Lastly, believing in your ability in teaching and having confidence in yourself could possibly have the largest effects in a classroom. If teachers believe that they are an effective teacher, they will believe in their students' abilities as well. If teachers do not believe in themselves and think that they are not making a difference, they will not be able to believe that their students are doing any significant learning in the classroom. Like many of these other concepts, when teachers have a positive attitude about their abilities and strengths, students will see that confidence and they will too feel that they are making significant progress. It is extremely important for teachers to have confidence in themselves as well as in their students. When a teacher is confident it what they are doing, students admire that confidence and respect the teacher. They know that their teacher knows what they are talking about and it reassures the students that what they are learning is important. Also, when teachers show that they are confident in themselves, that confidence rubs off on the students. When teachers are confident that their students will succeed and encourage them to do well, the students will also be confident in themselves and the work that they do. All of these concepts have to do with the mental states of teachers and if they are positive, up-beat, hardworking, and believe in themselves, their students will have a much better chance of succeeding and hopefully the teacher's positive energy will rub off on the students.

Creativity At All Ages

Creativity is a very important part of the lives of children. It is an opportunity to truly express themselves and show their individuality. When they are able to be creative, they are able to show what is unique about them. Children are given the opportunities at home to be creative when they have unstructured play time but schools do not seem to fit time into the daily schedule for that unstructured free time where students can use their imagination in playing games, doing art projects, making up stories, and role playing. Most of the time, in schools students sit in their desks while the teacher lectures about the lesson. Even if they do have some free time, it isn't a significant amount of time. Children need time to be creative, which is outside the structured learning that takes place in most situations. The creativity that they express in art and music classes isn't enough because children may only have those classes once a week. Children need more time in schools to use their wild imaginations or else they will lose that sense of creativity. Teachers can encourage creativity and imagination by not always giving students set instructions, but giving them general instructions and allowing their imagination to do the rest. Teachers teach creativity by giving children the opportunities to be creative and also by being a creative teacher. When teachers demonstrate creativity through their teaching methods and displaying their creativity and imagination around their room, they are showing their students that anyone can be creative. It is not something that we should grow out of. If people slowly stop using their imagination, they will lose that creativity. If teachers do not encourage and demonstrate creativity and explain how important it is, children will not use their imagination. So many jobs that have been created in recent years are no longer the assembly line, same task each day kind of jobs. They require people to think outside the box and come up with new and interesting ideas. If teachers are not allowing their students to be creative in the classroom, they will not know how to use their imaginations in the work place. Facts are not the only things that teachers can teach in schools. In some cases, a wild imagination can get a person farther in life than only having learned the facts in school.