Changing the Future of Music Education: My Philosophy
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REFERENCES TO INFORMATION USED:
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Examples of Good and Bad Teaching
John Keating - Dead Poets Society
On the first day if class, the English teacher Mr. Keating (Robin Williams) makes a unique impression on his class of all-boy students by bringing them outside the classroom as they all stand in a foyer of the school. Mr. Keating then has a student open to a particular poem in their textbook, “The Virgins to make Much of Time”, and read a particular line, “gather ye rosebuds while ye may”. Mr. Keating instantly begins to make text-to-life connections with the poem. Highlighting its relevance, he points out that the Latin term for this sentiment is known as “Carpe Diem”, and allows one of his students to contribute what they already knew about the topic. He then brings them up to an old photograph in the school’s foyer of one of the school’s sports teams long ago, and uses their death as another means to emphasize the importance of and connect the message in the poem with his students. The students initially think the lesson is very weird and random, however Mr. Keating is teaching them a vital life lesson- especially since his students are attending an elite preparatory school and are essentially living to fulfill their parent’s wishes rather than their own. In this clip, Mr. Keating exemplifies exceptional teaching as he approached the curriculum in unorthodox ways in attempt to bring the students to see new perspectives, as well as he immediately sought numerous ways to make the content the students were learning relevant to the students personally.
On the first day if class, the English teacher Mr. Keating (Robin Williams) makes a unique impression on his class of all-boy students by bringing them outside the classroom as they all stand in a foyer of the school. Mr. Keating then has a student open to a particular poem in their textbook, “The Virgins to make Much of Time”, and read a particular line, “gather ye rosebuds while ye may”. Mr. Keating instantly begins to make text-to-life connections with the poem. Highlighting its relevance, he points out that the Latin term for this sentiment is known as “Carpe Diem”, and allows one of his students to contribute what they already knew about the topic. He then brings them up to an old photograph in the school’s foyer of one of the school’s sports teams long ago, and uses their death as another means to emphasize the importance of and connect the message in the poem with his students. The students initially think the lesson is very weird and random, however Mr. Keating is teaching them a vital life lesson- especially since his students are attending an elite preparatory school and are essentially living to fulfill their parent’s wishes rather than their own. In this clip, Mr. Keating exemplifies exceptional teaching as he approached the curriculum in unorthodox ways in attempt to bring the students to see new perspectives, as well as he immediately sought numerous ways to make the content the students were learning relevant to the students personally.
Terence Fletcher- Whiplash
During a scene where Mr. Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) and his jazz band sit down to rehearse a challenging song named “Whiplash”, what I believe to be harsh and rather abusive teaching traits are evident. As they begin to rehearse, Mr. Fletcher proceeds to cut off the band- Andrew the drummer in particular, nine different times in the span of only one and a half minutes. The first five times, he gives absolutely no help or guidance as to what was being done incorrectly. The sixth time, he indicates that the drummer is either dragging or rushing the tempo, but still doesn’t give any further guidance and prompts him to try again. The ninth time, without warning, Mr. Fletcher throws a chair at the drummer’s head. Although the drummer ducked and avoided the chair, you can tell how terrified and hurt that had made him feel. Mr. Fletcher then asks the drummer why he threw the chair. In fear of being wrong and being penalized again, Andrew is uncertain of whether he was rushing or dragging the tempo that time and therefore couldn't provide a secure answer. Mr. Fletcher’s way of informing Andrew of whether he was rushing or dragging the tempo, was to slap him in the face slightly faster than the tempo he made Andrew count out loud in front of the band until he could figure it out. When Andrew figured out that he was rushing, Mr. Fletcher got even more angry and said that since Andrew was aware of the tempo and said that he was purposefully “sabotaging his band”. When he eventually drove Andrew to tears, he began making homophobic jokes and mocking the fact that he got upset, and forced him to embarrass himself further by screaming that he was upset to the rest of the band. Mr. Fletcher then kicked him off the drum kit and told him to start practicing harder. Later on in the movie, Mr. Fletcher can be seen explaining his motive behind throwing the chair at Andrew, and that it was driven by a similar incident that had once happened to Charlie Parker when he had messed up during a big performance and had gotten a cymbal thrown at his head. According to Mr. Fletcher, this is what made Charlie Parker into the legend he was. In my opinion, this is absolutely no excuse for verbal and physical abuse in or outside the classroom; in fact I believe this is predominantly driven by Mr. Fletcher’s obsession with perfection and his abuse of power as he chose to take it out on his student. Mr. Fletcher even got a vital piece of information incorrect- Charlie Parker may’ve had a cymbal thrown at him, but only at his feet, embarrassing but not threatening him. I believe this misconception to be another indicator of Mr. Fletcher’s twisted moral-code. In conclusion, Mr. Fletcher is depicted as a man with very little patience and very high standards, and in this scene gives very ineffective- if any, help and guidance on how to improve. He is only seen discouraging students in their current abilities and expects students to improve by yelling and insulting them; making them want to try harder just so they can avoid being so harshly penalized.
During a scene where Mr. Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) and his jazz band sit down to rehearse a challenging song named “Whiplash”, what I believe to be harsh and rather abusive teaching traits are evident. As they begin to rehearse, Mr. Fletcher proceeds to cut off the band- Andrew the drummer in particular, nine different times in the span of only one and a half minutes. The first five times, he gives absolutely no help or guidance as to what was being done incorrectly. The sixth time, he indicates that the drummer is either dragging or rushing the tempo, but still doesn’t give any further guidance and prompts him to try again. The ninth time, without warning, Mr. Fletcher throws a chair at the drummer’s head. Although the drummer ducked and avoided the chair, you can tell how terrified and hurt that had made him feel. Mr. Fletcher then asks the drummer why he threw the chair. In fear of being wrong and being penalized again, Andrew is uncertain of whether he was rushing or dragging the tempo that time and therefore couldn't provide a secure answer. Mr. Fletcher’s way of informing Andrew of whether he was rushing or dragging the tempo, was to slap him in the face slightly faster than the tempo he made Andrew count out loud in front of the band until he could figure it out. When Andrew figured out that he was rushing, Mr. Fletcher got even more angry and said that since Andrew was aware of the tempo and said that he was purposefully “sabotaging his band”. When he eventually drove Andrew to tears, he began making homophobic jokes and mocking the fact that he got upset, and forced him to embarrass himself further by screaming that he was upset to the rest of the band. Mr. Fletcher then kicked him off the drum kit and told him to start practicing harder. Later on in the movie, Mr. Fletcher can be seen explaining his motive behind throwing the chair at Andrew, and that it was driven by a similar incident that had once happened to Charlie Parker when he had messed up during a big performance and had gotten a cymbal thrown at his head. According to Mr. Fletcher, this is what made Charlie Parker into the legend he was. In my opinion, this is absolutely no excuse for verbal and physical abuse in or outside the classroom; in fact I believe this is predominantly driven by Mr. Fletcher’s obsession with perfection and his abuse of power as he chose to take it out on his student. Mr. Fletcher even got a vital piece of information incorrect- Charlie Parker may’ve had a cymbal thrown at him, but only at his feet, embarrassing but not threatening him. I believe this misconception to be another indicator of Mr. Fletcher’s twisted moral-code. In conclusion, Mr. Fletcher is depicted as a man with very little patience and very high standards, and in this scene gives very ineffective- if any, help and guidance on how to improve. He is only seen discouraging students in their current abilities and expects students to improve by yelling and insulting them; making them want to try harder just so they can avoid being so harshly penalized.