https://padlet.com/rgonzal1_g/1wpw8g6po15k en-us 2017-11-09 20:52:21 UTC 2026-01-24 20:51:37 UTC hello@padlet.com rgonzal1_g https://padlet.com/rgonzal1_g/1wpw8g6po15k/wish/205507647 When I began to think about music standards and benchmarks, I was equally confused and scared. So much of my education in music growing up seemed so "on the fly" and very improvisatory. Obviously this isn't true - just a demonstration of good teaching. Music education has changed a lot in the last few years, and often the way we were taught is not the way we are learning that we should teach. Having these standards to go to is really nice to be able to bring together the academic language AND music notation/vocabulary. Often times, parents and students see music classrooms as an "easy A". By having these standards to refer to, it is easier to defend our grading policies because we can grade on standards - not participation alone. I am looking forward to planning my lessons around these benchmarks and seeing how they adapt over my years of teaching. I also want to be an advocate for the national music standards and help change them if they need to be. ]]> 2017-11-09 20:58:59 UTC https://padlet.com/rgonzal1_g/1wpw8g6po15k/wish/205507647 rgonzal1_g https://padlet.com/rgonzal1_g/1wpw8g6po15k/wish/205510098 I am interested to see how this changes when I can actually plan a unit and lesson for a classroom that uses instruments, but I really am enjoying walking through the process of planning out how I will teach the standards in our day to day lessons (with the "unit" being the concert). Regardless, I am fortunate for the experience in planning a unit for elementary music because it is highly likely that some part of my job will include teaching a few periods of general music. Going into the EdTPA, I thought lesson planning and unit planning was a lot simpler than it is. Up until this point, my lesson plans I have done in college have been more of a script. I am interested to ask my cooperating teachers during the clinical practicums about their lesson planning. Often times in an ensemble I think this is more seen as a "rehearsal schedule". Though it is a lot of work, I am glad we are being taught this now because it really makes us think about how we are teaching the necessary topics. ]]> 2017-11-09 21:07:09 UTC https://padlet.com/rgonzal1_g/1wpw8g6po15k/wish/205510098 rgonzal1_g https://padlet.com/rgonzal1_g/1wpw8g6po15k/wish/205512118 This was by far the most beneficial part to this class for me. I am so glad that this was a practical assignment that we actually get to use in a few years. Starting these conversations now and having us think through our teaching philosophy and standard operating procedures was SO helpful. In our instrumental methods we were able to revise our grading policies a few times and really get to hone in on what we deem as important assessment strategies for the music classroom which I found to be really helpful. Essentially, I just really appreciated this topic and assignment because it felt like we were actually preparing for our future classroom and getting stuff out of the way now so we can focus on other things as we approach our first job. THANK YOU! ]]> 2017-11-09 21:13:30 UTC https://padlet.com/rgonzal1_g/1wpw8g6po15k/wish/205512118 rgonzal1_g https://padlet.com/rgonzal1_g/1wpw8g6po15k/wish/205513514 I really appreciated this segment of the class because it put us in real life scenarios where we could collaborate with our peers on how we would handle them. Thinking about how we would communicate with parents, make those hard phone calls, and have those extremely difficult conversations were really helpful in this class. At the beginning of the semester, I thought they would be just another "busy work" assignment to get out of the way, but I actually really learned to appreciate Hot Moment Friday's. I liked how real the scenarios were, and I liked how we were able to critique our peers in a positive way that had us all rethink of how we might handle these difficult situations. ]]> 2017-11-09 21:18:27 UTC https://padlet.com/rgonzal1_g/1wpw8g6po15k/wish/205513514 rgonzal1_g https://padlet.com/rgonzal1_g/1wpw8g6po15k/wish/205515181

I chose this funny comic strip because it really goes along with some of the struggles that music educators face. Often times other teachers, and especially parents, see music as an 'Easy A'. If we can shift our grading in music classrooms from participation based to standard based, people would not be able to have this argument or have this view on music. We can grade on effort and improvement rather than attendance. ]]> 2017-11-09 21:24:28 UTC https://padlet.com/rgonzal1_g/1wpw8g6po15k/wish/205515181 rgonzal1_g https://padlet.com/rgonzal1_g/1wpw8g6po15k/wish/205516131

This cartoon is funny and sad at the same time! As music educators, we are responsible for advocating for our program. Involving ourselves with the community, administrators, and parents is extremely important. One way to get extra instruments in the music classroom is simply to put out an add in the paper. If your school allows, offer a tax write-off for instrument donations! But most important is to involve ourselves in the community to make our program recognized. 

]]> 2017-11-09 21:27:46 UTC https://padlet.com/rgonzal1_g/1wpw8g6po15k/wish/205516131 rgonzal1_g https://padlet.com/rgonzal1_g/1wpw8g6po15k/wish/205525441 This is a great article that discusses the need for more diversity in the music classroom. I love this article because it not only discusses the need for diverse students - but diverse TEACHERS as well. Often times there is a diversity gap in instrumental ensembles because parents cannot afford the lessons, trips, and most importantly - the instruments. Of the three performing arts groups (choir, band, and orchestra) - choir is usually more diverse due to not having to fund an instrument. We as teachers can close this gap by finding ways to provide instruments to any and all students. Requesting instrument donations, applying for grants, and fundraising are great ways to provide some of these resources. Further, music educators need to be choosing quality repertoire that hits ALL cultural backgrounds. It is imperative that we are differentiating our instruction and repertoire to provide an inclusive environment for all of our students.


https://theconversation.com/why-music-education-needs-to-incorporate-more-diversity-53789]]> 2017-11-09 22:05:39 UTC https://padlet.com/rgonzal1_g/1wpw8g6po15k/wish/205525441