The Foundation of My Educational Beliefs
I was born on January 6, 1982 at Medical City Dallas to Ellen and Mike Jahnke. My parents were extremely happy to welcome their first child into the world. Two years later my younger brother Christopher entered the picture. Mom stayed home with us while Dad traveled for work. He came home on weekends, but for the longest time I was afraid of him because I did not really know him as my dad. Mom made play-dough and macaroni art with us; Dad was a weekend guest who brought t-shirts from the places he visited. Eventually Dad changed jobs to be home with us and I came to enjoy spending time with both my parents. Mom read to us every night and nearly any other time we asked. Mom has always been my foundation. At some point during elementary school she went back to work. My parents always made time for us and put us first. They instilled in me that family is something to be treasured, money has to be earned, personal responsibility is a high priority, and that if I could dream it I could do it. They were always supportive of my ambitions and goals.
Kindergarten came along and after the first day of tears, I loved school. My teacher was strict, but also kind. I enjoyed escaping into the reading and kitchen centers as often as allowed. My teachers in elementary school constantly inspired and encouraged me to reach for the stars. School was a breeze for me. Friends came and went through the years. Teachers loved me because I was well-behaved and cherished learning. The first educational disappointment I encountered was in 4th grade when I was not accepted into the Quest program. It was a setback, but I did not give up. Instead I volunteered to read to the kindergarten classes once a week and helped a first grade teacher in the mornings. School was a place of comfort and belonging.
When I was twelve, everything changed. My little family of four was becoming a family of five. I hoped and prayed for a little sister, but we ended up with another boy, Zachary. Being twelve, I saw this as a very negative thing. There was not any jealousy; it was just the fact that there would be another boy in my family. Zachary instantly won me over with his big brown eyes, wonderful smile, and cute antics. It helped that I got to keep my own room, too. As we grew, Zachary became like a son to me. It was not something that was forced on me because my parents could not be there. It was a gradual growing of my protective side. When I got a car I was responsible for picking him up from daycare. I went to his conferences at school, his sports games, and his plays because I wanted to be in his life. I knew that when he would graduate from kindergarten, I would graduate from high school and move on to college.
Secondary school was not as pleasant as elementary school. I was the overweight smart child with glasses that the average kid joked about. Boys who were my friends in elementary became my enemies in middle school. Since we no longer spent most of the day with one teacher, I did not really bond with them the way I had my elementary teachers. Many times I felt outcast and lonely. The one safe place on campus was the orchestra room. Orchestra was a family. The teacher was strict, but I enjoyed the class. Making music was just plain fun. I enjoyed the challenges offered and I had the talent to excel. During high school I came into my own. Juniors and seniors from orchestra took me under their wings when I made Varsity Orchestra as a freshman. School life started to look up once again. My honors classes were enjoyable, but my electives made me want to come to school every day.
My parents both hold college degrees and highly value education. My dad has an accounting degree and my mother holds a political science degree as well as a paralegal certificate. Dad worked for the IRS, individual attorneys, and now holds a position with the Office of the Chapter Thirteen bankruptcy court. Mom stayed at home for as long as she could, but eventually went to work for two attorneys in injury law as their paralegal. She now works for an insurance company as one of the top auto accident adjustors in the region. When I was little, my parents would take me to their offices on weekends when they had work to finish. I was allowed to bring toys or play on the computer, but more importantly I could help out by filing papers for them.
As life progressed, I went through the gamut of potential career choices. I wanted to be an astronaut, a doctor, the first female president; the list goes on. Every time I came home with a new career path in mind, my parents would smile and tell me the steps I needed to complete to achieve that goal. In third grade I settled on being a teacher. Nothing else crossed my mind after that year; there was no other choice for me. I liked helping people, learning new things, and loved little kids. There was something about the teachers in my life that made me want to be one of them. I credit my mom and my third grade teacher Mrs. Newton for this. My mom is a natural teacher. Even though she has never set foot in a school room as the instructor, she has been teaching me all my life. There is nothing particular I can recall about Mrs. Newton that made me want to teach. It was everything about her. For three years I was determined to be a third grade teacher just like Mrs. Newton.
In sixth grade I joined the orchestra and met my true calling. Music class was nothing special to me until that point. Some days I did not particularly like music class. When the violin first entered my hands, I knew it was something special. Music became an awesome two-day-a-week event. It was the best time of the day. I loved going to orchestra and showing my teacher what I had taught myself since our last class. It was thrilling when she let me help a few classmates who were struggling with their playing and rewarding to see them succeed. She kept me on a steady diet of new musical challenges for three years. In high school, I had the opportunity to study under another wonderful director. Mr. Engel challenged me to exceed and reach as far as I could. He was always straight-forward with me about what teaching meant and everything that went along with it – meetings, paperwork, conferences, mundane tasks like lesson planning and copying.
With my career firmly entrenched in my mind, I headed to college in the fall of 2000. My parents made it very clear from a young age that I was on my own for financing my education. Thankfully my passion for music and teaching translated into scholarship money. I ended up at Centenary College of Louisiana thanks to a business associate of my mom’s. She was working with a lawyer on a case and they were talking about family when she mentioned I was looking for a small college with an orchestra and a teaching program. His wife happened to be the Dean of the Hurley School of Music at Centenary and they needed a bass player for their orchestra. After my audition and interview, I was offered a sizeable scholarship. I majored in music education for the subsequent four and a half years. My teaching career began immediately after I graduated in December 2004. I took long-term substitute teacher jobs for the remainder of the year as there were no full-time positions available. Luckily the substituting I did was in my field.
Currently I live with my husband, Stephen, and our furry children, Abby, Pip, and Mozart. We hope to add another little one to the family in the near future. My family is five minutes down the road and we visit regularly. They still come to my concerts to show their support for me. Every Friday is game night and dinner with my brothers and our friends. Stephen and I travel about once a month to visit my friends from college who are now scattered across Texas and Louisiana. On the weekends I enjoy reading, card making, scrapbooking, cooking, and baking.
My purpose in life is clear: to share joy with those around me. At work I do this by sharing my passion for making music and playing instruments. Food expresses my love and joy for those around me at home. My cards bring a small joy to each recipient. I value honesty, integrity, sincerity, kindness, hard work, family, and friends. Those who surround me reflect those values. I believe there are universal values present through every culture and religion in the world. Those values are expressed differently by each, and ignored by some. It seems that people latch on to the negative and overlook the positive. There are many people who follow universal values every day.
In the future my plans divide into two categories: personal and professional. My personal goals and plans include being the best mother possible, losing about 25 pounds, and continuing to improve my card making techniques. I am also trying to fill a box full with handmade cards to send overseas for soldiers to use. The most immediate professional goal is to earn sweepstakes at UIL with one or more of my orchestras. Even without that recognition I will strive for new ways to inspire the children that come through my class. I have no desire to be a principal or administrator. Teaching is what I do best.
This is my sixth year teaching middle school orchestra. My first year was spent split between two schools in Grand Prairie ISD. Now I teach nearly one hundred students at Berry Middle School. This is my fifth year in my current position. My students are sixth, seventh, and eighth graders from nearly all races and backgrounds. The sixth graders are sweet and eager to learn and please. My seventh graders are content to float, not pushing themselves, but not slacking to an extreme. Eighth grade is constantly testing boundaries, happy to be on top the social pyramid for now. Orchestra attracts mostly high achievers. Failure is not much of an issue for my students. Perfectionism drives many.
My two classrooms are not truly my own. I share a portable and a classroom with the band. It is very frustrating since the other teacher and I have very different views on how our rooms should be set. My beginners sit in rows spread apart so I can easily walk around and help everyone. The Intermediate and Advanced Orchestras sit in orchestra setup similar to a rainbow with the teacher/conductor at the center where I can see everyone and they can all see me. Band instruments crowd both rooms. My bulletin board in the main building is covered in fabric with current announcements and opportunities for students. The carpet is ragged, stained, and coming apart. It has been there as long as the school has been open, about 15 years. Chairs, music stands, and instruments cover the room. There is not enough storage or lockers for all the students’ instruments. The portable has dark blue carpet from floor to ceiling. My word wall is colorful and filled with vocabulary for the beginners to use. The white board at the front of the room holds fingering charts and the daily agenda.
In each room I have an instrument to demonstrate skills and techniques. My students use Essential Elements 2000 as their textbook. It moves quickly enough to keep students interested, but does not try to teach multiple skills at once like other books I have explored. This is supplemented with solos, ensembles, and sheet music. I communicate with parents through email, the orchestra website, and notes home at least once a month. Parents volunteer on field trips, help with recruiting, and help at concerts. They also help at home by encouraging their children to practice what we have done in class.
Three days a week I go to the high school to assist the Varsity Orchestra. Sometimes I work with small groups of students, other times I lead the orchestra while their teacher pulls individuals out. It is very rewarding to see the kids I started as sixth graders continuing to play their instrument and such a high level. On my campus I am the lead mentor for new teachers each year. In the past I have been on the site-based and sunshine committees. I am always available to lend a hand though. My colleagues respect me and appreciate what I do as part of the campus for our students. The administrators have expressed their confidence in me and what I do for my students. My subject is generally a mystery to them, but any time they walk into my room they see kids engaged in making music and enjoying what they are learning.
My personality requires organization and structure, but also includes the need for freedom to go my own way. The orchestra reflects this. There is a time and place for experimentation and a time for structure. My class rules are simple: be on time, be prepared, stay in your seat, play/talk only when appropriate, and keep hands/feet/books/objects to yourself. I modified these rules from others I saw throughout various schools. The rule that I have the most trouble enforcing is to play and talk only when appropriate. I believe students need to enjoy my class so they return to the program in subsequent years so I allow more talking in my room than a normal class, but some students take it too far. Students should be encouraged to live up to challenges given by a caring teacher. My room should be a place where everyone feels safe.
Students learn best by doing and demonstrating their skills to others. They acquire knowledge through example and trial and error, like a young child touching a hot stove only once. The teacher should be a facilitator of that knowledge. I know I have done my job when my students can learn a new piece of music without needing me to guide them step-by-step. Education is gaining knowledge of the world around us, a preparation for life, a means to convey the values of a society to the next generation and to hopefully better our society as a whole. Knowledge is power, therefore education is the key. School prepares students for life and helps them understand the past, present, and future. It should not be solely responsible for teaching values, but rather support those taught at home. Holding individuals accountable, expecting integrity, and showing respect for everyone are things learned early in childhood that can easily be supported at school. My classroom goals are achieved through direct instruction, collaborative learning, teacher-directed instruction, and drill and practice methods.
Schools should offer a broad base of knowledge, and music should be a core component of every child’s education. There must be national standards for schools to meet. Early education must cover the foundation for success in future careers. Basic math, English, history, and science are core building blocks. Every child should be required to participate in some form of music education because everyone has the capacity for music. After middle school, students should either continue in a broad curriculum or have the option to track classes towards a specific career. I realize that this is what college does, but I believe that starts too late and puts our children at a disadvantage.
Individual differences need to be accommodated to a point. No matter your background, if you expect to be a lawyer you must know the law, write coherently, and speak at a level that gains the respect of your clients, judges, and juries. Allowing students to write incomplete sentences, misspell common words, and speak in slang is a disservice to them that makes entering the job market more difficult. Employers discard résumés with spelling mistakes, not even considering that candidate. Yes, those with challenges such as dyslexia should have help and additional guidance. When the average student cannot copy a word directly from a book and spell it correctly, there is a failure somewhere in the system. The educational process should prepare students for the challenges of adult life. Students should exit the educational system knowing how to be a positively productive citizen. This can be measured by the number of students graduating from high school, continuing to higher education, and the number of students moving on to productive jobs.
TAKS testing is a good idea in theory. I believe that end-of-course testing is much more effective to show students’ mastery of the subject. TAKS testing does not line up with the curriculum, it is a year behind. Much of the time leading up to the test is spent reviewing last year’s material or focusing on how to take the test. I am not convinced that the TAKS test has raised student achievement since so much time is spent teaching to the test. Problem-solving skills and creativity must also be addressed to raise achievement. My subject does not fall under a specific TAKS test. I am held accountable at UIL contest and sight-reading competition. So while trying to teach my subject, I am also expected to support all other subject learning – math, science, history, English – and be okay with students being pulled out of my class to be remediated in other subjects. My students feel the pressure to do well on the TAKS test. They know that if they do not, they will lose their elective the upcoming school year. I have seen students with tremendous testing anxiety more frequently in the past few years – ulcers, picking at skin until it bleeds, and migraine headaches. There must be some other way to measure student learning than by high-stakes testing. Schools should be accountable for guiding curriculum, and teachers for teaching it, but students should be accountable for learning the material. You can guide a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. Education in the 21st century must continue to cover basic skills and expand upon higher-level skills. We must integrate creativity and problem-solving into the curriculum.
My strengths as a teacher include commitment to my students, knowledge of the subject matter, creative ways to engage the kids, and genuinely caring for everyone who comes into my class. The thing that holds me back the most is enforcing discipline for an effective learning environment. There is way too much time wasted on waiting for the class to get quiet and successfully transition from one activity to the next. In the next three years I want to have larger classes, consistently earn sweepstakes, and clinic other groups. That will require better teaching of fundamentals- intonation, proper bowing, vibrato - and better classroom management. To reach my goal of starting fifty beginners a year, I need new recruiting ideas. What worked before is now inadequate as more demands are placed on students and other programs have stepped up their recruiting. I want my students to connect with the material presented on a deeper level because music is emotion, teamwork, a foreign language, and above all a way to express one’s self. I believe that Cohort will give me new ways to assess my students and be more effective in the classroom.
I was born on January 6, 1982 at Medical City Dallas to Ellen and Mike Jahnke. My parents were extremely happy to welcome their first child into the world. Two years later my younger brother Christopher entered the picture. Mom stayed home with us while Dad traveled for work. He came home on weekends, but for the longest time I was afraid of him because I did not really know him as my dad. Mom made play-dough and macaroni art with us; Dad was a weekend guest who brought t-shirts from the places he visited. Eventually Dad changed jobs to be home with us and I came to enjoy spending time with both my parents. Mom read to us every night and nearly any other time we asked. Mom has always been my foundation. At some point during elementary school she went back to work. My parents always made time for us and put us first. They instilled in me that family is something to be treasured, money has to be earned, personal responsibility is a high priority, and that if I could dream it I could do it. They were always supportive of my ambitions and goals.
Kindergarten came along and after the first day of tears, I loved school. My teacher was strict, but also kind. I enjoyed escaping into the reading and kitchen centers as often as allowed. My teachers in elementary school constantly inspired and encouraged me to reach for the stars. School was a breeze for me. Friends came and went through the years. Teachers loved me because I was well-behaved and cherished learning. The first educational disappointment I encountered was in 4th grade when I was not accepted into the Quest program. It was a setback, but I did not give up. Instead I volunteered to read to the kindergarten classes once a week and helped a first grade teacher in the mornings. School was a place of comfort and belonging.
When I was twelve, everything changed. My little family of four was becoming a family of five. I hoped and prayed for a little sister, but we ended up with another boy, Zachary. Being twelve, I saw this as a very negative thing. There was not any jealousy; it was just the fact that there would be another boy in my family. Zachary instantly won me over with his big brown eyes, wonderful smile, and cute antics. It helped that I got to keep my own room, too. As we grew, Zachary became like a son to me. It was not something that was forced on me because my parents could not be there. It was a gradual growing of my protective side. When I got a car I was responsible for picking him up from daycare. I went to his conferences at school, his sports games, and his plays because I wanted to be in his life. I knew that when he would graduate from kindergarten, I would graduate from high school and move on to college.
Secondary school was not as pleasant as elementary school. I was the overweight smart child with glasses that the average kid joked about. Boys who were my friends in elementary became my enemies in middle school. Since we no longer spent most of the day with one teacher, I did not really bond with them the way I had my elementary teachers. Many times I felt outcast and lonely. The one safe place on campus was the orchestra room. Orchestra was a family. The teacher was strict, but I enjoyed the class. Making music was just plain fun. I enjoyed the challenges offered and I had the talent to excel. During high school I came into my own. Juniors and seniors from orchestra took me under their wings when I made Varsity Orchestra as a freshman. School life started to look up once again. My honors classes were enjoyable, but my electives made me want to come to school every day.
My parents both hold college degrees and highly value education. My dad has an accounting degree and my mother holds a political science degree as well as a paralegal certificate. Dad worked for the IRS, individual attorneys, and now holds a position with the Office of the Chapter Thirteen bankruptcy court. Mom stayed at home for as long as she could, but eventually went to work for two attorneys in injury law as their paralegal. She now works for an insurance company as one of the top auto accident adjustors in the region. When I was little, my parents would take me to their offices on weekends when they had work to finish. I was allowed to bring toys or play on the computer, but more importantly I could help out by filing papers for them.
As life progressed, I went through the gamut of potential career choices. I wanted to be an astronaut, a doctor, the first female president; the list goes on. Every time I came home with a new career path in mind, my parents would smile and tell me the steps I needed to complete to achieve that goal. In third grade I settled on being a teacher. Nothing else crossed my mind after that year; there was no other choice for me. I liked helping people, learning new things, and loved little kids. There was something about the teachers in my life that made me want to be one of them. I credit my mom and my third grade teacher Mrs. Newton for this. My mom is a natural teacher. Even though she has never set foot in a school room as the instructor, she has been teaching me all my life. There is nothing particular I can recall about Mrs. Newton that made me want to teach. It was everything about her. For three years I was determined to be a third grade teacher just like Mrs. Newton.
In sixth grade I joined the orchestra and met my true calling. Music class was nothing special to me until that point. Some days I did not particularly like music class. When the violin first entered my hands, I knew it was something special. Music became an awesome two-day-a-week event. It was the best time of the day. I loved going to orchestra and showing my teacher what I had taught myself since our last class. It was thrilling when she let me help a few classmates who were struggling with their playing and rewarding to see them succeed. She kept me on a steady diet of new musical challenges for three years. In high school, I had the opportunity to study under another wonderful director. Mr. Engel challenged me to exceed and reach as far as I could. He was always straight-forward with me about what teaching meant and everything that went along with it – meetings, paperwork, conferences, mundane tasks like lesson planning and copying.
With my career firmly entrenched in my mind, I headed to college in the fall of 2000. My parents made it very clear from a young age that I was on my own for financing my education. Thankfully my passion for music and teaching translated into scholarship money. I ended up at Centenary College of Louisiana thanks to a business associate of my mom’s. She was working with a lawyer on a case and they were talking about family when she mentioned I was looking for a small college with an orchestra and a teaching program. His wife happened to be the Dean of the Hurley School of Music at Centenary and they needed a bass player for their orchestra. After my audition and interview, I was offered a sizeable scholarship. I majored in music education for the subsequent four and a half years. My teaching career began immediately after I graduated in December 2004. I took long-term substitute teacher jobs for the remainder of the year as there were no full-time positions available. Luckily the substituting I did was in my field.
Currently I live with my husband, Stephen, and our furry children, Abby, Pip, and Mozart. We hope to add another little one to the family in the near future. My family is five minutes down the road and we visit regularly. They still come to my concerts to show their support for me. Every Friday is game night and dinner with my brothers and our friends. Stephen and I travel about once a month to visit my friends from college who are now scattered across Texas and Louisiana. On the weekends I enjoy reading, card making, scrapbooking, cooking, and baking.
My purpose in life is clear: to share joy with those around me. At work I do this by sharing my passion for making music and playing instruments. Food expresses my love and joy for those around me at home. My cards bring a small joy to each recipient. I value honesty, integrity, sincerity, kindness, hard work, family, and friends. Those who surround me reflect those values. I believe there are universal values present through every culture and religion in the world. Those values are expressed differently by each, and ignored by some. It seems that people latch on to the negative and overlook the positive. There are many people who follow universal values every day.
In the future my plans divide into two categories: personal and professional. My personal goals and plans include being the best mother possible, losing about 25 pounds, and continuing to improve my card making techniques. I am also trying to fill a box full with handmade cards to send overseas for soldiers to use. The most immediate professional goal is to earn sweepstakes at UIL with one or more of my orchestras. Even without that recognition I will strive for new ways to inspire the children that come through my class. I have no desire to be a principal or administrator. Teaching is what I do best.
This is my sixth year teaching middle school orchestra. My first year was spent split between two schools in Grand Prairie ISD. Now I teach nearly one hundred students at Berry Middle School. This is my fifth year in my current position. My students are sixth, seventh, and eighth graders from nearly all races and backgrounds. The sixth graders are sweet and eager to learn and please. My seventh graders are content to float, not pushing themselves, but not slacking to an extreme. Eighth grade is constantly testing boundaries, happy to be on top the social pyramid for now. Orchestra attracts mostly high achievers. Failure is not much of an issue for my students. Perfectionism drives many.
My two classrooms are not truly my own. I share a portable and a classroom with the band. It is very frustrating since the other teacher and I have very different views on how our rooms should be set. My beginners sit in rows spread apart so I can easily walk around and help everyone. The Intermediate and Advanced Orchestras sit in orchestra setup similar to a rainbow with the teacher/conductor at the center where I can see everyone and they can all see me. Band instruments crowd both rooms. My bulletin board in the main building is covered in fabric with current announcements and opportunities for students. The carpet is ragged, stained, and coming apart. It has been there as long as the school has been open, about 15 years. Chairs, music stands, and instruments cover the room. There is not enough storage or lockers for all the students’ instruments. The portable has dark blue carpet from floor to ceiling. My word wall is colorful and filled with vocabulary for the beginners to use. The white board at the front of the room holds fingering charts and the daily agenda.
In each room I have an instrument to demonstrate skills and techniques. My students use Essential Elements 2000 as their textbook. It moves quickly enough to keep students interested, but does not try to teach multiple skills at once like other books I have explored. This is supplemented with solos, ensembles, and sheet music. I communicate with parents through email, the orchestra website, and notes home at least once a month. Parents volunteer on field trips, help with recruiting, and help at concerts. They also help at home by encouraging their children to practice what we have done in class.
Three days a week I go to the high school to assist the Varsity Orchestra. Sometimes I work with small groups of students, other times I lead the orchestra while their teacher pulls individuals out. It is very rewarding to see the kids I started as sixth graders continuing to play their instrument and such a high level. On my campus I am the lead mentor for new teachers each year. In the past I have been on the site-based and sunshine committees. I am always available to lend a hand though. My colleagues respect me and appreciate what I do as part of the campus for our students. The administrators have expressed their confidence in me and what I do for my students. My subject is generally a mystery to them, but any time they walk into my room they see kids engaged in making music and enjoying what they are learning.
My personality requires organization and structure, but also includes the need for freedom to go my own way. The orchestra reflects this. There is a time and place for experimentation and a time for structure. My class rules are simple: be on time, be prepared, stay in your seat, play/talk only when appropriate, and keep hands/feet/books/objects to yourself. I modified these rules from others I saw throughout various schools. The rule that I have the most trouble enforcing is to play and talk only when appropriate. I believe students need to enjoy my class so they return to the program in subsequent years so I allow more talking in my room than a normal class, but some students take it too far. Students should be encouraged to live up to challenges given by a caring teacher. My room should be a place where everyone feels safe.
Students learn best by doing and demonstrating their skills to others. They acquire knowledge through example and trial and error, like a young child touching a hot stove only once. The teacher should be a facilitator of that knowledge. I know I have done my job when my students can learn a new piece of music without needing me to guide them step-by-step. Education is gaining knowledge of the world around us, a preparation for life, a means to convey the values of a society to the next generation and to hopefully better our society as a whole. Knowledge is power, therefore education is the key. School prepares students for life and helps them understand the past, present, and future. It should not be solely responsible for teaching values, but rather support those taught at home. Holding individuals accountable, expecting integrity, and showing respect for everyone are things learned early in childhood that can easily be supported at school. My classroom goals are achieved through direct instruction, collaborative learning, teacher-directed instruction, and drill and practice methods.
Schools should offer a broad base of knowledge, and music should be a core component of every child’s education. There must be national standards for schools to meet. Early education must cover the foundation for success in future careers. Basic math, English, history, and science are core building blocks. Every child should be required to participate in some form of music education because everyone has the capacity for music. After middle school, students should either continue in a broad curriculum or have the option to track classes towards a specific career. I realize that this is what college does, but I believe that starts too late and puts our children at a disadvantage.
Individual differences need to be accommodated to a point. No matter your background, if you expect to be a lawyer you must know the law, write coherently, and speak at a level that gains the respect of your clients, judges, and juries. Allowing students to write incomplete sentences, misspell common words, and speak in slang is a disservice to them that makes entering the job market more difficult. Employers discard résumés with spelling mistakes, not even considering that candidate. Yes, those with challenges such as dyslexia should have help and additional guidance. When the average student cannot copy a word directly from a book and spell it correctly, there is a failure somewhere in the system. The educational process should prepare students for the challenges of adult life. Students should exit the educational system knowing how to be a positively productive citizen. This can be measured by the number of students graduating from high school, continuing to higher education, and the number of students moving on to productive jobs.
TAKS testing is a good idea in theory. I believe that end-of-course testing is much more effective to show students’ mastery of the subject. TAKS testing does not line up with the curriculum, it is a year behind. Much of the time leading up to the test is spent reviewing last year’s material or focusing on how to take the test. I am not convinced that the TAKS test has raised student achievement since so much time is spent teaching to the test. Problem-solving skills and creativity must also be addressed to raise achievement. My subject does not fall under a specific TAKS test. I am held accountable at UIL contest and sight-reading competition. So while trying to teach my subject, I am also expected to support all other subject learning – math, science, history, English – and be okay with students being pulled out of my class to be remediated in other subjects. My students feel the pressure to do well on the TAKS test. They know that if they do not, they will lose their elective the upcoming school year. I have seen students with tremendous testing anxiety more frequently in the past few years – ulcers, picking at skin until it bleeds, and migraine headaches. There must be some other way to measure student learning than by high-stakes testing. Schools should be accountable for guiding curriculum, and teachers for teaching it, but students should be accountable for learning the material. You can guide a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. Education in the 21st century must continue to cover basic skills and expand upon higher-level skills. We must integrate creativity and problem-solving into the curriculum.
My strengths as a teacher include commitment to my students, knowledge of the subject matter, creative ways to engage the kids, and genuinely caring for everyone who comes into my class. The thing that holds me back the most is enforcing discipline for an effective learning environment. There is way too much time wasted on waiting for the class to get quiet and successfully transition from one activity to the next. In the next three years I want to have larger classes, consistently earn sweepstakes, and clinic other groups. That will require better teaching of fundamentals- intonation, proper bowing, vibrato - and better classroom management. To reach my goal of starting fifty beginners a year, I need new recruiting ideas. What worked before is now inadequate as more demands are placed on students and other programs have stepped up their recruiting. I want my students to connect with the material presented on a deeper level because music is emotion, teamwork, a foreign language, and above all a way to express one’s self. I believe that Cohort will give me new ways to assess my students and be more effective in the classroom.