Music In The Classroom

Music in the classroom can be a powerful tool for students. Music empowers, motivates, inspires,and is a perfect medium that encapsulates my core values as a teacher– music can empower, motivate, and inspire students to be more than just present in their learning. I reflect on my experiences as a child and how I was impacted when music left public school. This has been an important factor in my teaching journey because of how embedded it was in my school culture and how it suddenly disappeared. In this program, I’ve had several opportunities to observe how multiple different classrooms use music. In the research for this project, I focus on movement breaks in early childhood settings. Within these different classrooms I’ve had opportunities to observe how students engage with music in the classroom. I have also been able to promote the use of mindfulness in the classroom with music. These observations led me to research how I can make the integration of music into classrooms engaging and meaningful for students. I discuss research from this semester and semesters past and from multiple different classes.Music can be a tool for teachers to get to know their students and for students to get to know each other, an important step for building a strong classroom community where students' cultures, experiences, and needs are respected and honored. With all of this, I can use music to inspire, motivate, and empower my students and create positive learning environments where they can all feel successful and seen.