Why Music Education?

 Original Post 9/11/16
When I am asked why I want to be music educator it is difficult to answer because there are so many reasons. One of the most important reasons is because music has impacted my life so much. No matter what is going on in my life, everything is okay because I have music. This made it easy to decide that I wanted to pursue music as a career. I chose music education because I love teaching. I  give private lessons, and am on leadership in marching band and nothing is better then seeing my students/peers nail a concept they were having trouble on. Seeing the growth throughout the year/season and knowing I played a part was absolutely amazing. I knew that I wanted my career to be guiding students and helping them reach their full potential in music. I think another reason I want to be a music teacher is because I have had so many good role models in my life that were my band teachers or my private teachers, and I want to be someone students can look up to. There are many more reasons why I want to be a teacher, but those just happen to be a few. 


After three years of studying music and education I have begun to reflect on why I chose to study Music Education. The reasons are the same as three years ago when I came to JMU. I love working with kids. One of the best parts about teaching is seeing the growth in all your students. In the classroom we get to see our students growth both  as musicians and people, and that is one of the most rewarding parts of teaching. In addition through some of my experiences I was able to work with students with special needs. This has led me to want to teach and find ways to include everyone who wants to be involved in music participate in my program. When I first chose music education I was influenced by the teachers I had growing up, but after going through and having a bunch of different experiences in the classroom the reason I stuck with the profession is all the different students  I've gotten to work with. Music education is a profession that continually changes.  I will always be learning and adapting for my students, which is another reason I chose music education. While most of the reasons I chose education years ago are the same, they've adapted and changed through all the experiences i've had during my time at James Madison University.