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STATEMENT OF TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
My inspiration for teaching came from several areas.
First, I played in a lot of piano recitals, so I know what it means to teach in front of an audience. I get inspired
every time I play a piece.
Next, I also saw a lot of master classes in piano and voice, where several teachers do different styles of lecturing.
Ballroom dance also helped me to be inspired by teaching. I had been under several ballroom dance teachers and I can
understand their different teaching methods and procedures.
I also know that there is a great correlation of ballroom
dance to music because this dance form has many cultures
of music. I was thinking of creating a new class on
ballroom dance music not for people to dance--but to
listen to--as part of a music appreciation course. Also,
with my strong musical training, I was able to teach one
student salsa dancing in only 40 minutes, and another student ballroom and swing dancing in about 45 minutes.
Finally, I was able to show a samba rhythm on the congo
drums to a drum circle group.
John Barry, a Spanish teacher from Roosevelt University
of Chicago, was my biggest inspiration for teaching. This
was because when he teaches, he doesn't just use a blackboard and a lecture to teach people. He often uses
other ways, especially music, to get students to enjoy
learning.
Finally, my last inspiration for teaching was being in a
doctoral program at the University of Illinois. It was
like an internship in knowing how to research and do a
lecture-style teaching which included instrumental performance as well. When I successfully completed the
program, my teaching ability became very strong.
As a teacher, I want to make the students feel more at
ease about the intricacies of music, and help them to
figure out the best way to deal with musical problems
that will help their confidence.
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