I would first like to talk about Bowman's quote. "The desire to share one's passion for music with others is both laudable and crucial to musical instruction. But it is important to remember that this passion is a function not just of what music is, but of our experiences with it, and what and who we have become through such experiences." This quote basically sums up my philosophy of music education. It's why I wanted to go into teaching music. I have always felt as though I've had certain experiences for a reason, and I've always thought that it was so that I could share them with others, and help create new and better experiences for them. I don't know what everyone else thinks about this, but I feel as though this is one of the simplest but yet truest reasons that music exists. It is all about the experiences and how those experiences shape our lives and who we are to become. That is why I believe music education is so important, because with it, we have the opportunity to help shape our students' lives more so than any other subject. Just thought I would share that!

As far as this weeks topic, I had some interesting conversations so far. The most interesting point I've discovered is that there is a common pattern with the teachers where they are all able to say that they are, of course, completely open to change, it's just the other teachers who are more resistant, and that in turn holds them back. However, it makes me wonder, how much of that is them just being unwilling to look at their own teaching and evaluate it for themselves? If they actually took the time to do that, would they discover certain aspects of their teaching that they could in fact change? Most likely so.

However, something interesting that did come up in conversation this week with my principal was that often times, the teachers who are more resistant to change in their profession, are those teachers who are resistant to change in their personal lives as well. I've never thought about it that way before. I forget, even though I'm living it now, that teachers are real people too and that their personal lives affect and contribute to their teaching. I mean, why wouldn't it right?! But sometimes, I get so stuck thinking about the plans and the learning and how to get my students to really open up and experience the class, that I forget to put myself into the lesson. I think this is something that's really important to think about because it's when we get to prove to our students that we are people too. (Which was something that was mentioned a few times last week!) I guess that it's all a big balancing act that we have to try and figure out. Personal life vs. professional life and where they should mix.