Our inquiry project will be exploring how students’ identities are shaped by music and how this identity affects their musical education, specifically within the instrumental music program at East Side High School in Newark. It is no secret that students everywhere listen almost exclusively to popular music, and we are basing our inquiry on the assumption that this will hold true at East Side. However, within the music education community, this is rarely given more than a passing thought or acknowledgement. Much energy is focused on getting students to like classical music and the utility of classical music in instrumental instruction. However, there has been little research about how popular music might be used for instrumental instruction. A search of articles in the Journal of Research in Music Education using the term “popular music education” provides three articles listed in the top fifty search items that are specifically related to popular music as a tool for instrumental instruction. There has been slightly more research about music preferences of music students. It has been found that students almost exclusively prefer some form of popular music instead of classical or jazz.
At East Side the instrumental students are almost exclusively beginners. This is highly unusual at the high school level, and results from a lack of instrumental music programs in Newark’s elementary and middle schools. All students, regardless of the instrument they are studying, are put in the same class, resulting in significant difficulties for the music teacher. These unique conditions give us an opportunity to see specifically how musical identity shapes beginning instrumentalists’ musical education, and more specifically still at the high school level. We will be conducting our research by interviewing several students and the band director, and observing a class. We will analyze some of the music that students use and look similarities and differences between what they listen to and what they are taught in school. We will also look at research outside of the music education literature about music and identity.
Some of the questions we might ask during our interviews of students will be:
What do/don’t you like about music?
Who is your favorite musician/group? What do you like about him/her/them?
How often do you listen to music?
What kind of music did you hear growing up? Do you like that music? Why?
How does music make you feel?
What is your favorite song? What do you like about it?
What do/don’t you like about playing your instrument?
How has playing an instrument changed the way you think about music?
Are you playing the instrument you wanted to? Why did you want to play that instrument or What do you think of the instrument you are playing now?
Some questions we might ask the music teacher during our interview with him will be:
How aware are you of what your students listen to for pleasure?
Do you consciously try to use what your students listen to for pleasure as a part of instruction?
Do you notice a difference in learning styles based on what students listen to?
Do you notice a difference in enthusiasm for music based on what students listen to?
How important do you think music is to your students’ identities?
We will then try to synthesize these as a limited case study for how students’ musical identities affect music education.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Annotated Bibliography
Fitzpatrick, K. (2006). The Effect of Instrumental Music Participation and Socioeconomic Status on Ohio Fourth-, Sixth-, and Ninth-Grade Proficiency Test Performance. Journal of Research in Music Education, 54 (1), 73-84 http://www.jstor.org/stable/3653456
This study looked at the effect of instrumental music participation on fourth, sixth, and ninth grade students’ test scores across socioeconomic status. Students participating in instrumental instruction consistently outscored students of like socioeconomic status. Importantly, students of lower socioeconomic status who stayed in music from fourth to ninth grade outscored students of higher socioeconomic status who were not participating in music in ninth grade in the subject areas of science, math, citizenship, and reading. This demonstrates the possibility that instrumental music instruction could be a tool to close the achievement gap that urban schools have with their suburban counterparts.
Smith, C. (1997). Access to String Instruction in American Public Schools. Journal of Research in Music Education 45 (4), 650-662. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3345429
This article examines what school districts in the country offer string instrument instruction and at what grade levels. It found that strings are most often found in schools of average socioeconomic status in medium-sized urban or metropolitan districts. String instruction was offered least often in schools of low socioeconomic status regardless of their area. These findings are important because a string program is usually the last thing added in a music program, and so the presence of a string program in a school district can be an indicator of overall support for music education in a district.
Leard, D. W., and Lashua, B. (2006). Popular Media, Critical Pedagogy, and Inner City Youth. Canadian Journal of Education 29 (1), 244-264. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20054155
This article presented case studies of two teachers at inner city high schools in Edmonton, Alberta, who used popular culture, in particular popular theatre and rap music, for critical pedagogy. The study of interest to myself is the one that involved students writing their own rap and hip-hop music. The not only wrote the lyrics, but also used computer technology to create their own beats to rap over. The study enumerated several ways in which students used rap or hip-hop to lay out their thoughts, concerns, and problems in life. It was also a way for students to express their identity, and how they wanted that identity to take shape in the future.
Gordon, M. (1979). Instrumental Music Instruction as a Contingency for Increased Reading Behavior. Journal of Research in Music Education 27 (2), 87-102. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3344895
This article presented the findings of research conducted in two inner-city schools. Two groups of fourth graders, one reading at or above grade level, and the other at least one year behind grade level, were studied to determine the effect of instrumental music instruction as a reinforcer or motivational tool for increased reading behavior. The lower level reading group was the experimental group, and received music instruction only when individual reading goals were met within a forty-minute time period. If the goals were not met, the students would not receive music instruction. The higher-level reading group was the control group, and received music instruction regardless of performance. A reading pretest given to both groups before music instruction started showed significant differences in the two groups’ performances. A reading posttest given after the experiment was completed showed no differences in the groups’ scores. In the experimental group, daily reading scores increased when contingent music instruction started and was not maintained when the music instruction was withdrawn.
This experiment is particularly interesting because it shows the effect music can have on students’ motivation to learn and do well in school. The findings show that music education can have an affect on students’ school performance in other subject areas besides music. While the study was small, encompassing only fifty-four students, it is promising research that I have yet to find any more support on. While much research has been done on the effects of music instruction on reading performance, this is the only study I have found that looks specifically at music’s effects on motivation for learning in other subjects. It is something that I would like to look at more closely.
Shields, C. (2001). Music Education and Mentoring as Intervention for At-Risk Urban Adolescents: Their Self-Perception, Opinions, and Attitudes. Journal of Research in Music Education 49 (3) 273-286. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3345712
This article described a study of the effects of music education and mentoring by music teachers as intervention for at-risk urban sixth graders based on the students’ self-perception over six domains. The music teacher acted as a mentor during the study, intentionally trying to note and help with students’ problems, both musical and nonmusical. The study found no statistically significant difference between students’ pretest and posttest self-perception in all domains except for that of musical competency. It was also found that students considered music more important in their lives at the end of the study compared to before the study began. Students’ feelings of musical competency also came more in line with the importance they gave to music in their lives. This is important because it shows that at-risk students can use music to increase self-esteem in certain ways, even if it does not carry over to other domains of self-esteem.
This study looked at the effect of instrumental music participation on fourth, sixth, and ninth grade students’ test scores across socioeconomic status. Students participating in instrumental instruction consistently outscored students of like socioeconomic status. Importantly, students of lower socioeconomic status who stayed in music from fourth to ninth grade outscored students of higher socioeconomic status who were not participating in music in ninth grade in the subject areas of science, math, citizenship, and reading. This demonstrates the possibility that instrumental music instruction could be a tool to close the achievement gap that urban schools have with their suburban counterparts.
Smith, C. (1997). Access to String Instruction in American Public Schools. Journal of Research in Music Education 45 (4), 650-662. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3345429
This article examines what school districts in the country offer string instrument instruction and at what grade levels. It found that strings are most often found in schools of average socioeconomic status in medium-sized urban or metropolitan districts. String instruction was offered least often in schools of low socioeconomic status regardless of their area. These findings are important because a string program is usually the last thing added in a music program, and so the presence of a string program in a school district can be an indicator of overall support for music education in a district.
Leard, D. W., and Lashua, B. (2006). Popular Media, Critical Pedagogy, and Inner City Youth. Canadian Journal of Education 29 (1), 244-264. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20054155
This article presented case studies of two teachers at inner city high schools in Edmonton, Alberta, who used popular culture, in particular popular theatre and rap music, for critical pedagogy. The study of interest to myself is the one that involved students writing their own rap and hip-hop music. The not only wrote the lyrics, but also used computer technology to create their own beats to rap over. The study enumerated several ways in which students used rap or hip-hop to lay out their thoughts, concerns, and problems in life. It was also a way for students to express their identity, and how they wanted that identity to take shape in the future.
Gordon, M. (1979). Instrumental Music Instruction as a Contingency for Increased Reading Behavior. Journal of Research in Music Education 27 (2), 87-102. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3344895
This article presented the findings of research conducted in two inner-city schools. Two groups of fourth graders, one reading at or above grade level, and the other at least one year behind grade level, were studied to determine the effect of instrumental music instruction as a reinforcer or motivational tool for increased reading behavior. The lower level reading group was the experimental group, and received music instruction only when individual reading goals were met within a forty-minute time period. If the goals were not met, the students would not receive music instruction. The higher-level reading group was the control group, and received music instruction regardless of performance. A reading pretest given to both groups before music instruction started showed significant differences in the two groups’ performances. A reading posttest given after the experiment was completed showed no differences in the groups’ scores. In the experimental group, daily reading scores increased when contingent music instruction started and was not maintained when the music instruction was withdrawn.
This experiment is particularly interesting because it shows the effect music can have on students’ motivation to learn and do well in school. The findings show that music education can have an affect on students’ school performance in other subject areas besides music. While the study was small, encompassing only fifty-four students, it is promising research that I have yet to find any more support on. While much research has been done on the effects of music instruction on reading performance, this is the only study I have found that looks specifically at music’s effects on motivation for learning in other subjects. It is something that I would like to look at more closely.
Shields, C. (2001). Music Education and Mentoring as Intervention for At-Risk Urban Adolescents: Their Self-Perception, Opinions, and Attitudes. Journal of Research in Music Education 49 (3) 273-286. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3345712
This article described a study of the effects of music education and mentoring by music teachers as intervention for at-risk urban sixth graders based on the students’ self-perception over six domains. The music teacher acted as a mentor during the study, intentionally trying to note and help with students’ problems, both musical and nonmusical. The study found no statistically significant difference between students’ pretest and posttest self-perception in all domains except for that of musical competency. It was also found that students considered music more important in their lives at the end of the study compared to before the study began. Students’ feelings of musical competency also came more in line with the importance they gave to music in their lives. This is important because it shows that at-risk students can use music to increase self-esteem in certain ways, even if it does not carry over to other domains of self-esteem.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
East Side High
Today I spent a class period observing and helping the instrumental music teacher at East Side High School in Newark. It was the first time I had been to an urban school since about fourth grade, when I went to a high school in Jacksonville, FL to see some sort of rain forest thing. So this basically a new experience for me.
The atmosphere was much different from the music program where I went to high school, or where anyone I know went to high school. Just about all the students were beginners, and the ones that had had prior instruction had only had a very small amount, something that I have never heard of at the high school level. The teacher explained to me that instrumental music is not offered in many elementary and middle schools throughout the district. Newark is the only place he knows of where the high school instrumental music courses are comprised of mostly beginners. Also unlike other music programs, all the instruments were in the same class. Usually when a student begins learning an instrument in school, they are put in a small class with other students learning the same instrument. This class was large (29 students) and made up of different instruments. So there were some challenges that I had not thought a high school music teacher might face.
When a student first learns an instrument, individual or at least grouped attention to like instruments is needed to help them learn their instruments. At East Side, everyone was grouped together, so the teacher had to come up with other ways to give this instruction. He put sections (i.e. percussion, trumpets, trombones, saxophones, etc.) into separate rooms. He then assigned a section leader who either already knew how to play a little bit, or was a little bit ahead of the other students. The section leader would be responsible for teaching the other students in his or her section the day's objective. The teacher then bounced from section to section, giving extra help to those students who needed it, and encouraging students who were doing well to push themselves further. I helped with the saxophones for the class period I was there, showing them fingerings and making suggestions for their embouchure.
While this setting allowed some individualized and small group instruction, it did have its drawbacks. Discipline was a problem, as the teacher was not able to pay attention to all the students at once. At one time, the trumpets left their room and began banging away at the piano in the main band room. The teacher had to stop what he was doing with the clarinet and flutes and address this disruption. The setting also made it easy for students to lose focus on what they were supposed to be doing. This problem was exacerbated by the length of the class, which was approximately eighty minutes.
There were other challenges the teacher faced that I had yet to see in any of the suburban schools I have attended or visited. Several of his students were English language learners, and understood only a small amount of English. The teacher was bilingual, speaking fluent Spanish, which helped with this problem, but it was a challenge for me while I was working with some of the students. I frequently had to motion or demonstrate the concepts I was trying to teach. While the students usually understood eventually and were able to do what I was asking, it was more difficult and time-consuming than it is with my English-speaking private students.
The teacher also explained to me that he usually got a large proportion of special-needs students, and that many students had not chosen to take the class. He described it as somewhat of a "dumping ground" for problem students. This was another factor that made discipline and motivation difficult, although in the class period I spent at the school the teacher had a good handle on the students' behavior and there were no major problems or disruptions.
Despite these challenges and problems, the teacher had a very positive outlook of the students and his program. This was mirrored in the students' attitudes. While it was obvious many of them were particularly concerned with music, when they had an instrument in their hand, all of them were eager to learn and put in some effort. Some of them were visibly surprised and pleased when they were able to do something they had been trying for a while. I was surprised at how far some of the students had progressed considering they had only started the class two weeks ago.
One major problem within the district from a music education perspective is that many students who have already had musical instruction are attracted to the magnet high schools that already have established instrumental music programs. This makes it extremely difficult to get a band program going, as the talent that could attract new students into the band or marching band are not even there. Good musicians help everyone around them, and an absence of established musical peers makes it all the harder for students to learn and improve.
Going into East Side was a very illuminating experience. While the largest challenge the teacher faced is unique to the Newark school district, many of the things he had to deal with were ones commonly associated with urban education. In addition, the setting was one in which creative teaching practices would be rewarded, as many of the problems faced are almost unheard of in music education and require a unique look at music. I know this is a cliche, but I came away with more questions that answers, and I'll probably be thinking about them for a long time to come.
The atmosphere was much different from the music program where I went to high school, or where anyone I know went to high school. Just about all the students were beginners, and the ones that had had prior instruction had only had a very small amount, something that I have never heard of at the high school level. The teacher explained to me that instrumental music is not offered in many elementary and middle schools throughout the district. Newark is the only place he knows of where the high school instrumental music courses are comprised of mostly beginners. Also unlike other music programs, all the instruments were in the same class. Usually when a student begins learning an instrument in school, they are put in a small class with other students learning the same instrument. This class was large (29 students) and made up of different instruments. So there were some challenges that I had not thought a high school music teacher might face.
When a student first learns an instrument, individual or at least grouped attention to like instruments is needed to help them learn their instruments. At East Side, everyone was grouped together, so the teacher had to come up with other ways to give this instruction. He put sections (i.e. percussion, trumpets, trombones, saxophones, etc.) into separate rooms. He then assigned a section leader who either already knew how to play a little bit, or was a little bit ahead of the other students. The section leader would be responsible for teaching the other students in his or her section the day's objective. The teacher then bounced from section to section, giving extra help to those students who needed it, and encouraging students who were doing well to push themselves further. I helped with the saxophones for the class period I was there, showing them fingerings and making suggestions for their embouchure.
While this setting allowed some individualized and small group instruction, it did have its drawbacks. Discipline was a problem, as the teacher was not able to pay attention to all the students at once. At one time, the trumpets left their room and began banging away at the piano in the main band room. The teacher had to stop what he was doing with the clarinet and flutes and address this disruption. The setting also made it easy for students to lose focus on what they were supposed to be doing. This problem was exacerbated by the length of the class, which was approximately eighty minutes.
There were other challenges the teacher faced that I had yet to see in any of the suburban schools I have attended or visited. Several of his students were English language learners, and understood only a small amount of English. The teacher was bilingual, speaking fluent Spanish, which helped with this problem, but it was a challenge for me while I was working with some of the students. I frequently had to motion or demonstrate the concepts I was trying to teach. While the students usually understood eventually and were able to do what I was asking, it was more difficult and time-consuming than it is with my English-speaking private students.
The teacher also explained to me that he usually got a large proportion of special-needs students, and that many students had not chosen to take the class. He described it as somewhat of a "dumping ground" for problem students. This was another factor that made discipline and motivation difficult, although in the class period I spent at the school the teacher had a good handle on the students' behavior and there were no major problems or disruptions.
Despite these challenges and problems, the teacher had a very positive outlook of the students and his program. This was mirrored in the students' attitudes. While it was obvious many of them were particularly concerned with music, when they had an instrument in their hand, all of them were eager to learn and put in some effort. Some of them were visibly surprised and pleased when they were able to do something they had been trying for a while. I was surprised at how far some of the students had progressed considering they had only started the class two weeks ago.
One major problem within the district from a music education perspective is that many students who have already had musical instruction are attracted to the magnet high schools that already have established instrumental music programs. This makes it extremely difficult to get a band program going, as the talent that could attract new students into the band or marching band are not even there. Good musicians help everyone around them, and an absence of established musical peers makes it all the harder for students to learn and improve.
Going into East Side was a very illuminating experience. While the largest challenge the teacher faced is unique to the Newark school district, many of the things he had to deal with were ones commonly associated with urban education. In addition, the setting was one in which creative teaching practices would be rewarded, as many of the problems faced are almost unheard of in music education and require a unique look at music. I know this is a cliche, but I came away with more questions that answers, and I'll probably be thinking about them for a long time to come.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Culture of Self
My poster is fairly sparse, illustrating the largest influences and things with which I identify myself. On the left, I have pictures of fly fishing and skiing. The fly fishing picture is the largest for the “myself” portion, because it is something which is really only for myself. I prefer to fish alone much of the time. Fly fishing is something in which I usually forget about everything else. When I’m on a stream or river or lake or on the beach at night, the possibility of a fish mistaking my contraption of fur and feathers tied to a hook consumes me. It is an amazing thing to be connected to another living thing through something that vaguely (very vaguely) resembles mortal combat (at least from the fish’s point of view) but in actuality has no more import than just about anything in else I do, since I release the great majority of my fish unharmed. It one of the few things where I can find a constant, something to center myself.
The other big picture is of skiing. And not just skiing, but skiing in the trees in deep powder. If I was rich, this might be my number one activity, but some winters I am only able to afford trips to the Catskills on discount days, where the tree skiing opportunities are rare. But I still ski. It is another thing that I do mostly for myself (although if you’re a girl that can keep up with me on the slopes, I’ll marry you today). Similar to fly fishing, when I am skiing, it is all I think about. It is a way of being completely “in the moment,” in a way that even music doesn’t offer me. The physical rush is something that I have never duplicated anywhere else.
Below the skiing picture, the music starts. The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan and Blue, by Joni Mitchell, were two of my favorite albums growing up, and they remain so. More than anything else, they taught me just how personal and universal music could be at the same time. As I get towards the middle, albums that are big influences on me right now as both a person and a teacher come into play. As a music teacher, I feel that even if you don’t teach music you listen to, it will come through in your teaching and conducting. No matter how hard you try to be impartial, your students are going to pick up pieces of your musicianship, which is reflective of what you listen to. Right now my two favorite albums, which I don’t go more than a few days without listening to are Jenny Lewis’s Acid Tongue and Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky. In between those two is another album that I have listened to countless times, and still listen to a lot, Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. I also use Kind of Blue for teaching any student that starts improvising. Therefore, it is smack in the middle of me as a person and me as a teacher.
As I move to the right and the “myself as a teacher” portion, I have entered written music. This is because in my private and professional life, I often play by ear or memory. I rarely read music anymore. However, when I am teaching, I am constantly using written music. It is important for students to learn new music and to gain an understanding of music. “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” is a song that I enjoy playing and sometimes use as a teacher. “Theme from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik,” on the bottom, is a duet for flute and piano, two instruments I didn’t truly learn how to play until I had to start teaching them. Finally, all the way on the right of the poster is a portion of “All the Things You Are,” a jazz standard. It is a song that I have a hatred for, but is so useful as a tool for teaching jazz improvisation that I still use it. I put it in as an acknowledgment that as a teacher we must often do things that make us uncomfortable, angry, or unhappy for the good of our students. Our first priority is to help our students, and if that means we have to do something we don’t like, then so be it.
Conspicuously absent from my poster is any mention of religion. Religion is something that I struggled with for a large part of my life, until I finally gave up on it. Despite my best efforts to the contrary, I cannot believe in any of it or find any good in it. I feel religion (not faith, which is something completely different) is actually a problem. However, this is a personal feeling, and in an effort to respect other people’s beliefs and personal convictions, I now refrain from mentioning religion unless I directly asked about it or I am positive I can do so without getting into an argument or offending someone.
It is worth noting that both fly-fishing and skiing are generally thought of as upper class activities. Skiing especially is something I came to love only because my family could afford it growing up. Fly fishing can be, but by no means has to be, an upper class pursuit. It does require that one has access to places to fish though, something that would have been more difficult if I had not grown up within a bike-ride of water for my whole life. It is something I might not have come to had I grown up in a more urban area.
Fly fishing and skiing are both also predominantly men’s sports, especially fly fishing. I was introduced to both by my father, who came to them through his father (in the case of fishing) and male friends (in the case of skiing). Had I not had a male influence in my life who I wanted to emulate, I might have turned to other things.
As can be seen, my identity is very much shaped by my upbringing. Many of the things I love I only had an opportunity to experience because of my class and the particular places I lived. Who I am as a music teacher is shaped to a large degree by what kind of music I like.
The other big picture is of skiing. And not just skiing, but skiing in the trees in deep powder. If I was rich, this might be my number one activity, but some winters I am only able to afford trips to the Catskills on discount days, where the tree skiing opportunities are rare. But I still ski. It is another thing that I do mostly for myself (although if you’re a girl that can keep up with me on the slopes, I’ll marry you today). Similar to fly fishing, when I am skiing, it is all I think about. It is a way of being completely “in the moment,” in a way that even music doesn’t offer me. The physical rush is something that I have never duplicated anywhere else.
Below the skiing picture, the music starts. The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan and Blue, by Joni Mitchell, were two of my favorite albums growing up, and they remain so. More than anything else, they taught me just how personal and universal music could be at the same time. As I get towards the middle, albums that are big influences on me right now as both a person and a teacher come into play. As a music teacher, I feel that even if you don’t teach music you listen to, it will come through in your teaching and conducting. No matter how hard you try to be impartial, your students are going to pick up pieces of your musicianship, which is reflective of what you listen to. Right now my two favorite albums, which I don’t go more than a few days without listening to are Jenny Lewis’s Acid Tongue and Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky. In between those two is another album that I have listened to countless times, and still listen to a lot, Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. I also use Kind of Blue for teaching any student that starts improvising. Therefore, it is smack in the middle of me as a person and me as a teacher.
As I move to the right and the “myself as a teacher” portion, I have entered written music. This is because in my private and professional life, I often play by ear or memory. I rarely read music anymore. However, when I am teaching, I am constantly using written music. It is important for students to learn new music and to gain an understanding of music. “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” is a song that I enjoy playing and sometimes use as a teacher. “Theme from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik,” on the bottom, is a duet for flute and piano, two instruments I didn’t truly learn how to play until I had to start teaching them. Finally, all the way on the right of the poster is a portion of “All the Things You Are,” a jazz standard. It is a song that I have a hatred for, but is so useful as a tool for teaching jazz improvisation that I still use it. I put it in as an acknowledgment that as a teacher we must often do things that make us uncomfortable, angry, or unhappy for the good of our students. Our first priority is to help our students, and if that means we have to do something we don’t like, then so be it.
Conspicuously absent from my poster is any mention of religion. Religion is something that I struggled with for a large part of my life, until I finally gave up on it. Despite my best efforts to the contrary, I cannot believe in any of it or find any good in it. I feel religion (not faith, which is something completely different) is actually a problem. However, this is a personal feeling, and in an effort to respect other people’s beliefs and personal convictions, I now refrain from mentioning religion unless I directly asked about it or I am positive I can do so without getting into an argument or offending someone.
It is worth noting that both fly-fishing and skiing are generally thought of as upper class activities. Skiing especially is something I came to love only because my family could afford it growing up. Fly fishing can be, but by no means has to be, an upper class pursuit. It does require that one has access to places to fish though, something that would have been more difficult if I had not grown up within a bike-ride of water for my whole life. It is something I might not have come to had I grown up in a more urban area.
Fly fishing and skiing are both also predominantly men’s sports, especially fly fishing. I was introduced to both by my father, who came to them through his father (in the case of fishing) and male friends (in the case of skiing). Had I not had a male influence in my life who I wanted to emulate, I might have turned to other things.
As can be seen, my identity is very much shaped by my upbringing. Many of the things I love I only had an opportunity to experience because of my class and the particular places I lived. Who I am as a music teacher is shaped to a large degree by what kind of music I like.
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