Music in the Special Education Classroom
I credit my education from SMU, Meadows School of the Arts with my ability to think quickly on my feet. I also credit four professors from SMU that I had in particular that helped me decide I could be a great music teacher, if just given the chance. Professor Barbara Hill-Moore, Dr. Carol Reynolds, Professor Constantina Tsoulainou "Mrs. T.", and Dr. Donna Mayer-Martin challenged me to be a better musician, human being, and educator. They helped me thrive at Meadows and helped shape me as a musician and teacher. Without these amazing women, I don't think I would be the kind of teacher I am today: hard-working, over-prepared, understanding with all students, and the guts to think outside the box and implement what I want to do in terms of teaching music. I had two professors in particular who will remain nameless that have doctorates in Music Education. These two professors sucked. They changed the face of Music Education at SMU and one is no longer a teacher at Meadows. I am happy to say that because of these two women-- yes, they are women-- I knew how NOT to treat students or people. More teachers like Professor Moore, Dr. Reynolds, Mrs. "T.", and Dr. Mayer-Martin need to be applauded for their work that lives in their students. Unfortunately, Dr. Mayer-Martin is no longer with us, but her memory, her brash personality, and keen sense of awareness and understanding is what lives on in me and many of her former students. The reason I write this paragraph is to thank these awesome professors who helped me decide that I wanted to teach music and be great at it. I am not a great teacher yet, but because of them, I am learning how to be great, one day, one week, and one month at a time.
I have been volunteering once a week in Cole's contained special education classroom since October, and I love it! I teach over an hour worth of music. I learned from the first week that I needed to simplify my lesson plans, as I should have known the beginning of music (Baroque period) would have totally put them to sleep. The good thing I have learned that it is much better to be over-prepared, than under-prepared. I have witnessed some bad teaching and what I have learned is KNOW YOUR MATERIAL. I was flabbergasted when I attended a class at a local college recently and the professor wasn't prepared. The professor rambled, read the material from a computer, didn't have handouts, and was completely off topic. I learned early in life that it is always better to be over-prepared than to look like a deer with headlights staring straight back at you. I credit my strong education early on from my teachers at Lakewood Elementary (Cynthia Bell and Lilli Grant) for preparing me to become a teacher and lover of knowledge. I did not know that I was going to be a teacher, as I always envisioned myself as making it as a star in movies and on Broadway. I am thankful for great teachers, as this is such a hard profession. I now thank God every day for GREAT special education teachers, as they are the true heroes in life each and every day. We are blessed to have a great Special Education teacher, incredible staff, and fabulous aides who give so much to their students. I didn't think I would ever enjoy teaching, but because of Cole's teachers this year, I love teaching.
I was given a unique opportunity to volunteer to teach music in Cole's class twice a week (actually every day!) from Cole's Special Education teacher, Ms. Tricia Tamayo. Due to unforseen circumstances and Cole's love for his "type of music", my husband and I thought it was best for Cole not to continue on in choir after the first six weeks. He tried choir for eight weeks and we commended him for his amazing effort. I pushed Cole too hard into trying to like choir, but after I analyzed what he didn't like choir, it made total sense. I know as a former middle school choir director that you have to teach songs that are basically necessary for competition-- meaning "Cantate Domino" and other songs that are not pop songs. Cole did great (or so I thought), but he didn't like choir. Hence, this is when God intervened and tapped me on the shoulder. Cole's teacher asked me specifically would I like to teach music to her class during fourth period because this class, in particular, is over an hour in length. I jumped at the chance and we started this new adventure on Halloween. I normally would have said no to this opportunity, simply because of federal and state law that doesn't allow outsiders into a contained special education classroom, but I thought it through and said yes. I had permission slips written up specifically granting me an opportunity to teach music in the classroom-- something that HAS to be done in the state of Texas, as to not break any laws pertaining to special education. I don't want to get into any trouble and I sure don't want to get Cole's school or awesome Special Education staff into trouble, simply because of written federal law (Wright's Law). I have learned how to teach music specifically to this class by understanding how Cole learns. I watch, educate myself, and know that not one student is alike.
When I teach music, I started off by creating a spread sheet of what I needed to do in terms of lyrics (words to music). Once I color coded the words, for example, red =chorus, green = verse, blue = bridge, I felt like I could actually teach special education. I failed to realize that some of these students don't know how to read. I am still learning how to teach all students how to read and it is coming along, slowly. Dyslexia is something that I am not familiar with, but I am slowly understanding what dyslexia is. The students who have dyslexia show me how to write music for them (the actual notes and not words). I have been successful by letting them write on paper before we begin class what music looks like to them. I love their artwork and we put it up in class every week! I feel I am reaping the rewards far greater from these students than what they are learning from me, simply because they are smart, talented, love music, and love life. The next thing I do in terms of teaching music to this class is I let them tell me what they like to listen to. I prepare a CD of different types of music (we have listened to and learned Haydn's Sonata 92, Michael Jackson's "Bad", Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons "Sherry, Big Girls Don't Cry, and Walk Like a Man" and many other songs from the 1950's and 1960's. I have at least six to nine songs prepared for each class, as I don't want to run out of material. The reward at the end of the class is like a "talent show". Cole will perform his Jersey Boys medley and one other student likes to perform anything Michael Jackson. We all love this part, as performing is my favorite aspect of music. We have danced, shaked, and shimmied our way into the history books (or so I would like to think!), simply because these kids are learning about music that otherwise would not have been taught to them, simply because they are in special education. I don't think I am doing a great job, but I am learning, implementing ways to think outside the box to teach these students about music, and I am loving this unique experience. I am thankful for great teachers, but most of all, I am thankful to have this awesome learning experience to share with T.M.E.A. as a featured clinician in February in San Antonio. I have always believed things happen for a reason. This opportunity happened because I believe music should be taught in school, not just as an elective in middle or high school, but as a tool to learn about life. I will write more in the coming months, but know I haven't forgotten about you! I am just so happy that I am staying busy and out of trouble (last year's problems at Cole's former school). Happy early Thanksgiving and the next time I write another post, I will officially have a teenager in my house! Happy early 13th birthday Cole and we love you, Mom and Dad
