I really really enjoy this class so far.  I love learning about the roots of different styles and genres of music.  I also feel that this class, which is talking about popular music, is going to be very helpful to me in the long run.  All of this information from the notes and from the reader and textbook is something that I can take with me into the real world.  Wanting to be a music educator and have a knack for playing an instrument or having a decent enough voice isn’t enough to really land you the dream job that you are hoping for someday.  Most of the classes I am taking now are about exploring what you have to offer the world and really finding my voice so I am able to  use to help other students who enjoy music as much as I do.  I really appreciate that this class is giving me information that I can bring into the classroom and share with my students.  It will help me to explore different genres for my students to sing and actually have an understanding of where they came from and then pass that knowledge along to them.  I know not all students are going to care about the roots of R&B or how country music was build from the roots of jigs from the British Isles, but the few that are going to find this information interesting and amazing are going to want to share it with their future students some day.  The fact that I will be able to pass this information on to students who are going to appreciate and create an assembly line of information is an amazing thing.  Just being able to shape young lives with music is everything that I want to accomplish and more.

Speaking more about what I want to do as a music educator,  I would really like to be a Choral director in a high school or university.  I debated for a while back and forth between high school and elementary.  My high school had a preschool program in it and I was a teacher there for all four years of high school.  I love their enthusiasm about everything and how much they believe in the good in everything.  My senior year I was asked if I would be willing to come and incorporate more music into their school day and I was thrilled at the opportunity to do what I love while working with such a great group of kids.  I did everything from an instrument petting zoo to nursery rhymes to having the kids play various percussion instruments at volumes that were too loud for most normal people to deal with.  I really loved how much fun they had with everything I threw at them, but I feel that older kids appreciate it more and realize how different their lives would be if they weren’t involved in music.  That is why I feel I would want to work with older kids.  They know what they will be losing if there was no longer a music program, so I want to be there to ensure them that there are people out there willing to teach them anything and everything they want to know.  I really just want to be that person that will help make dreams happen and help them with anything they may need along the way.