Leslie Dawe
Skype Call On Wednesday, October 4th, early education teacher Leslie Dawe spoke about her experiences and challenges as a young music educator. Prior to this Skype call, I had read Leslie Dawe’s article about vulnerability in the classroom. I enjoyed this article and was excited to learn more about her teaching philosophy that encourages a co-learning environment in which students have more freedom to self direct their learning. I took a lot away from our visit with her. Firstly I really enjoyed how she talked about what she wants her students to take away from her class. One quote she said that I still remember is, “I wanted to make music have a lasting effect on my students.” It was very evident that she has a passion for teaching music and it was great to hear her say that because it is evident that she is teaching for the right reasons. It is not just a job for her, she truly does care for her students. This particular quote made me think about if I were to become an educator, what would I want my students to come out of my classroom with. I don’t have the answer for that yet, however I am glad Leslie put this idea into my head as moving forward it is most definitely something I want to think about. Another thing I am taking away from Leslie Dawe is the concept of co-learning and self directed learning. I really enjoyed listening to Leslie as she talked about how she teaches because it is extremely different from the way I was taught music in elementary school. Her style of teaching is very much focused on creativity and is very different from the more traditional way of teaching music that focus on the elements. I am very interested in this newer and more creative way of teaching as it still teaches the elements however, in a much more creative way in which students are able to self direct their learning and decide what they want to learn. I remember Leslie saying that she would encourage her students to chose themselves what song they wanted to learn or what piece they wanted to play and if they weren’t ready to direct their own learning, she would assist them in the process. Leslie realizes that all students are different and are on different levels in terms of how much freedom they are ready for and I really enjoyed how she never tired to group all of her students into and realizes that everyone is different and needs different things. One thing that Leslie said that has stuck with me thus far is, “teaching can be challenging because success is usually measured by the gold plaque on the wall or the grade at Kiwanis.” I found it very interesting that she mentioned this because I have had experiences where teachers have only cared about winning or receiving an award and have lost sight of everything else and I have also had teachers that couldn’t care less about the end result but rather cared about the learning experience. I can understand why it can be such a challenge because obviously you would want your students to succeed and receive awards, however it is worth abandoning everything else and just focusing on winning? Leslie really made me think about this when she said that and I think it is all about balance. Sometimes we became enwrapped in this idea of success being an award or prize and the way she talked about her newer style of teaching made me realize that success can be measured in so many other ways. In my opinion, having a classroom where students feel confident enough in themselves to be able to self direct their learning and have independence is just as successful as having a gold plaque on the wall. Leslie made me realize that and I am glad that she put this idea into my head. Lastly, after this Skype call, I feel less scared of the first year of teaching if I decide to become an educator. This is because Leslie spoke quite a bit about how there are going to be moments of success and fear during your first year of teaching and many times you will feel unsure and question yourself. However, when she said, “as long as you can justify the decisions you are making, then you’re doing the right thing,” I knew that I would be okay. Obviously there will be challenges and moments of insecurity however Leslie inspired me. It is obvious that she overcame many difficulties and always stuck by all of the choices she made, even if not everyone agreed with them. I hope to be the same way and be able to make teaching choices and remain confident in the choices I made.
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