Student Interviews
Synopsis
Background Information
I interviewed three full-time students and asked all of them the same series of questions. These questions touched on topics such the impact music has on their lives and their music listening habits. The three students interviewed were Nelie Diverlus, Sophi Navaratnam, and Willie Carpenter.
Nelie Diverlus is seventeen years old, and graduated from Westmount Secondary School in June 2017, but has returned and is currently enrolled in a victory lap there.
Sophi Navaratnam is also seventeen years old and like Nelie, graduated from Westmount Secondary School in June 2017. She is currently enrolled at Mohawk College in the accounting program.
Willie Carpenter is twenty two years old and graduated from Orchard Park in June 2012. After that, he then graduated from the Police Foundations program at Mohawk College in April 2016. He is currently enrolled at Mohawk College in the Health, Wellness, and Fitness program.
Question One: How often do you listen to music?
Nelie: I listen to music about everyday, so when I’m hanging in my room, or hanging with my friends. Just any moment that I’m just “chilling” pretty much.
Sophi: I listen to music pretty much everyday, so when I’m on the bus or if I’m home alone.
Willie: Once of twice a day, when I’m working out or on the bus to school.
Question Two: What types of music do you listen to?
Nelie: I’m all about 90s R&B, pop, and mo-town. Those are my three favourite genres. I listen to mo-town when I’m just by myself, just chilling by myself. Pop is like when I’m in a car with my friends, same with R&B as well.
Sophi: I like to listen to pop and R&B. So, if I’m doing homework or if I’m you know like working out, I like to listen to pop. And, If I’m on the bus or if I kind of just want to be in a. Quiet zone, I like to listen to R&B.
Willie: I listen to rap when I workout and then country when all the other times.
Question Three: It’s obvious that you listen to a lot of music, so would you say that music plays an important role in your life?
Nelie: It’s pretty much shaped who I am today so, without it I wouldn’t have been the energetic person that I am today. I listen to it a lot because it helps balance me and helps keep me in a good mood and helps me with whatever mood I’m in pretty much.
Sophi: Um, I don’t think music plays an important role in my life, but I definitely listen to certain types of music when I’m in that certain type of mood.
Willie: I don’t really think it plays that much of a big role in my life at all.
Question Four: Did you ever consider studying music post-secondary? If so, why didn’t you choose to pursue it?
Nelie: I once considered going into musical theatre, but what turned me off about it was when I did it within high school, it turned into kind of a chore. It was more so with how the direction was. I feel like there was poor direction and it kind of just turned me off from the entire program whatsoever.
Sophi: I just really didn’t think it was an option for me, so I never chose to do it because my parents wanted me to do something like medical, or something involving math or law but never something with music because they didn’t think it would far.
Willie: No and I wouldn’t want to study it because its just something I listen to once and awhile, I don’t really love it that much.
Question Five: What music related activities have you been involved in?
Nelie: The majority of my music related activities were involved with Westmount Secondary. So, stuff like jazz choir, concert choir, even musicals like Grease, High School Musical, and Jospeh and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. And yeah thats where all my activities took place.
Sophi: I was in high school choir, so from grade 9 to grade 12, I sang with other people!
Willie: No, I have never been involved in any musical extra activities.
Question Six: In your opinion, how can music education improve at the high school level? How can enrolment in music classes increase?
Nelie: Less teacher based and more student voicing. So, with more students voices being heard, I feel like there would be a lot more room for creativity within the students and it would be a lot more enjoyable for them.
Sophi: I think if the class was more inquiry based versus like having a strict routine because not everyone likes the same type of music, not everyone likes classical, or jazz, or Broadway even. Some people like pop and some people like R&B, so I think if it was more inquiry based, you can achieve more.
Additional Quotes
Nelie: I think it would be different, I just felt uninspired by the teachers.
Willie: I never took a single music class in high school.
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Synopsis
Background Information
I interviewed three full-time students and asked all of them the same series of questions. These questions touched on topics such the impact music has on their lives and their music listening habits. The three students interviewed were Nelie Diverlus, Sophi Navaratnam, and Willie Carpenter.
Nelie Diverlus is seventeen years old, and graduated from Westmount Secondary School in June 2017, but has returned and is currently enrolled in a victory lap there.
Sophi Navaratnam is also seventeen years old and like Nelie, graduated from Westmount Secondary School in June 2017. She is currently enrolled at Mohawk College in the accounting program.
Willie Carpenter is twenty two years old and graduated from Orchard Park in June 2012. After that, he then graduated from the Police Foundations program at Mohawk College in April 2016. He is currently enrolled at Mohawk College in the Health, Wellness, and Fitness program.
Question One: How often do you listen to music?
Nelie: I listen to music about everyday, so when I’m hanging in my room, or hanging with my friends. Just any moment that I’m just “chilling” pretty much.
Sophi: I listen to music pretty much everyday, so when I’m on the bus or if I’m home alone.
Willie: Once of twice a day, when I’m working out or on the bus to school.
Question Two: What types of music do you listen to?
Nelie: I’m all about 90s R&B, pop, and mo-town. Those are my three favourite genres. I listen to mo-town when I’m just by myself, just chilling by myself. Pop is like when I’m in a car with my friends, same with R&B as well.
Sophi: I like to listen to pop and R&B. So, if I’m doing homework or if I’m you know like working out, I like to listen to pop. And, If I’m on the bus or if I kind of just want to be in a. Quiet zone, I like to listen to R&B.
Willie: I listen to rap when I workout and then country when all the other times.
Question Three: It’s obvious that you listen to a lot of music, so would you say that music plays an important role in your life?
Nelie: It’s pretty much shaped who I am today so, without it I wouldn’t have been the energetic person that I am today. I listen to it a lot because it helps balance me and helps keep me in a good mood and helps me with whatever mood I’m in pretty much.
Sophi: Um, I don’t think music plays an important role in my life, but I definitely listen to certain types of music when I’m in that certain type of mood.
Willie: I don’t really think it plays that much of a big role in my life at all.
Question Four: Did you ever consider studying music post-secondary? If so, why didn’t you choose to pursue it?
Nelie: I once considered going into musical theatre, but what turned me off about it was when I did it within high school, it turned into kind of a chore. It was more so with how the direction was. I feel like there was poor direction and it kind of just turned me off from the entire program whatsoever.
Sophi: I just really didn’t think it was an option for me, so I never chose to do it because my parents wanted me to do something like medical, or something involving math or law but never something with music because they didn’t think it would far.
Willie: No and I wouldn’t want to study it because its just something I listen to once and awhile, I don’t really love it that much.
Question Five: What music related activities have you been involved in?
Nelie: The majority of my music related activities were involved with Westmount Secondary. So, stuff like jazz choir, concert choir, even musicals like Grease, High School Musical, and Jospeh and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. And yeah thats where all my activities took place.
Sophi: I was in high school choir, so from grade 9 to grade 12, I sang with other people!
Willie: No, I have never been involved in any musical extra activities.
Question Six: In your opinion, how can music education improve at the high school level? How can enrolment in music classes increase?
Nelie: Less teacher based and more student voicing. So, with more students voices being heard, I feel like there would be a lot more room for creativity within the students and it would be a lot more enjoyable for them.
Sophi: I think if the class was more inquiry based versus like having a strict routine because not everyone likes the same type of music, not everyone likes classical, or jazz, or Broadway even. Some people like pop and some people like R&B, so I think if it was more inquiry based, you can achieve more.
Additional Quotes
Nelie: I think it would be different, I just felt uninspired by the teachers.
Willie: I never took a single music class in high school.
.
Closing Thoughts
I found these interviews to be extremely interesting because it is obvious by the way that they answer questions, that music does in fact play a role in their lives however both Sophi and Willie said that music does not play a role in their lives. Both of them listen to music every single day, in many different scenarios, and it is obvious that they listen to music to put them into a certain mood. Willie listens to it when he is working out, so clearly music motivates him. He listens to a more relaxing genre (country) when he is on the bus to relax him and put him in a more calming mood. I found it so intriguing that he said music plays no role in his life whatsoever because it obviously does or else he wouldn’t listen to it many times throughout the day, everyday. It improves his mood so it is evident that it does in fact pay a role in his life. I am curious as to if he just doesn’t realize that it plays a prevalent role or if he just doesn’t want to admit that it does. Like Willie, Sophi said that she listens to it everyday as it changes her mood but said that it doesn’t play an important role in her life. I am very curious as to why she believes it is not prevalent in her life. In my opinion, I think that many other young people would agree with Sophi and Willie. Almost every young person I walk by has headphones in their ears and are listening to music, however I bet that if I were to ask them the same questions, they would respond similarly to Willie and Sophi. I think that people just don’t realize the impacts music is having on them. They think that they’re “just listening to a song” but in reality it is changing their mood which is very significant as music s clearly powerful. Another thing that I found to be very interesting was the fact that Nellie said music has shaped her to what she is now however she did not enjoy music classes at highschool whatsoever and it was in fact her experiences in music during high school that turned her way from pursuing musical theatre post secondary. This saddened me because it is clear that she is passionate about music but she had such negative experiences that turned music into a negative experience for her. She said that she felt as if it were a chore and that it had poor direction. This is not how music should be whatsoever. I also found it interesting how Sophi never felt as if music were an option for her because of her parents. Her parents, like many other parents, believe that music will not take her anymore and something like medicine or law is a more suitable pathway. This is most definitely a problem in our society because many view music as unstable and something that is not worthy of pursuing. People hold jobs such as doctors and lawyers at a higher standard than musicians. I think that parents may also be a reason why students do not enrol in music classes as they force their children to take things like math and science due to the stigma that music is not a proper job. Lastly, through these three interviews, I learned tat there is most definitely a problem with current music education in high schools particularly. Sophi mentioned the music classes would have been more enjoyable if there would have been more inquiry based activities. She mentioned that everyone is different and likes different types of music, and she believes this should be explored in the classroom. Nelie mentioned that there should be more student voicing. Willie did not take any music classes throughout high school which is a problem in itself. All three of these students taught me that clearly music classes aren’t reflecting what it is that students actually want to learn and explore in terms of music. These interviews really made me think about music education and how, if I were a music educator, I could promote music classes and engage students in a way that makes them want to take these classes. I have some ideas of how to do that from talking with these individuals however the answer is not clear. It is going to be hard to create a good balance between what the students want to learn and the curriculum requirements. I am glad I got to sit down with these three students. I always loved music classes, so I found it extremely interesting to talk with students that were in the same high school and classes as me that found many faults in the program. It was also interesting to talk with them as none of them are pursuing music so they have very different views than I do.
Thank you to Nelie Diverlus, Sophi Navaratnam, and Willie Carpenter for allowing me to interview you and to use your quotes. It was a pleasure!