Joshua Stefans Education Blog

I have a fear when it comes to teaching music. I fear that my students won't like or appreciate the repertoire I've prepared for them. Obviously, I want my students to like they're singing and I want them to enjoy singing it too. Overall, I want them to have a positive experience. However, it is becoming increasingly clear to me that I won't have the same taste in music as my future students will have. I mean this in terms of repertoire. As in, traditional vs. modern. It seems like I'd need to do some convincing and persuading to get them on board if they aren't thrilled about what I've picked. Plus, I don't want to be the stereotypical choir director and be like "You will sing it and you will like it!" No, I will value their input and only put my foot down when necessary. So how do I do convince and persuade? I'd use our wonderful friend technology! It is inevitable that musicians will be given music they don't care for and are requ...

Sometimes when I need cheering up or if I feel tense, I go on Reddit and view the subreddit /r/aww. This subreddit is full of pictures, gifs, or short videos of cute animals or animal doing cute things. If I take ten to fifteen minutes to browse the posts, I feel better. I do this because I don't have any pets and that is because I'm allergic to anything that sheds. I can't come home and to a dog excitedly hopping around to see me after a long day. Or a cat plopping down on my lap begging for attention after a tough day. So this suffices my need for pets at the moment until I can afford a hypoallergenic dog. With all that being said, I was browsing the subreddit earlier today. I found a black and white picture of a U.S. Marine carrying a puppy in his pocket. The caption read " A U.S. Marine carrying a puppy in his pocket after rescuing during an operation southwest of Da Nang, Vietnam (1968) ". It was such a powerful image. Especially when considering the locati...

I have to be upfront with this. In all honesty, I've never liked the question of what type of learner am I. I feel this way because I think I fall into different styles depending on the subject or the concept. That being said, I have found that one learning style that has been consistently one of the best learning styles for me across all areas. That style is hands-on learning. The reason why I feel a hands-on approach is most effective for me is rather personal, but I am comfortable to share it. I have been diagnosed with learning disabilities at an early age. Fortunately, through an IEP, I've received a lot of support and I've learned various techniques along the way to help me succeed through my academic career. I am eternally thankful for that. But I digress. I can attribute my success and understanding of subjects to the hands-on approach various teachers used to demonstrate their concepts to me. I've had professors during my und...

I briefly mentioned in my last post about technology changing education that the changes also reach into the world of music education. I mentioned programs like Sibelius and GarageBand. These two programs are well known but they're not the only ones being used. In fact, there's much much more out there and are far more accessible. This is because of that wonderful piece of technology that's either in your pocket right now or sitting next to you as you read this; the smartphone. The smartphone, where would we be without it and all of its useful apps that we take for granted on a daily basis? Remember that old iPhone commercial that had the slogan "There's an app for that"? We all know how true that is. This is especially the case for music. There's an app for just about any type of musical training out there. This has made it more accessible to learn music or refine music skills. For example, there are countless apps for metronomes and tuners with all var...

I grew up and attended school during a time when technology was changing at a rapid rate. It seemed like every new school year brought a new piece of technology being incorporated into the classroom. For example, I remember being in first grade (2001) and receiving a report card written on a typewriter and then, in second grade (2002), I received a report card that was typed on a computer and printed. Obviously, that's not all. I have seen the phasing out of overhead projectors and the rise and embrace of ELMO projectors in the classroom. I have seen computer screens in computer labs become thinner and thinner before my eyes. I also remember the frustrations of dealing with turnitin.com when I got into high school. (By the way, is that still around?) Since I have witnessed these changes as well as many more, I can see the pros and cons to this rapid change of technology in education. A pro to technological advances in education is that it can improve a student's understanding...