Growing Musicians : Teaching Music in Middle School and Beyond

Growing Musicians: Teaching Music in Middle School and Beyond focuses on teaching adolescents within the context of a music classroom. It considers the impact of music education on adolescents as they transition from child to adult as well as encourages music educators to mindfully examine their own teaching practice.

Growing Musicians: Teaching Music in Middle School and Beyond focuses on teaching adolescents within the context of a music classroom, regardless of content area (orchestra, band, choir, or general music). It provides a look at the importance of music courses in the lives of adolescents as they navigate the path between being a child and an adult. As every music student is completely unique, there is no one-size-fits-all prescriptive way of working with this age group. Rather, music educators must approach adolescents with high musical standards and aspirations to learn and achieve within music; a willingness to honor the individuality of each adolescent musician; a sense of structure, but an ability to be flexible; a desire to foster and promote a safe classroom environment where students feel empowered to be themselves and speak openly about what they think and believe; an understanding that music classes are not only safe places where students learn how to become better musicians but also better people through musical experiences focused on humanity and empathy; and a dose of humor, or at least the ability to acknowledge that adolescents are extremely funny whether or not they realize it. In addition, this book encourages pre-service and practicing music educators to mindfully examine and better understand their own teaching practices.