Blog 21: Mentorship

Literal:
- Mentorship Log
- Billy Rugh, Creative Planet School of the Arts

Interpretive:
- What is the important thing you gained from this experience? Why?
- An important thing I gained from the experience is first hand application of the things I read about. I got to see how the students reacted to the music education and the progress even if it was minimal. I worked with different age groups so each responded differently and was taught different. It was a lot of information at one time but very helpful to senior project, I got all my answers from simply watching the kids work. I did research along with my mentorship but there is no way this project would have worked without the help of mentorship.

Applied:

- Working at my mentorship has given me hands on experience to answering how music instruction influences a child's ability to perform. Without my mentorship at CPSOA I don't think I would have been able to come up with any of my answers. Working directly with the students and their primary teacher's solidified my own experiences pertaining to my answers. I was given so much from my mentor Billy Rugh, he allowed me to be involved in the classes as much as possible and was willing to answer any of my questions. He helped me answer my essential question and truly believe in music instructions helpfulness in a child's life.

2014 Piano Recital and GALA Art Show

Every year CPSOA has a piano recital and an art show to show what the kids have been working on all year. This is part of what we have been preparing for in mentorship. Here are a few pictures of the students I have been working with this year performing their end of the year piano and violin pieces, as well as a few pictures of the art they very proudly showcased last Sunday. 

This is one of the 8th graders, Alexis. She had one of the most difficult pieces, and performed it flawlessly.

One of the art walls; this was the Africa themed area. Each year CPSOA dedicates time and classes to educating the kids on different cultures around the world. 

These are a few of the violinists at CPSOA, note the posture. That was very hard to work on.

Another wall at the art show, this was taking pieces of the school's logo and showing how they are pieces of the school, could be small or big but nevertheless important.

Purple Group Pianists (8th through 6th graders)

Blue Group Pianists (5th through 3rd) 

Purple Group Pianists (3rd through Kindergarten) 

Blog 20: Exit Interview

1. How can music instruction most influence a child's ability to perform publicly?

Music Instruction can most influence a child's ability to perform by teaching them how to collaborate. Music Instruction can most influence a child's ability to perform publicly by instilling discipline both on and off the stage. By instilling confidence in a child music instruction can most influence their ability to perform publicly. My best answer would have to be, then my best answer is music instruction can most influence a child's ability to perform by teaching them how to collaborate, because in the Chorus Impact Study, Chorus America reported that 71% of parents stated their child who was currently in choir is a strong contributor to group activities.

2. This was my first answer and it was easy to see from the beginning of my mentorship. I got to watch all the kids work together well doing the show and also got to see them in their classes. It was obvious that collaboration was necessary and taught in each class and through music in general.

3. The biggest problem was finding reliable research that supported my answers. A lot of articles could be viewed as biased because of their writer's or the fact that it was opinion and not facts. This just made research harder to find and meant more searching; I used a lot of published writings and studies to come to my answers. They are much harder, and longer, to read and find but gave me important information and reliable information to use for my final answers.

4. Two most significant sources that helped me answer my essential question were my mentor Mr. Billy in our conversations and interviews as well as NurtureShock by Po Bronson. Mr. Billy constantly showed me and helped me come up with answers as well as explain them in a personal context and a teaching aspect through the classes in my mentorship. NurtureShock was one of the first books I read in research checks and it really started my essential question, there were a lot of ways to look at music instruction and different paths I could have chosen but NurtureShock made me want to go toward the psychological and cognitive skills music instruction imparts on a child.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

LITERAL

(a) Samantha Torres, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
(b) Billy Rugh at Creative Planet School of the Arts 
(c) Independent Component 2 Log
(d) I completed more of my mentorship being able to work closer with the kids and to the teachers I work with. I got to observe the students further, see their progress as well as how they work with each other through different conflicts. 

INTERPRETIVE 

I sat in on a lot of recorder classes, where students worked with each other, alone, and with the teacher to complete the songs they are working on. Since everyone is on different levels sometimes the class would split and I would work with half well the primary teacher worked with the other.

This is an example of the type of songs the smaller children learned first and worked on for a very long time before being able to move on. Regardless everyone has improved since the beginning of my component.

This is the teacher (Mr. Arafiles) I worked with most during this component as well as a student during a drum circle that happened during spirit week. 

This is the type of vibrant and energetic environment the students are constantly in, there is little time to be complacent in a class like this where everyone's attention is needed. Especially when working individually, or performing.

APPLIED
 This really helped me dig deeper into understanding my essential question; it showed me how diverse music instruction is and how each child could be affected by its teachings. The answers I have so far answer have been clearly demonstrated by the classes I have simply watched. 

Extra Post: Perspective

I have been looking into studies and deeper research obviously since the senior project is starting to wrap up, but when I can no longer find anything and I feel like I have lost my focus I always turn back to the site I first found.

This site always brings up my spirits when I feel down about my subject, The stories I read and the videos I watch always encourage me and show me how important the arts are not only to child but to the world. It makes my work with my mentor and my personal life experiences just that much more important to me; I never understood how privileged I was, but after reading the struggles or how simply watching a choir made a person feel or change it makes me so thankful for all I have been offered. It also puts the work at my mentorship into perspective, sometimes I don't feel useful but then I know that simply being there and encouraging them I'm helping the kids life even if it is in the smallest way.

Blog 18: Third Answer

How can music instruction most influence a child’s ability to perform publicly?

By instilling confidence in a child music instruction can most influence their ability to perform publicly.

-Many teachers are unaware of the humanizing influences that an active arts program can give to not only a child, but to a school. they engage the student directly and in group settings leaving it open to be free from judgment and enabling a child to feel better and more confident in themselves.

- Amy Rodriguez told me of a student who she worked with and whom I have now met in an older age, who had a stutter that held her back in her academic education, but with the help of music(playing an instrument, singing in a choir, and extra singing drills) she is now able to speak with any interruption. I can vouch on this case specifically because I have worked with her and have gone to school with her; music gave her the confidence to be able to mess up her words publicly and not worry about judgment from the other students.
- Also children who do not speak English as a first language are sometimes given arts classes (singing, music, and acting) in order to correlate words with actions or to portray happiness within the music instead of words. They do learn English inevitably, but the music is said to speed up and enable the child, with less stress, in the process.

My main research source would be from my mentorship and also my third interview with Amy Rodriguez, the music teacher at my mentorship who has been working with small children for a long time. Brouillette and Jennings in Helping Children cross cultural boundaries in the borderands talk about how the performing arts help children to learn languages and express themselves with language barriers in better ways, more suited to the child's need. Also Liane Brouillette speaks about the comfort and confidence a child receives when they have an artistic background in How the Arts help children to create healthy social scripts: Exploring the perceptions of elementary teachers.

I believe music instruction gives a child a sense of confidence even if they are confident to begin with. A shy child is just as susceptible to positive feedback as a child with confidence.

Blog 17: Fourth Interview

1. How do you feel children react to music instruction?
2. What qualities does music instruction bring out in children? 
3. How do you handle an unruly music/voice class?
4. What does performing mean to you?
5. What does a person need to gain from a choir experience to be able to perform?
6. Performing publicly isn't for everyone, but can music instruction help this? 
7. What experience do you personally have in choir and/or solo voice?
8. What is the most important part of a vocal class or music class?
9. In an academic classroom setting how does music instruction influence your classes?
10. What does performing teach students?
11. What is the atmosphere of your arts classes?
12. What is the difference between the impact of music in childhood and in adulthood?
13. How are the students set up to rely on each other as a group?
14. What are some changes you've seen in your students this year?
15. When teaching a class what are some noticeable things(actions, feelings, attitudes, etc) you see in the students as they sing or do their work? 
16. Some children are more keen to music than others, how does this effect the teaching process?
17. The end goal of taking music classes is to eventually perform, how do music classes get you to this point?
18. From personal experience, how has music instruction effected you?
19. What aspects in a child's everyday life does performing effect?
20. Are there any experiences with students that specifically stand out to you as they have seemed to develop a skill needed for the future?