Positive Motivation

I didn’t know that there was a way to read scholarly articles until a few days ago in class. I would’ve never guessed that you’re supposed to skip around and scan with purpose - I always end up scanning the particularly long and dry articles just because I can’t quite to commit to reading something I don’t enjoy. Required readings are required for a reason, of course, but next time I’m reading through an endless pile of articles for my annotated bibliography, for instance, I’ll know how to go about the process in a smarter way. I was entertained by the “It’s Not Harry Potter” article, simply because I knew many of those undergraduates who spent more time reading blogs than on their studies. I took away from the article that journal reading should be done in small doses. I often like to sit down and knock out a morning of work. Perhaps when I begin my annotated bibliography, I won’t take that approach; instead, I’ll find a bit of time every day to sit down and purposefully scan for related content.


For my annotated bibliography topic, I decided to explore positive motivational techniques in music education because I’ve recently become extremely observant of the fact that some teachers uplift and inspire me to want to do my absolute best, both in their classroom and in life, while other teachers completely turn me off to pursuing their subject. I was aware of this prior to beginning my undergraduate degree - it’s the most important reason that I decided to become a music educator! The past two years have been very successful for me at work. I’ve had a wonderful time launching a comprehensive music program in a very small school. With this great responsibility came tremendous amounts of work in completely uncharted territory. I took on the work of nearly three people because I wanted to make a difference. No sane person would’ve done it, but I did because I felt that it had to be done. In retrospect, I should’ve taken much better care of myself and made sure that I was still being enriched emotionally along the way. I let stressful days and events take their toll on me and often noticed myself being short with my students or critical in rehearsal. My students try so hard to do their best and please me, and some days I let the actions of a minority result in me being critical with the majority. If there is one thing that I’m dedicated to change, it’s that. I wish to be positive, uplifting, and the hold much more healthy priorities in my third year of teaching and beyond. I also hate the way I feel when a teacher is extremely critical (not that they shouldn’t be honest or provide feedback, but when they are jaded and nearly unbearable) and easily become discouraged. I put myself in my students’ shoes and realized how many times I must’ve been too demanding on these sweet children who are generally wonderful. Even back at IC, there is one teacher in particular (whom I’ve had prior) who dragged my spirits way down from just one interaction. The rest of the faculty make me feel inspired and ready to change the world and better myself. Quite simply, I want to have that effect on my students.

To that end, I am exploring the question, “How can K-12 music educators positively motivate students?”

Whether I pursue this question any further in my studies or not, I know that this research will benefit me as an educator and help me better reach my students.