I taught at my old school today. My first lesson was a music class and the absent teacher had not left any work so Mr Harris (another music teacher) very kindly combined our classes as he was also teaching a year 7 music lesson. It was an absolute pleasure to be in the class and I learnt a lot.
I sat at the back of the lecture theatre behind the students so I could see all their screens on the individual netbooks. They never once strayed to play a game and the the rows of screens were all in the places Matt directed them to at the same time. Matt very effectively engaged the students and myself using both his entertaining style of delivery (he has a wonderful sense of humour and great presence) and the technology available. He used his voice to demonstrate so many things. He knew his students well and made them laugh often. I even wondered if I would be allowed to enrol in year 7 music for a year so I could fill in my gaps in my education.
He emailed students listening journals which allowed them to respond to the peice of music he played several times in media player on the screen. The journal asked about all kinds of music terms such as tempo, instruments, loudness and I learnt about how these parts of music are expressed. I have a very limited knowledge of music and always enjoy learning more. I love listening to it:).
The composer of the piece was also covered, Percy Grainger, and Matt mentioned his background and that he was Australian and told some interesting stories about his life. I had to google him then because I was curious to learn more about Grainger. I discovered a new word that I really like also: autodidact. It means a person who is self taught or without the benefit of formal education or instruction. Percy Grainger’s mother was an autodidact according to wikepedia, and she educated him.
Matt’s lesson ticked all the boxes for me. I loved it.
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