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When I addressed music notation and how to read music, I approached it from the standpoint of learning another language. Although classes are instructed in Eng- lish, we are a school of many languages and the students can truly understand the process of learning another language. It takes repetition and constant practice in order to make progress. It is not something you can instantly pick up, but instead is a process where you need to learn the let- ters and words of the language in order to understand how things function. Once they realized music is something they can achieve with knowledge and understand- ing of the terms, they were more open to listening.
A good friend of mine gave me the idea to have a music journal that went through the different time periods of music history and gave the students a chance to listen to various famous pieces of music. In order make this more relevant to their lives I ended up calling this activity their “Mu- sic Passport” because all of my students are familiar with traveling and needing a passport. They loved the idea of needing a passport in order to travel through the different periods of music history.
During the past two years, it was my goal at the beginning of my time at AIS to at least have the students appreciate music after taking my music class, but by this point, I also realized it would be important to give them an opportunity to prepare and experience a concert, even if it was very basic. Concerts cannot be replicated in
any other setting and can be life changing. It would also be a good way to bring the growing AIS music program to the parents and community. Since my first year at AIS, we have had at least one concert per semester, increased the number of students in the program, progressed with repertoire, and experienced an increase in audience attendance.
What Can You Take Away From an Overseas Experience? The challenges of teaching overseas are not small, but can be very rewarding. By working with students from all over the world, you can gain a wider worldview and are forced to challenge yourself to adjust your teaching to respect the culture around you. Additionally, because of constantly exercising a wider view of the
world, I find that I am even more aware of evaluating the various approaches to how I find solutions to problems, challenges in the classroom and in daily life. These challenges definitely push your limits, but in the end they can make you stronger and help you grow quickly as long as you keep an open mind. I remember numer- ous times I wanted to give up because the students were very challenging and they did not respond the same way to teaching techniques I used in the United States. However, I evaluated my teaching techniques, looked at my teaching through their eyes, tried new approaches and came out stronger in the end.
The bottom line is that you can make an overseas experience what you want. Once you adjust to your living situation, you can either take advantage and explore the cultural resources around you such as vis- iting local markets, attending traditional music concerts and visiting museums to learn about their history or get bogged down with the additional hardships that are experienced when you relocate to a different culture. The opportunities are endless while teaching overseas. So, pack your bags and take a leap of faith. You never know what could happen.
Sarah Bellmore is a Wisconsin native currently teaching music in Kuwait. Email:
sarahbellmore@gmail.com
Wisconsin School Musician 27
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