Resonse to Henry Giroux's Question

How do questions of audience, voice, power, and evaluation actively work to construct particular relations between teachers and students, institutions and society, and classrooms and communities? (Are there power relations inherent in the content being taught? Are there power relations inherent in the ways in which content is being taught?)

After thinking about this question for a while, I feel this is a wonderful question to ask future teachers, because I feel a lot of teachers who are teaching today fail at this question. I believe relationships between teacher and student is a very critical and vital part in today’s school system. I think it is very significant to construct a relationship because our class period (for music educators is usually conducting the band) consists of sometimes over 50 plus students. In a band the director needs to hear the band, comment to the band and let the students know what needs to be worked on, which is usually their homework for the night. I feel a band director must essentially be similar to that of a dictatorship more than that of a democracy because we do have more then 50 student’s. I feel like growing up students sometimes gave more respect to a history teacher then to a band teacher. Students must realize that even though they don’t have written homework they have to practice and the band director is their for a reason, and music can play a very important part in students life. It is even proven students who play an instrument score higher on their SAT’s. I understand students will always have something to say or something they want to offer which I think the teacher should unquestionably take seriously. If a students came to me and really wanted to play a piece that they love of course I would take that into consideration and listen to the student. I have been teaching private flute lessons for the past seven years and I learn something new every time I teach a new lesson. In some school districts music educators get to see their students in band and also in lessons which are broken down to 6-12 students per lesson. I feel like as an educator that is a wonderful way to hear the voice of the student, to help the student if they feel behind, or just not so confident with their instrument that they play. I would never want a student not to continue to play in the school band because they feel like they are behind on their instrument and I am not helping them. Overall I feel the answer to this is a little different for the music educators but I think it is a relatively easy question that a lot of teachers today fail at.