Program Goals
At Austin High School we aim:
To present Learners with an opportunity to more meaningfully experience music through rehearsal and performance of choral and solo repertoire.
To help Learners develop self-direction in music, to exercise imagination, and to sharpen critical judgment (Abrahams & Head, 2011).
To connect the world in the classroom to the Learners’ own emotions and personal experiences.
To cultivate Learner-relations through the democratic process, teamwork, and camaraderie.
To aid Learners in their discovery of self-identity and empowerment through the artistic process.
To present Learners with an opportunity to more meaningfully experience music through rehearsal and performance of choral and solo repertoire.
To help Learners develop self-direction in music, to exercise imagination, and to sharpen critical judgment (Abrahams & Head, 2011).
To connect the world in the classroom to the Learners’ own emotions and personal experiences.
To cultivate Learner-relations through the democratic process, teamwork, and camaraderie.
To aid Learners in their discovery of self-identity and empowerment through the artistic process.
Our Vision of Music Education
The purpose of a holistic music education is to explore potential. This is achieved by encouraging our Learners to investigate and incorporate their beliefs and values, engage their entire selves, and create a culture of collaboration. This gives our Learners the opportunity to explore their musical imagination, to practice predicting challenges, and to foster creativity.
At Austin High School, we understand that music education must be fluid and [r]evolutionary as we accommodate the Learners’ understandings and curiosities, feeding what they crave and allowing them to construct meaning as they bridge the gap between what they know and what they have yet to understand. In a supportive environment of musical immersion and collaboration, Learners and Teacher restructure their own knowledge and compare it to our existing preconceptions and, together, build a new understanding of what we, as a community, value.
In short, a holistic music education is empowering. Learners are not a part of the machine, but are, instead, the creators and innovators of their shared vision. Music education, then, is an avenue for authentic expression. It is often difficult. It will get messy as Learners get their hands dirty, digging in and taking ownership. But just as a stone is not polished without rubbing, so it is in music.
At Austin High School, we understand that music education must be fluid and [r]evolutionary as we accommodate the Learners’ understandings and curiosities, feeding what they crave and allowing them to construct meaning as they bridge the gap between what they know and what they have yet to understand. In a supportive environment of musical immersion and collaboration, Learners and Teacher restructure their own knowledge and compare it to our existing preconceptions and, together, build a new understanding of what we, as a community, value.
In short, a holistic music education is empowering. Learners are not a part of the machine, but are, instead, the creators and innovators of their shared vision. Music education, then, is an avenue for authentic expression. It is often difficult. It will get messy as Learners get their hands dirty, digging in and taking ownership. But just as a stone is not polished without rubbing, so it is in music.