BE A SINGING TEACHER

As a classroom teacher or as someone working with children on program lessons, consider an area that is supposedly unappealing and therefore neglected.

The one area of engagement with children that is seldom given any credence is that of singing with them. There seems to be a belief that music and singing a specialist areas and therefore taboo to teachers. Classroom teachers and others skirt around the issue of music and singing as if it was some dangerous discipline.

There seems to be a belief that the only ones who can work with children in terms of singing or musical appreciation or qualified music teachers or those with recognised skills in this domain.

From experience, I think that is total Buncome. Some of my most enjoyable experiences with students over 40 years and across all primary school levels time including year seven, was to teach them songs and to sing with them.

There was no need for musical accompaniment. Vocal synchronisation was sufficient. Children can be taught about rhythm, pitch, internation, pause, punctuation, word emphasis, and the other elements that go with production.

The thing was for children to enjoy their singing, and they did. 30 and 40 years later I’m still sometimes greeted by students who remember the singing that we did together.