I have wanted to be a teacher ever since I can remember. Originally I wanted to be a history teacher, but as I progressed through school, I found that my real passion was with music. This passion was with a variety of styles of music. I found enjoyment with classical and jazz, but I also enjoyed listening to country, rock, and pop music. In fact, music became such a fundamental part of my life it is difficult to identify other hobbies that exist outside of that realm. I do enjoy reading a good book or seeing a good movie, but I truly enjoy being able to create music alone and with others. Since my primary instrument is the string bass, creating music consists of working with others.What drew me to teaching in the music discipline can be directly correlated to the influence of one of my orchestra teachers I had while I was attending public schools in Cache Valley. Richard Kline is one of the orchestra teachers in the Cache County School District and teaches at White Pine Middle School, North Cache 8-9 Center, and Sky View High School. Not only was he my orchestra teacher, but he was my private instructor for my personal instrument the string bass. Mr. Kline inspired me to push myself and to go beyond what I thought I could do myself. As such, I began to see what influence music could play in life beyond only being a hobby. It can be a source of learning how to listen, create, and cooperate not only in music but in all aspects of life as well.
Currently my definition of literacy is the ability of a person to be competent in a certain area so as to be able to express one's own ideas and understand the ideas of another in a specific content area. Literacy most definitely relates to music education. In music there is a unique style of language that is not used in any other field of study. In music there is notational literacy, aural literacy, historical literacy, and many other types of literacy that are specific to different genres of music. Being able to communicate in the classical world does not mean you can communicate in the jazz world. Being literate in various styles of music can be as comprehensive as being literate in various cultures in the world.
