My Teaching Metaphor

As I currently see my role as a teacher in the elementary school classroom, the metaphor of leader of a jazz band comes to mind. As the leader of this group, I am responsible for all of the administrative matters with which the group is involved. I will take care of organizing practice times and making sure that these times and locations are agreeable to everyone. During practices, I will act as the facilitator, making sure that we accomplish what I feel needs to be done. If members of the group start to stray from the task at hand, I will refocus their attention and get everyone back on track. I will also act as a motivator, pushing the different members to do their best and put forth effort into becoming the best that they can be. I will make sure that everyone gets a fair share of practice time so that practices can be beneficial not only to each individual member of the band, but also to the group as a whole. One day the drummer might need to work a little harder on his or her solo piece while the bass player does not have as much to concentrate on. However, during the next week, another player may need more focus and attention. As an end result though, everyone will be playing the best that they can which, in turn, will make our group successful.

I will also be responsible for increasing the repertoire of music we can play. I will introduce the members of my band to new music, carefully choosing pieces that I am confident my fellow band members will be able to play, but that will also challenge them to rise to new levels. I will also take their recommendations and desires into account when choosing new pieces. Our strengths and weaknesses as a band will help in determining what we choose to learn next. As the leader, I will also be responsible for scheduling concerts. These decisions will be based on multiple factors including when everyone is available to play and when I feel that our group is ready to show off what we have been learning. When I am confident that every member of the band will play his or her part well, then I will eagerly look for venues where we can proudly show others what we can do. I will be just as excited as the rest of the band when we have great performances because I am a member of the band as well. We are all in it together.

As leader of the band, my fellow band members will look to me for guidance and support. They will respect me for the leadership I bring to the group. I will also respect them and look to them for guidance when making decisions about what will be best for the band. As a result of my role, my band members will be able to become confident, independent players of their instruments. After learning the basic skills they need to be able to play their own instruments and to play as a member of the group, they will be able to play without my assistance. They will be able to take it upon themselves during a song to play solo pieces and just jam together without really following the set piece of music anymore because they will have the tools they need to be able to elaborate and expand upon a basic song without constant help from me.

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