Katie’s journey back to the classroom (music education)!!Hey, I’m Katie! Most of you have probably seen me around the forums and I’m following on from my HSC journal here. As the title suggests I’m beginning a bachelor of music/bachelor of education (secondary) at UNSW at the end of next month. It’s a five year course so I should finish in 2022 (when I’m 22). I’ve wanted to become a teacher for a while so I’m really excited about starting soon.
How did I get into the course?After HSC, there’s a bunch of different things that you need to do to get into any music degree. In mid-November, I needed to do an online musicianship test for UNSW. It was 30 minutes long and had 40 multiple choice questions on areas such as clefs, notes, scales, triads, chords, score reading and general knowledge. Once I passed the test, I then had to do an online audition which was due at the end of November. This included two contrasting pieces, a reference, music resume, short essay and an unaccompanied short song (my singing was terrible), which I needed to upload through dropbox. I was then emailed the second week in December that my audition was successful and the atar for guaranteed entry was 80, which was an amazing feeling! On the day of atar release I received an email for guaranteed entry!
Why do I want to be a teacher?I had to answer this for a teaching statement last year and had no idea what to say.
I have wanted to become a music teacher since around year 5 where I wanted to be able to teach young kids how to play a musical instrument. Throughout high school I have had music teachers that I have really loved as well as those that I haven’t enjoyed their classes or teaching style as much. I would love to be able to explain difficult musical concepts (especially those that I didn’t understand at first) clearly to a class in a way that they can understand easily. I want to be able to share my passion for music with kids and be a class that everyone can enjoy and escape from the stress of everyday life. I would also like to be able to help out with a schools band and encourage students to try and learn an instrument.
Me and music:I’ve played the clarinet since year 3, so I’m starting on my 11th year this year. I’m probably doing grade 7 AMEB performance halfway through the year on my clarinet. I also play beginner saxophone and piano however I don’t sound fantastic and need heaps more practise, and love listening to music.
My units:This semester I am doing 4 units (3 for music and 1 for education). They are:
- MUSC1101: Music reinvented (Musicology course)
- MUSC1602: Materials and structures 1 (Musicianship course)
- MUSC1701: Performance Lab 1 (Performance course)
- Social perspectives in education
My timetableIt’s a bit annoying I had planned all my classes to be in 3 days and then one of the tutes filled up so on Wednesdays I have to go into uni for an hour, and I have a 1 ½ hour trip there.
Overall I’m really excited but I’m also a bit nervous as I don’t know anybody from my school that is going to UNSW.
Please leave questions and comments here!