Weston Noble Speaks about Music Education

From a Lecture at an FMEA Meeting on October 3, 2010.
Given by Weston Noble in Jensen Noble Hall of Music Choir Room, Luther College.

Weston Noble was Nordic Choir director at Luther College for 50 years and for part of that time also conducted the Concert Band.  He is currently writing a book about his experiences as a music educator.  His wealth of experiences and the information he has learned from them is a vast knowledge base that can help prepare all aspiring teachers to do well the minute then step foot into their jobs in education.

In Mr. Noble's experience as a music educator, he sees the most important aspect of teaching is being vulnerable.  Vulnerable you might say?  Why in the world should a teacher be vulnerable?  Or what does that even mean?  Well, for Weston Noble, vulnerability means three things.

1. Being vulnerable with yourself.  That is being able to examine your own strengths and weaknesses and working to improve of utilize the accordingly.
2. Vulnerable with the score.  Take risks in music and stepping outside your boundaries.  Work to become the best you can be and understand that to grow you must take steps to improve.
3. Vulnerability with the ensemble.  Admit when you make mistakes.  This helps gain trust within the ensemble.  No one is perfect and an educator should recognize that there are things they need to work on just like the ensemble they are directing or class they are teaching.

Other important elements of teaching are as follows:

-Understand your students.  Ask them questions and greet them by name.  A simple thing like knowing a students name goes a long way in the classroom.  They will respect you more, behave better, and work harder.
-Have each student feel as though they are contributing to the group as a whole.  Without one person the ensemble will not be quite the same.  Each person is important and adds to the success of the whole.
-Have the students give feedback on your teaching and ask them why.  Why do you like this, why do you dislike that?

Above all the most important thing is . . .

To believe in yourself!!!