Karen Blooding
Tennessee Teacher of the Year
Homer Pittard Campus School, Murfreesboro, TN
Kindergarten through Grade Six, Music

My teaching philosophy
It is my belief that the true teacher acts as a guide in her students' learning process. She provides activities which will develop their skills, intellect, feeling capacity and self-confidence. As a teacher/guide, it is my deepest wish that my students will realize their own unique talents and will be empowered through our classroom experiences to strive for excellence throughout the remainder of their education. I hope they will become lifelong learners as they progress into maturity and responsibility via the art of music.

My philosophy in action
The whole child should be involved in learning: mind, body and emotion. Music has the capacity to synthesize other subjects/experience/intelligences into a cohesive relationship. Our classroom activities include the challenges of singing, moving, listening and instrument playing, reading writing and creating. Making music utilizes gross and fine motor skills, bodily/kinesthetic awareness, interpersonal skills, intrapersonal expression, mathematical/logical relationships, and verbal/linguistic skills. As a guide whose purpose is to lead students to exercise and develop their faculties of intellect, feeling and will through active participation in class activities, I set performance goals and tasks which will lead not only to development of musical skills, but will expose my students to a variety of music literature. I plan opportunities for my students to participate in elective and auditioned performance ensembles, and I ensure that every student in my school performs in one or more school-wise programs per year. I strive to help my students learn and appreciate a varied repertoire or multicultural folk songs, singing games, recorder pieces, and Orff instrument pieces.

My greatest teaching accomplishment
Achieving National Board Certification last year is probably the single greatest accomplishment of my teaching career in that it had a significant impact on my approach to teaching and is evident in improved performance of my students. The portfolio development and assessments engaged me in the deepest reflection I have ever undertaken in my teaching career. It caused me to scrutinize everything I do with my lessons; and it brought me to a deeper knowledge of my students individually. Every aspect of the National Board process came back to if and how what I was doing was positively impacting my students' learning. In addition, I discovered the great value of communication, collaboration, learning, and leadership. The impact of these areas of professional challenge on my teaching and on my students' learning has been significant. I look forward to sharing my experience with colleagues who want to grow and solidify their highly qualified status.

The most critical issues facing educators today
As long as there are schools and students to educate, the imperative for communication and intentional involvement between schools, families and the community underlies the cry for public school reform. The latest nomenclature for reform is "No Child Left Behind (NCLB)." Looking closely at the intention of the NCLB initiative will reveal some the challenges we are facing: equal access, diversity, appropriate assessment, and accountability. How do we "leave no child behind" as we provide equal access to an excellent curriculum taught by high qualified teachers? How do we "leave no child behind" as we address diversity including different learning styles and needs of the at-risk student? How do we "leave no child behind" as we accurately, fairly, and appropriately measure learning outcomes? How do we "leave no child behind" as we become mutually accountable: schools to community and community to schools?

Ways to resolve this issue
Answering these questions and meeting these challenges must involve all members of the stakeholders: students, parents, teachers, administrators, business and community leaders, and legislators. We must be open to intentional involvement and communication with one another. We also must have clarity of vision for the goal of education and its role in our society: to produce well-round, literate, open-minded citizens of the world. Our families, communities and schools are charged with the awesome task of raising and teaching these student-citizens who will be our future leaders. Our schools must offer a rich and varied curriculum to educate every child. That curriculum must nourish the whole child including his/her cognitive, affective and physical being. The arts, the sciences and the "three Rs" must all be included in the education of the populace. Stakeholders can work together to seek supplemental funding such as private, state and federal grants. We can tap the wealth of resources in local communities to provide both human and financial resources.

One thought to inspire teachers to succeed
A teacher's power and influence on the life of a child is second only to that of the parents and may be, for some child, the first "hero" he or she has known.

One lesson every student should learn
To be happy and successful in life, one must maintain an open-minded respect both for oneself and for others. And when facing any goal or challenge, one must persevere with faith and determination.

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