Teaching at Conestoga Valley has been an incredibly fulfilling experience. The students and staff have been welcoming and supportive, making my first time teaching high schoolers far smoother than anticipated. Initially, leading a choir of around 90 students and managing three general education classes with maximum enrollments felt daunting. However, with Mrs. Carney’s guidance and the students’ openness, I have grown in confidence and competence as an educator.
At Conestoga Valley High School, students have three engaging music electives: guitar, exploratory instruments in modern bands, and audio production. This semester, Mrs. Carney and I have been teaching these electives alongside the choir, creating a dynamic and fast-paced schedule that, while challenging at times, has been deeply rewarding.
In audio production, we started the term by introducing students to the fundamentals of Logic Pro, helping them gain familiarity with the program’s features. I designed and led the students’ unit assessment in one of our recent classes. For their summative assessment in the unit on loops, students were tasked with creating a 60-second piece using at least four loop tracks within one class period. This project introduces students to essential arrangement techniques, layering, and production tools and encourages them to explore loop-based composition. The focus is on creativity and structure, emphasizing how well students utilize and integrate loops to craft a cohesive composition rather than emphasizing the polish of the final product.
I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to develop music industry skills alongside my music education studies at Millersville University. During my junior year, I took courses like Computer Applications in Music Production and Live Audio, where I built a strong foundation in Logic and concert technology. This knowledge has been invaluable in teaching the modern band and audio production class, where we’ve even incorporated a subunit on concert audio, sound mixing, and stage plot design. These experiences have enhanced my teaching toolkit and allowed me to bring practical, industry-relevant skills directly into the classroom. This has sparked many students’ interest in exploring music as a career beyond high school.
Teaching at Conestoga Valley has been a transformative experience, blending education with real-world applications to inspire the next generation of musicians and creators.
Original
Teaching at Conestoga Valley has been an incredibly fulfilling experience. Both the students and staff have been welcoming and supportive, making my first time teaching high schoolers far smoother than I anticipated. Initially, leading a choir of around 90 students and managing three general education with maxed-out class sizes felt daunting. However, with Mrs. Carney’s guidance and the students’ openness, I’ve felt more confident and competent as an educator than ever before.
At Conestoga Valley High School, students have three engaging music electives to choose from: guitar, exploratory instruments in modern bands, and audio production. This quarter, Mrs. Carney and I are teaching each of these electives alongside choir, creating a dynamic and fast-paced schedule that, while sometimes challenging, has been highly rewarding.
In audio production, we started the term by introducing students to the fundamentals of Logic Pro, helping them gain familiarity with the program’s features. This day in class, I created and led their unit assessment. For their summative assessment in the unit on loops, students were tasked with creating a 60-second piece using at least four loop tracks within one class period. This project not only introduces students to essential arrangement techniques, layering, and production tools but also encourages them to explore loop-based composition. The focus is on creativity and structure, with an emphasis on how well
they navigate and incorporate loops to build a cohesive piece rather than the final product’s polish.
I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to develop music industry skills alongside my music education studies at Millersville University. During my junior year, I had the chance to take courses like Computer Applications in Music Production and Live Audio, where I built a strong foundation in Logic and concert technology. This knowledge has been invaluable in teaching the modern band and audio production class, where we’ve even incorporated a subunit on concert audio, sound mixing, and stage plot design. These experiences have not only enhanced my teaching toolkit but also allowed me to bring practical, industry-relevant skills directly into the classroom; it has even sparked their interest in music as a career after high school.
