Dolloff, L. (2014) Evoking Beliefs About Music Teaching and Learning.

GEMS (Gender,
Education, Music & Society) 7(5), 22-28.

Dolloffs (2003 reprinted 2014) paper touches on the topic of teacher identity in
university music education students. She has her undergraduate students draw their
ideal teacher to work on bridging the differences between theory and practice. Dolloffs
aim to identify teacher beliefs at the pre-service and in-service career stages (p.23)
and she uses the artwork as a vessel for students to find their personal identity in the
work field. Roberts (1991) has noted that undergraduate students tend to associate
themselves with the role of musician rather than educator. University Music Education
programs do not help with this since they do little to form students self of identity other
than being a musician who teaches. Dolloff (2014) uses the form of drawings to have
students develop this, since a picture can communicate simultaneously on many
levels, drawings are useful not only as iconic images but also as layered paintings that
hide or combine other social, cultural, and personal images. (p.23) Within these
depictions of the ideal teacher, cultural stereotypes arouse; this includes the male
teacher on a podium running a band rehearsal and a female teacher in an elementary
school music classroom. Also there is an example of a young black male drawing a
picture of a middle-aged white woman since he did not have a role model he could
relate to appearance wise. Dolloff (2014) brings up the point about if these stereotypes
reflect our cultures standpoint on music education.
I thought this article was very interesting to read because with the stereotypes of
teachers being so ingrained in us, it shocked me to find myself in the same position of
Dolloffs (2014) students. Growing up, I only had female elementary school music
teachers and in high school, my band teacher was male while my choir teacher was
female. So if I were to draw the mentioned teachers, I would also draw a female
elementary school music teacher, and a male band teacher. I hope that now that I am
aware of these ingrained opinions, I can work towards resolving them. When drawing
myself as my ideal teacher, I drew myself teaching privately in a studio, just like the one
I taught in while in Vancouver. If I had a larger piece of paper, I would also draw myself
working with a choir. I had a giant smile on my face as teaching usually brings my joy. I

also had tons of resources so no matter what style my student wanted to learn, I could
properly inform and educate them. Lastly, I had a quote on my studios wall saying
Everything will be alright in the end, and if its not alright, its not the end. I live by this
quote and I want my students to know it as well. Learning an instrument can be
extremely frustrating. Along the way there is always going to be something that is
difficult for the student. It can be either their first time playing hands together on the
piano and coordination that is required to do so. It also can be a tricky rhythm, or a fast
passage. Voice wise, puberty is a very difficult time for all singers and some voices
develop later than others. Even with knowing this, its frustrating for the singer to be
waiting for their voice to settle. I know this because it was the case for me. It took a
while for my voice to settle, and it is still settling into my twenties. I want my students to
know that the tricky problems are only temporary while the love for music lasts a
lifetime.