Teaching Philosophy:
The classroom is a place in which an assemblage of knowledge, texts, and experiences should be shared, destabilized, and explored by teachers and students as co-learners, who endeavor to uncover a surplus of knowledge that is greater than the sum of the individual parts. It is a place where appropriate and equitable access points give all people opportunities to learn, and where teachers center and support student needs and experiences.
In music teacher education, we must focus our efforts on producing qualified teachers who prioritize community and cultural goals alongside their musical and professional goals. Teachers who guide students to become musicians, rather than study music from a distance. Teachers whose instructional design is informed by the development of strong relationships with students in their classrooms and is in turn responsive to their students’ intersectional identities.
Bio:
Jamie Gunther is the Assistant Director of Music Education at Longy School of Music of Bard College, where he directs the In-Person Master of Music Education degree and teaches Practicum and Licensure Seminars as well as Community Music. Jamie taught K-12 general music, 4-12 band, digital music, and drumline in New York City and Boston schools. He has presented at the Society for Music Teacher Education, NAfME Eastern Division, and Pennsylvania Collegiate Music Education Association Region III conferences, and recently published an article in School Music News. He is currently engaged in doctoral studies at Teachers College, Columbia University, where his research focuses on music teacher education.
Master of Arts in Music and Music Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
Master of Music in Percussion Performance, Central Michigan University
Bachelor of Music Education, Penn State