Jaron Smith was born and raised into a very musical home by his parents in the mountains of northeast Georgia. After graduating high school in 2008, Jaron moved to Jacksonville, AL to attend college at Jacksonville State University. Jaron finished his undergraduate degree in Instrumental Music at JSU in 2014 and his Master's degree in Music Education in December of 2016. Jaron also served as the band director at Ranburne High School in Ranburne, AL from 2016 to 2018. Jaron and his wife, Kelsey fulfilled a dream of theirs and moved to Seattle in July of 2018 to explore new and exciting opportunities. Jaron is now currently serving as the music teacher for Olympic View and Olympic Hills Elementary Schools. Jaron has played his primary instrument, the euphonium, for over fourteen years and continues to play whenever he can. Jaron has played with numerous prestigious ensembles throughout the southeast United States, including the Jacksonville State University Chamber Winds as a featured soloist, the Alabama Winds as the principal euphonium player, the Pelham Street Brass Quintet, the Georgia Brass Band, the Alabama Intercollegiate Band, and the Jacksonville State University Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble. Jaron is a former supporting staff member of the Jacksonville State University Marching Southerners and the United States Army All-American Marching Band. In his free time, Jaron enjoys hanging out with friends and spending time with his wife, Kelsey.
My Music Education Philosophy |
To even begin to think of what your personal philosophy on music education consists of, one must first begin with a personal passion for music as a whole. My entire life has been centered around music, beginning with singing in my church choir as a child under the direction of my father. My parents both played multiple instruments, so at an early age I developed a passion for all of the world of music. Throughout the past fourteen years, my personal study of music has deepened that passion for music intensely. As rewarding as delving into music is for me on a personal level, however, I have come to realize that teaching and expressing a love for music towards those who have little to no experience in the world of music is exponentially more rewarding. I believe music education should be taught to anyone and everyone that shows an interest in learning more about it. Withholding people from the world of music impedes special development of a variety of beneficial skills. Students of music develop skills in perseverance, leadership, verbal and nonverbal communication, patience, and even time management. Because these skills are important to develop early on in a person’s life, music education to me is extremely valuable to every student.
I do believe that music education should be taught correctly, however, for it to be effective in the benefits that it can bring to a student. Basics and fundamentals are non-negotiable and must be reinforced throughout the entire length of the music education process. The fundamentals create a strong foundation for which the rest of a person’s musical development can grow from. I also believe that as a teacher I must be very flexible and be able to adapt to the types of students that I will have to teach over the course of my career. Many students do not learn the same way that others do, and I may have to adjust teaching techniques in order to reach those students effectively. I will know that my students will have grasped the musical material that I have taught through the actions of the students. If music creates better people, my students should show progress as maturing individuals. I also strongly believe in the idea that a music teacher, or any teacher for that matter, should come to students with a positive attitude instead of a negative one. To me, teaching students to learn something out of fear is far less effective than teaching positively and developing a genuine interest based on a development of a personal love for what they’re learning. It will be my role as an educator to model the behaviors that I want displayed in my students. I also believe that the role of parental guardian figures in a student's education is very important. I will always work to create a strong network of communication between myself, my students, and my students' parents. It is under this philosophy that I wish to guide my teaching career in the musical world. |