Professor Ishigaki
Music 9
23 October 2017
Article Analysis- Totally Tuned In
The music article Totally Tuned In by Michael J. Romick from the Virginia Journal of Education talks about how the use of music to teach English can be extremely beneficial to students by bettering and understanding the material. Romick uses instances from his own experiences, knowledge, and extensive career in teaching to talk about the great benefits that music has in the learning and retention abilities of the developing minds of children. Although this great article is that there isn’t really anything scientific or any other external researches to support what Romick is explaining in this article, I still think we can learn a lot from the article …show more content…
They, just like him, have now became experts in understanding the standards of learning. The main audience Romick is trying to reach is teachers, his co-workers, and students. Romick’s presenting to his audience by combining music, what most of today's generation cannot go a day without and poetry, it will help make the concepts of learning proper English interesting along with helping them grasp the knowledge better. I am here for his technique of teaching, because not just me but other students, still can’t even bring themselves to understand idioms, allusions and connotations. Some students cannot even identify them in text right now as college students. Maybe implementing a technique where literature and music come together like Romick’s teachers did for him and he is doing for his 10th, in high school, students will be more prepared for rigorous college writing courses. Something like this can maybe even help student succeed throughout their college careers. “I use songs to teach literary elements, figures of speech, figurative language, poetic techniques, and symbolism.” (Romick, 41), I really wish high school literature was taught this way. Although I already loved it, having music to also analyze the literature would have made it way more entertaining. The technique of teaching has also helped …show more content…
It really is not and it is actually quite challenging. It takes time to research these songs, and to find the specific type of English concept in the song takes even more time and dedication. Despite all the work, Romick thought this method of teaching is worthy. Because his students, “eagerly anticipate the Song of the Week, wondering what it will be and what secrets or hidden gems it might contain.” (Romick, 41). Like anybody, even myself before trying anything new, some students were still iffy about the method. Because they didn’t see that writers “use language figuratively, and that there are hidden meanings in books, stories, and songs.” (Romick 41) And honestly if English wasn’t a subject I liked it would be something I believed as well. At that age everything honestly seems stupid. Either way the reluctant students and even I got proved wrong before the end of this article. Other concepts taught that Romick goes on to talk about are the differences between denotative and connotative phrases, and how much figurative language goes into writing a song. By what I have read the song of the week, apart from helping the students be more attracted and involved in what they are learning. It actually relates to the students in a more personal level. It helps them look at the poetry or literature from another perspective rather than just then having to know what the