Teaching within the current music education paradigm does a disservice to students. It is my goal to facilitate learning so that my students have agency and creativity in their learning. Doing so promotes active engagement and lifelong learning. The following attributes will are reflected in my curriculum: 

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• Student agency: students deserve to have control of their learning experiences and how they interact with music This is reflected through principles including choice, repetition, identity, structure and context, awareness, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and imagination (CTB, Chapter 8). This student-centered approach is a gateway to increasing authentic student engagement. 

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• Artistic and Aesthetic literacy: inspired by Elliot Eisner's view of music literacy, emphasis will be placed on strengthening students' capacities in generating and describing music. Through attending to sound and image, cultivating artistic perception, and providing opportunities for experimenting and controlling sound, students are actively engaged in thinking processes of awareness, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and imagination. 

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• Critical thinking: provides an outlet for students to deepen their understanding within the context around them. Viewed two-dimensionally, students will acquire new information while understanding the historical, societal, and cultural context in which new and previous knowledge was introduced and inherited. This will deepen understanding and engagement within and outside of the music room. 

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• Culturally relevant: the curriculum integrates students' prior knowledge and cultural contexts to enhance learning experiences. This is essential to developing an inclusive and equitable classroom. 

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• Holistic education: as students are able to see themselves and connect with what is being taught, they can then “go beyond the things of the mind to focus on an inclusive view of the person. Dispositions such as love of learning, self-discipline, honesty, carefulness, patience, fidelity, curiosity, empathy, determination, and open-mindedness are among the values that citizens of a democracy need to possess and are the hallmarks of transforming education” (Jorgenson, 2003).