Kat Reinhert

How we are taught determines how we learn, as well as how we interact and act within our world.  Education needs to address the whole person, not just specific skills that are required to complete a task or learn something new.  I believe that students already have a wealth of knowledge within themselves from prior experiences both in and out of formal settings.  This knowledge is integral to who they are as humans, and understanding what a student already knows and perceives to understand is important to being able to effectively teach them in a way that best achieves a balance between the student needs and requirement outcomes.  I endeavor to engage students in being kind people and to foster a joy and desire for music making that will continue throughout their lives.

I assume the student is always doing their best.  This may not be what I think is acceptable or what is required, but if I assume the student has done their best, it allows me to have compassion for what might be standing in their way and helps me find a way to help them succeed. In pausing and listening to the student, I am able to discuss the experience with them and find a way to help them move from where they are through the process of achieving the outcome and goals.  Through this continual feedback process, I am constantly challenged to adjust my own assumptions about students, teaching, and learning and continually place myself in situations where I become a more empathetic and aware educator. 

Creating a space that is open, communicative, democratic, and authentic to the material being learned is integral to my teaching practice.  Ideally, this occurs within a learner-centered environment, where the students have agency over their own learning and outcomes.  When working with songwriters, I encourage their creativity by asking them to assess their own work, giving them appropriate feedback, encouraging dialogue, and giving them assignments that push them outside of where they are comfortable to help them continue to expand their understanding of the craft of songwriting.

When working with singers, I encourage them to learn as much as they can about how the voice functions.  This includes asking them to read articles or books related to vocal pedagogy and to assess what they gained from this knowledge.  Using voice science and functional pedagogy, I encourage my students to gain the ability to understand and troubleshoot their own voices. I believe that artistic expression is limited by the amount of technical facilitation one has within a discipline, and that the more facility one has within the voice, or any instrument, the more one is able to express themselves in their art. 

 Assessments of students should be based on the desired outcomes that include, but are not limited to: attendance, examinations, compositions, discussion, juries, peer-assessments, performances, observations, reflective journals, recordings, and writings.  Decisions to use certain assessments over others should be agreed upon by the student and teacher in advance, with emphasis placed on the process of learning.  While the product is important, especially in performance and professional settings, my goal is always process first.  If the process is applicable and relevant to the learning outcome, then I am setting up the student for continued success, for the process of learning is just as valuable as the end product.  In some cases, more, for if I can teach the student how to learn how to learn, they can apply this throughout their life, empowering them to have agency and autonomy over their own growth as a musician and human.

My philosophy of teaching focuses on the holistic education of students. I consider being an educator one of the most profound, meaningful, and life-affirming aspects of my career and am constantly inspired and encouraged by my students to continue creating, growing, challenging, learning, and sharing my art and knowledge with them and the larger global music community.